Maira Kalman on Food

[zoramargolis]

Back to the Land

[KMango]

"Hurrah for the chicken. Hurrah for the egg."

"...bounty of a different kind in this country..."

A potent posting.

Thanks for pointing to it.

[DonRocks]

If anyone hasn't read this yet, it's worth it. But it's a 10-15 minute commitment, so bookmark it, save it for later, and enjoy it for when you're sitting around on the computer, sick-and-tired of clicking on the same old bookmarks. Pour yourself a cup of tea (or hot water), and read it leisurely.

Yeah, it's propaganda, but so am I.

[Dave Pressley]

Back to the Land

That was a great piece! God, I wish I could write well! Damn the Prince William County public school system...or maybe it was just me.

[Heather]

She's bringing up the same issues that we've been discussing on food boards for years, and it boils down to "Can the elitism of a farmer's market shift so that the organic farms can be subsidized and that prices are reasonable for all people?" I don't see that happening.

[zoramargolis]

She's bringing up the same issues that we've been discussing on food boards for years, and it boils down to "Can the elitism of a farmer's market shift so that the organic farms can be subsidized and that prices are reasonable for all people?" I don't see that happening.

I thought that the most moving of the several issues that she raises is in the images of children being introduced to the deeper meaning of food and community in their school gardens--planting, cultivating and harvesting vegetables and fruits, preparing a meal together and talking about important moral and ethical issues at the table, and then cleaning up together, afterward. The children who are able to participate in programs like these will have a very different relationship with food for the rest of their lives than children who have not. They are our future.

[Heather]

I thought that the most moving of the several issues that she raises is in the images of children being introduced to the deeper meaning of food and community in their school gardens--planting, cultivating and harvesting vegetables and fruits, preparing a meal together and talking about important moral and ethical issues at the table, and then cleaning up together, afterward. The children who are able to participate in programs like these will have a very different relationship with food for the rest of their lives than children who have not. They are our future.

How many children will be able to participate in a program like Edible Schoolyard, though, out of the global population? How can such an vanishingly tiny minority be our future? Alice Waters has done an admirable thing, but really ES is a hothouse boutique project. What happens when those children get out of school and on their own, and discover that they don't have the time, energy, or income to hold to the ideals that program holds up?

[KMango]

How many children will be able to participate in a program like Edible Schoolyard, though, out of the global population? How can such an vanishingly tiny minority be our future? Alice Waters has done an admirable thing, but really ES is a hothouse boutique project. What happens when those children get out of school and on their own, and discover that they don't have the time, energy, or income to hold to the ideals that program holds up?

If we all bemoan "it's not enough", then it never will be.

Each one, teach one, and all that. We're each more empowered on this than we sometimes want to believe.

[Heather]

If we all bemoan "it's not enough", then it never will be.

Each one, teach one, and all that. We're each more empowered on this than we sometimes want to believe.

I'm already teaching two, thanks.

I'm not saying that these programs are bad - just that I see the odds on them making a significant difference in the way the business of food is transacted to be very small.

[KMango]

I'm already teaching two, thanks.

I'm not saying that these programs are bad - just that I see the odds on them making a significant difference in the way the business of food is transacted to be very small.

Yes, and I think you'll agree it's just one spoke in a very large wheel required to gain momentum on these issues.

(keep rolling)

(we'll all get there eventually)

(we have to)

[zoramargolis]

I'm already teaching two, thanks.

I'm not saying that these programs are bad - just that I see the odds on them making a significant difference in the way the business of food is transacted to be very small.

Twenty years ago, you had to go to a health food store or grow your own to get organic food. Now they sell organic products at Walmart (albeit corporate organic, which has its own problems). Ten years ago, there were a handful of farmers' markets across the country. Now there are hundreds, and each market represents farmers who have been able to stay on their farms, or new young farmers who are taking up farming as their life's work. Small programs are growing to find ways to subsidize farmers markets and enable low income people to buy fresh food --like the new federal double dollars program that make food stamps worth double when they are used to buy produce at a farmers market. To dismiss this as insignificant because it will not totally revolutionize the "business of food" right away is to succumb to hopelessness. Big cultural changes can take a long time -- many urban poor people, who may have forgotten rural farming roots from past generations, cannot be expected to change the ways they think about food overnight. Education and access need to go together. I guarantee that people across the country who are not cynical about making changes that will benefit their communities are watching what Michelle Obama is doing with DC public school kids and the White House garden, and finding out about the Edible Schoolyard concept, and are figuring out ways to create something like it where their kids go to school. No, it's not happening everywhere right away, and ConAgra isn't worried about going out of business. Yet.