food

If you are on any type of local food listserv in Minnesota, you’ve received an invitation, or two, or ten to the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy’s Food + Justice = Democracy national meeting, convening September 24 -26 in downtown Minneapolis.

IATP’s goals for the convergence are lofty; the conference is billed as a national meeting to change the food justice narrative, where “participants will co-create a national food justice platform to push our government and our political leaders to prioritize a fair, just and healthy food system.”

Thoughts of revolution were in the air at the Sustainable Farming Association of Minnesota’s twentieth annual conference, The Routes of Sustainability: Food, Farming & Fellowship, held February 18 - 19 at the College of St. Benedict. SFA MN is a farmer-led organization that works to connect farmers with eaters across the state.

No, this is not a discussion about eating worms or bugs or balut or any of the other less-than-savory things they ate on that show that I never watched. I’m talking about the food myths that have become mainstream “knowledge” and have catapulted the sale of some dubious health and diet books, many of which have thankfully faded into near oblivion. Think T-Factor Diet. Or Atkins for Life.

Photo from http://educate-yourself.org/As I type this, I am sick to my stomach.

No, it’s not something I ate. It’s something I read, this headline:

Forbes Magazine named Monsanto the #1 company of the year for 2009

Makes me want to puke.

If you want to read the article yourself, you’ll have to Google it; I refuse to drive traffic to the Forbes Magazine website.

I read it, and then had to create an account to post a comment. Here’s what I wrote:

Alice Waters Photo Courtesy of Chezpanisse.comHere's a terrific opportunity to eat magically delicious local, organic food, prepared by some of the world's greatest chefs in support of a great cause. If only I had $500 and lived in Washington D.C.! But maybe you do? Check out the recent press release I received from the good folks at Chez Panisse:

Mention Michael Pollan in a crowded room (or in an elevator, at the dinner table, at work, etc) and you get one of two reactions:

Reaction One: the person rolls their eyes, remembering Pollan as some sort of a "Food Nazi" from a TV interview he gave over the past year, probably one where he said you should only eat things your Great-Grandma would recognize. Or maybe one where he discussed "edible foodlike substances," which are, according to Michael, often disguised as real food.

Reaction Two: An "oh my God"-like gasp, followed by vigorous head-nodding, a sense of brother- (or sister-) hood, and an in-depth discussion of how they selected their CSA, the size of their garden, and what's growing there this year.