The Economics of Real Food

After my last post, I got a thought-provoking email from Kirk at mmm-yoso.

He noted that Slow Food is considered by many of his co-workers to be an elitist organization.  He challenged me to defend Slow Food and the organic movement and explain how foodies can justify traveling long distances to eat, when the average person can’t afford to shop at Whole Foods, eat at expensive restaurants, etc.

Jay from The Linkery was also included in this discussion. 

I thought both raised some excellent points and, with Kirk and Jay’s gracious permission--Thanks, guys!--I am reprinting our email correspondence here. 

Hi Angie - I'm not being negative as I loooove your blog and your writing, and I've always claimed to be your #1 fan - but when I mention "slow food" in our office - the Managers "love it" and the working stiffs say it reeks of "elitism and snobbery", and a marketing strategy. I've tried to show them articles such as these:

Slow Food to Feed Homeless

Slow Food for a Dying Planet

But many people see the "Slow Food" movement as being a way to separate the have's from the have nots....I made the mistake of showing them your blog...and was told - hey, they can afford of all of that gas, they can go to Tokyo - you can afford the gas to LA, you can afford to take trips to Portland. What about me, the working stiff, I can't afford to eat at the Linkery.....geeez, I hate politics!

Now I'm not into the Slow Food/Organic Food movement, but I do respect and enjoy the fruits of enjoying what is locally grown....

So help me out here - give me something I can work with......

Best Wishes,
Kirk

Kirk,

I'll chip in early with my two cents just 'cause, well, I want to. 

A way to summarize the Slow Food/Sustainable Ag movement is that changing the production of our food from an agrarian system to a factory system seriously degrades our diet, our environment, our values, and our society.

There are a couple ways to change it back. 1) Offer something totally different at the expensive end (Slow Food dinner, Chez Panisse, etc.), or 2) offer something slightly different at the affordable end (Chipotle serving Niman Ranch pork).  Both ways make a difference, and as long as we pursue both dilligently, there will be changes both in people's attitudes and in the economics involved, and we will have a chance to eventually change the system enough at least to mitigate its consequences.

Just because Slow Food USA isn't for everybody--and it isn't for everybody--doesn't mean that eventually we won't all benefit from its work.

J

Hey Jay - Thanks for the reply! I'm all for the changing of how our food is supplied, and all of that. I've enjoyed the fruits of the movement. It may not show on my Blog, I've been to Region, and Cafe Cerise, and all of those places, but have chosen not to post on them, after all, didn't Alice Q Foodie ask, "What kind of dork takes photos of what they eat?", not that it matters. To me, what the everyday "Dude" eats matters the most(of course with exceptions - like Park Kitchen). But call me dim witted. What does this mean, to the everyday Joe?

You say the movement is not for everyone....does that mean, it's only for those that can afford it? I'm hoping it does benefit everyone. So what can the average person making 30k a year(in San Diego) do to eat, in the manner of which you speak? It's very interesting that you speak of niman ranch pork....I'm all for pork that tastes like pork, and yet it has been demonized(in spite of the other white meat crap, for tasteless, American pork)...and yet Chipotle tastes like I'm sorry to say C-R-A-P.

It's not reflected in the comments I get, but I'm starting to get a few Emails asking me..... It's quite strange and a bit ironic, since I don't recommend anytihng specific......

I just don't know enough about it(other then the minimum that I've read).......so any information other then buzzwords "it's not for everyone" doesn't really cut it.

Take Care,
Kirk

See Jay’s response to the Slow Food question on his blog, Casing the Joint.

And here’s my reply.

Kirk:

Thanks for raising these questions.

I understand completely.  It's something I have struggled with mightily and was one of the reasons, in fact, that I stopped writing my blog.  I felt like all I did was brag about what great food I was eating and where I was traveling, etc.  That was not my intention.  But when you love food, it's easy to get distracted.  You end up writing about what's new, what's different, what's fun.

I started writing again because I realized there was much more to it than that.

For anyone with a conscience, eating well in this culture comes at a very high price.  And I'm not just talking about the cost of fuel, although that is certainly a big factor.

Your friends are right to question the cost of fuel.  The real issue, however, is not the gas we burn driving to our favorite restaurant or to Los Angeles, but the staggering amount of oil used in food production and distribution.   Industrial agriculture consumes 50 times more energy than traditional agriculture.  See "Eating Fossil Fuels" by Dale Allen Pfeifer. 

