Lesley Stahl's much-anticipated interview of Alice Waters that aired on March 15 on "60 Minutes" highlighted points that are commonly discussed in association with the mother of the slow foods movement -- the advantages of seasonal produce, the benefits of eating hormone and antibiotic free meat, and the importance of eating locally-grown products. The segment, however, delved deeper into the impact of Waters' movement outside of the kitchen.
Waters is at the forefront of a movement to revolutionize what Americans eat and how they eat it. She champions organic foods, saying in the interview that "good food should be a right and not a privilege, and it needs to be without pesticides and herbicides." With the Food and Drug Administration under fire after recent national food epidemics, Waters' message of healthy food for everyone is gaining tremendous momentum. Waters sent letters to former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush asking them to plant organic "victory gardens" at the White House, but her request was never granted. Last week, Waters finally got her wish -- on March 20, Michelle Obama hosted a group of schoolchildren who helped her lay the seeds for a vegetable garden, the second to exist on the grounds of the White House.
As I saw images of Waters' own "victory garden" outside of San Francisco City Hall, which was planted for her Slow Food Nation event held from Aug. 29 through Sept. 1, 2008, and listened to her call for sustainable foods in our country during the "60 Minutes" profile, I couldn't help but think of another famous Alice. The segment showed Waters at work in the kitchen of her Berkeley, California restaurant, Chez Panisse -- the prep tables overflowed with vegetables, bowls of fruit were on almost every countertop and the room was calm and orderly -- and shopping at organic farmer's markets. This was Alice Waters in her wonderland.
From Waters' perspective, it would seem that most of the country is partaking in a never-ending mad tea party when it comes to food; we are trapped in a cycle of bad habits that no one seems to have any control over. We should step away from that processed, chemical-filled cake that will cause us to grow exponentially in size or those pesticide-laden mushrooms that can alter the way our bodies function. And, no matter how good they look, don't even think about touching those canned fruit product filled tarts!
How much does Alice Waters' wonderland really apply to most people in America? There needs to be a reevaluation of food production processes and regulations in the United States, but for many, slow foods for all does not seem like a feasible possibility in the current economic downturn. Waters dismissed the problem of the high-cost of organic food in her interview, saying that "some people want to buy Nike shoes -- two pairs -- and other people want to eat [organic] Bronx grapes ... I pay a little extra, but this is what I want to do." I want to eat organic grapes, which Waters purchased for an exorbitant four dollars a bunch from an organic grocer in the segment, and I would also love to be able to afford multiple pairs of expensive sneakers. Neither are possibilities for thousands of Americans who have lower incomes or who have recently lost jobs.
Waters has been called a snob and an elitist. I don't agree with everything she says, but these are harsh criticisms. I look at her as a food extremist. We need to find a balance between Waters' call for all organic, all the time on one side and the processed products that line the shelves of our supermarkets on the other. The focus needs to be on practical foods -- eat within your means, both physically and financially -- and then maybe part of Alice Waters' wonderland can be a reality.
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Caryn Horowitz is a junior majoring in history. She can be reached at Caryn.Horowitz@tufts.edu.
