A way of eating, buying, cooking and
thinking that is gaining ground is the
whole-foods mentality. The old sayings,
“everything old is new again” and “what
goes around comes around,” have never
been more true. We can define whole
foods as foods that are unprocessed and
unrefined or processed and refined as
little as possible before consumption.
There has been a trending back toward
this in the United States for a while
now, but the truth is, most countries
have never gone as far down the road
of processed-food addiction as the U.S.
If you go back two or three generations
in this country, you would see a nation
that was very much into whole foods.
What processing and refining occurred
was done in large part by cooks and
chefs in professional and home kitchens.
Granted, this was by necessity, but once
large-scale processing and refining of
foodstuffs kicked into high gear in the
1940s and 1950s, our instant-gratification
mentality latched onto the convenience
of these new fast and easy products with
a death grip — literally. In this land of
plenty, America is one of the least healthy
nations in the world.
The less we process foods, the less
energy and water is consumed. The more
we let chickens act like chickens and
cows act like cows, instead of cramming
them artificially into massive houses or
feedlots, the less problem we will have
with waste management, antibiotic-induced mutations and pollution-creating
transportation. As you can see, much
of this ties in with the previous topics
of localism and sustainability. It’s all
one big picture. When food comes from
gardens and farms instead of factories and
laboratories, our bodies, souls and planet
are healthier.
Can we go back to a simpler time, before
the factory farm and nutritionists, before
we started entrusting the foods we eat
every day to giant plants and processors
instead of mom and the family? Probably
not. One study suggests that prior to the
advent of nitrogen-releasing fertilizers
post World War II, the planet could only
produce enough food to sustain about
66 percent of our current population.
So unless a third of us move to Venus or
Mars, we are likely to continue our mass-effect food production. We can, however,
edge back in the right direction.
Like a stock market correction, our
eating and polluting habits are edging
back toward sanity. We have, for decades,
brought the full force of our technology
into creating the most advanced “
food-like” substances in the history of mankind
(trans fats, low-fat hogs, corn-fed beef,
Twinkies and Big Macs). If we utilize
that same technology to produce a new
generation of nonpolluting, high-efficiency
super kitchens, the dream of sustainable
food systems may be attainable. The
course that much of this will take depends
on you. The planet is depending on you to
educate yourselves about the issues you
will face in the next-generation kitchen.
Sure, the spices, freshness, marbling of
the Wagyu beef and quality of foie gras
will always command attention, but these
new issues will draw on a new level of
education and expertise from chefs. Our
education system will be scrambling to
keep up. So force the issue, demand that
these issues be addressed and discussed
in the classrooms, kitchens and halls of
your place of study. Your planet will thank
you later.
As you begin your sustainable journey, here are
resources and organizations that will help you learn
more about what’s happening in your community:
• The Eat Well Guide is a free online directory
for anyone in search of fresh, locally grown
and sustainably produced food in the United
States and Canada.
Visit www.eatwellguide.org
• Local Harvest is a nationwide directory of
small farms, farmers markets and other
local food sources. Search for farms and
other food sources near you.
Visit www.localharvest.org
• Slow Food USA seeks to create dramatic
and lasting change in the food system,
reconnecting Americans with the people,
traditions, plants, animals, fertile soils and
waters that produce our food.
Visit www.slowfoodusa.org
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is a
federal government agency that protects
human health and the environment by writing
and enforcing regulations based on laws
passed by Congress. Learn about water, air,
climate, waste and pollution.