So for us that love food, what can we do?  Of course, we eat the best food that we can afford.  We share it with people, we enjoy it, and we give thanks for what we have.  I think there is a very good reason why people have traditionally said grace before meals.  Giving thanks means eating with awareness.  It means acknowledging everything that has transpired in order to bring food to your table.

Unlike, say, the American Institute of Wine and Food (to which I once belonged and quit when I realized that its members were mostly just interested in eating at expensive restaurants), Slow Food strikes me as an organization with a conscience.   But more importantly, I joined because what they were saying about food resonated with me.   It reminded me of the food I grew up with.

Almost everyone I know has a story about their grandparents growing their own food, canning vegetables, making preserves, making their own bread, etc.  How many in our generation do this?  Many people today don't even know how to cook, much less grow their own food.

Sure, Slow Food seems elitist.  And maybe the vanguard--celebrity chefs, academics--are part of the elite.  But we need them if we are to have any chance against the truly powerful (Monsanto, ADM, Tyson Foods, Dow Chemical, McDonalds) corporations who control our food supply and set government policy.  Unlike them, Slow Food is committed to biodiversity and helping producers in developing countries.  They sponsor Terra Madre, a worldwide conference that brings together people from all over the world (attendees, many from the third world, who cannot afford the cost of travel, are sponsored by scholarships) to discuss their problems and experiences with food.

Slow Food is trying to bring back traditional foods that are in danger of being lost in our global marketplace.  The irony, of course, is that these foods--at least right now--are more expensive.  So is organic food.  But at least we are paying the real cost up front.  Conventional food seems cheaper, but only because there are so many hidden costs--government subsidies, pollution, underpaid workers, health care--which we pay for, also, but in other ways.  There's a great article by Michael Pollan which explains the economics of food much more eloquently than I can.

In addition to supporting Slow Food, I also work for an organization, San Diego Roots Sustainable Food Project, that is intent on making local, healthy food accessible and affordable for everyone.  One of our primary projects is a high school garden that will get kids growing their own food, preparing their own food, and using it as a means to teach them about science, math, etc.

Food security (or accessibility) is a huge part of what ROOTS is trying to accomplish.  We would love it if everyone could grown their own food, but we recognize that not everyone has the time or means to do this.  So we are committed to finding ways to make good food available for everyone--the "haves" and the "have-nots".  (By the way, I think this division existed long before the Slow Food Movement came along.)  If that means asking the rich, who can afford to attend fancy fundraising dinners, to give money to support a underfunded public school garden so kids can learn what a real tomato tastes like, I'm all for it.

I am open to any ideas for making our current food system more just.  If there are better ways to accomplish this than Slow Food, please point me to them!

Take care,
Angie

Comments

[Kirk]

Hi Angie - I think the word "defend", is quite strong, but so be it. The hardest part is to make people care. Great post....

[Alice Q.]

This is really interesting. I said in an earlier comment that I'm a "slow foodie" and I do believe in the ideals behind the movement, but I was actually disappointed when I joined the organization itself. I joined a couple of years ago, but did not renew my membership after the 1st year. (I was thinking about doing so after reading Angie's last post - but now maybe not!)

On some level though, I have to say I just don't buy the argument that people who don't make a lot of money can't afford to buy good food. The bigger problem is that they don't have time for meal preparation, their meals are dictated by their kids' tastes (Mc Donalds, etc.) and they eat on the fly. I agree that the elitist nature of Whole Foods is annoying - but that's not the only place to shop for fresh produce or local products. There are lower cost alternatives, such as farmers markets, Henry's and Trader Joes. Even fresh food from the local grocery store would be better than what most people eat.

I also find the comments you made about the reasons you stopped blogging, and Kirk's comments about his blog very interesting. I was really surprised by Kirk's comment that he doesn't write about certain restaurants because he's more interested in what the Average Joe can eat. I can't believe he's depriving us of his insightful reviews of these places! Kirk - why do you assume "average" people wouldn't be interested in reading your great reviews no matter where you eat? Maybe I'm not the average reader, but I certainly would!

