Oakland Bites: The idealist food war

Please forgive yet another news blog/article/tidbit about how ____ is doing in the current economy by reading to the bottom of this paragraph. It’s all I read about too, but while traveling this past week, I’ve been involved in debates with friends about the slow food movement in San Francisco, New York and DC. Between the recent Times article on the food revolution’s day in the sun (please see White House Victory Garden, etc), and Alice Waters’s appearance on 60 Minutes, people are talking about whether the Slow Food movement is an elitist, impossible feat in our current economy.

I don’t think anyone denies that making the country a healthier place is a good thing, but when Alice Waters eschews the microwave and poaches her breakfast eggs over an open hearth (see minutes 6:58-8:58) I really wonder how many moms and dads have time to stand in front of the fireplace holding a spoon before the school bus comes. Or even how many people — workers or those out of jobs — can afford the time to go to the farmer’s market a few times a week.

I’d love to hear what you, as residents of the movement’s epicenter, think about Slow Food: Is it idealist but impractical, or our only hope for becoming a healthier society?

In other news, let the great CSA experiment begin. I’m starting this week, and a little worried about what to do with some of the veggies. If you have suggestions for kale recipes–or anything else, I’d love to see them.