My blog is focused entirely on local businesses (Southern Cal) and I promote humanely raised and sustainable ingredients whenever possible. I struggle with the elitist thing too, but mostly I try to make it interesting and fun. I hope it appeals to people both inside and outside of San Diego, and influences people to care more about local foods, local businesses, humane treatment of animals and sustainable agriculture, both here and in their own local communities.

[Alice Q.]

Angie - I looked for an email link on here but I didn't see one. I wondered if I can get the code from you to put the Meatrix link on my blog? I am also planning to go to the Slow Food thing in late August at Orfila. I never attended a local event when I was a member and I'd like to check it out. Heck, maybe the best way to fight snobbery in Slow Food is to get more involved! :-) I also want to look into the Roots organization. I am a member of the local Junior League, which is promoting food and nutrition education for kids, so it might be a good idea to put a project together at some point!

[Kirk]

Hi Angie - I'm not meaning to monopolize your comments, since I thought your post is well thought out and meaningful.

But first - and most importantly! I don't do reviews, my site is, very simply put, this is what we ate, and this is what we thought of it...I'm not a food writer, I'm a food eater. I put out whatever the heck I want on my site. And personally, though I enjoy Parallel 33, there are at least 20-30 very good reviews on it. If something strikes my fancy, maybe I'll do it. But you don't need me to tell you what you can have at Tapenade, there are so many "reviews" of it, but then again, do you know about Bun Mam? Or Bun Bo Hue? Or what Tonkotsu style ramen is, or that Yamaimo is that secret ingredient of good okonomiyaki?

As for slow food, or at least the idea! I'm all for it. I meant the email as a way of playing devil's advocate. But, it's very hard in this day and age for a dual income family(and maybe someone has two jobs), trying to survive, whose children have been indoctrinated...to make the extra effort, to spend the extra money, to understand the impact of the choices they make. It starts with education, but at times it seems that a real "glitzy marketing approach" of celebrity chefs and big events is the way of promoting the movement, without thinking that this may end up alienating the population who would need the information the most.

Ask me about slow food, and I'll tell you....when I was a kid, my Grandparents who were first generation Japanese immigrants, who never spoke English, lived on a house on plantation property. And when I used to visit(at one point, there was no indoor plumbing...and even a furo - a community bath), they'd wake me at 5 am to pick papaya, banana, or mango off the trees for breakfast. If we wanted edamame, we'd go pick it in the back yard, not get it from the frozen food section. That is slow food. You are constantly up against the belief that convenience, and instant gratification is better, in all that we do - think about your driving habits; do you cut through lanes, weaving in and out of traffic, to reach your destination 2 minutes earlier, why? We live in a time, of high speed this, and instant that.......
Sorry to go on ad nauseum.....

[honkman]

Alice,

I am just curious why do you think that WholeFoods has an elitist nature ? I completely disagree with that point. They might be relatively expensive but that is rather normal with organic food (and people should get used to it.). For that reason I don't think you can compare them with Henrys and TJ which have much less organic food. Henrys for example has a lot of fresh fruits/vegetables but hardly anything is organic, same with the meat which is often named "natural" which alot of people think is the same as organic but that is not the case.
And your argument "The bigger problem is that they don't have time for meal preparation, their meals are dictated by their kids' tastes (Mc Donalds, etc.) and they eat on the fly." is the standard sentence in the US I most often hear people complaining but has hardly anything to do with reality. Coming from your Europe with a quite different development regarding food and the importance of food I think the main problem is the missing education about the importance of food (and other issues regarding life which I won't discuss because than we will go far beyond food) a lot of people in the US are missing. The assumption that people don't have enough time for meal preparation is wrong. The problem is again that they never learned the importance of food and they see eating just as a necessity but nothing related to joy. And since when are "their meals dictated by their kids' tastes" ? If this sentence is serious I don't hope you have children. Children should never be able to dictate something if it is bad for them. Parents have to educate their kids about food and train their taste but since they never got themselves the adequate education it will never happen.
Discussion about slow food and related stuff is completely missing the point. Slow food or not has no meaning to solve the problems discussed here and show IMO that people don't see the real problem: A lousy educational system.

[Alice Q.]

Honkman - Personally, I love Whole Foods, but it annoys me that it seems the approach of the store is to cater to upscale customers. Good food should be available to everyone, not just yuppies. I disagree with you on the kid thing and time issues - obviously, or I wouldn't have said what I said. Improving the educational system would be a great way to solve these problems. What are you doing to make that happen? "Be the light you want to see in the world" - isn't that the quote?

Kirk - My comment was meant to be flattering, not bossy or insulting - maybe it didn't come out right. I just like your honest straightforward writing about what you eat, and it would be nice to see that applied to those other places. Your blog is unique and interesting because you provide different information from what everyone else is doing. To each his own - that's one of the great things about blogging!

Angie - Thanks for such a thought provoking post. It inspired me to be a little more pro-active, starting with ading some links to my page including the Meatrix and the Roots Project. I'm done now - I promise!

[Kirk]

Hi Alice - Truly, no offense taken. We each have our own unique approach, which makes things fun. And maybe the next time we go to one of those restaurants(I'm thinking El Biz), I'll drag my camera along....

[Angie]

Alice:

Thanks for responding. I didn’t want to jump in too soon because I wanted to see where the comments would go, but I’m excited to see this dialogue taking place. That was my intent in writing the post. And I hope you are not done—keep going!

I was going to respond to your inquiry about the Meatrix link, but I see you have it up on your blog already. Nice! http://www.aliceqfoodie.blogspot.com/

Honkman:

Sure, parents play a huge role in educating their kids about food and taste. The educational system also plays a part and we are slowly waking up to the fact that the food served in American schools is shamefully inadequate. It’s criminal how little we spend on education, in general, and school food, in particular.

But isn’t Slow Food part of the solution, too? Their mission is to teach us about the pleasures of the table, to remind all of us (parents & children) to slow down and reconnect with our food.

Kirk:

Don’t worry, you are not monopolizing the comments. I agree your site is your own and you should put up whatever you want on it. I think you are excellent at covering hole-in-the-wall places, the type of restaurants that the magazines and newspapers ignore. You are doing an incredible job of educating us about Asian food. I’m grateful that you take the time to check out all the restaurants that I drive by (and wonder about) but rarely have time to actually eat in. But now you've got me intrigued--how would you cover Tapenade or El Biz? :-)

I understand your point about the celebrity chef/glitzy events. These are not the only type of events they hold, but unfortunately these are the ones that tend to attract public attention.

Your description of your grandparents echoes what I was saying earlier about the difference between our generation and theirs. They didn’t need a movement like Slow Food. I wish we didn’t either. (And I would happily wake up any day at 5 if I could pick a fresh mango off a tree!)

As Jay points out on his blog, http://thelinkery.com/blog/?p=219, he is already doing his part to celebrate and use local food in his restaurant. Obviously he doesn’t need to be a member of Slow Food to do that. But, for the rest of us, who may not know much about traditional foods, it’s a valuable resource. I’m glad they are there reminding us, teaching us about these foods before they disappear.

It’s a good place to start. Now it’s up to each of us to carry on and carry out that mission in our own way.

[Kady]

Fascinating post. My husband and I were JUST talking about this today. I complained that I wanted to eat purely organic and humanely-raised foods but that we can't afford it and may never be able to. If I could always eat slow food I would. While I am a definite foodie and a snob of sorts, I am not one of those fortunate bloggers who travels and eats at expensive places. Until recently we didn't eat out more than once a month at most.

I think the key is to make slow food catch on. It seems that the prices would go down if consumer demand was high for that kind of product. Honestly, I'm not sure what the key is to getting people to toss aside their fastly prepared, processed foods in exchange for high-priced fresh foods.

Hopefully someone will figure out the answer soon.

[Carol]

Hi Angie. you posed the question about how many people remember hearing stories of grandparents canning, making preserves, etc. although I'm a few yrs older than you, I had a vegetable garden for 17 yrs from which I canned green beans, salsa, tomato juice, & stewed tomatoes for winter soup. It was just a small suburban garden plot, maybe 20 by 8'. As you know we moved into a MUCH smaller home and lot 2 yrs ago, but I haven't given up on canning and preserving. I just use our local "farmers market" to buy the produce. While I miss the space around my other house, part of our reason for moving was to stop the energy waste from mowing a huge yard, driving a minimum of 8 miles to get to anything, and of course heating and cooling that house. I think my love of canning and preserving came from our grandmother and my mom, who by the way, STILL puts up a whole lot of produce every summer!