Are We in the Midst of a Food Revolution?

March 24, 2009

With the slow food movement gaining momentum and the Obamas planting a vegetable garden at the White House, people are focusing on food now more than ever. So much so that the New York Times asks if we are witnessing a food revolution. Considering that all I think about every day is food and that I live in San Francisco — the epicenter of the farm-to-table movement — it's hard for me to tell. That's why I'm asking you: do you think we're in the middle of a food revolution?

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12 Comments

danielle854 4 years 8 weeks

Eh, I don't know. While more people are focusing on what is healthy, most of our nation is more overweight than ever.

mermei 4 years 8 weeks

If there's a food revolution going on, this is just the very start of it; the reality is that feeding the world is not possible without mass produced food, and that sometimes mass produced stuff shipped from far away is going to require less energy to produce than small scale, local items - counter intuitive though that might seem. Organic crops still don't have the output to compete with those that use pesticides, and affordability remains an issue. So maybe the question is not whether there is a food revolution, but what form it really ought to take.

4 years 8 weeks

It feels like it in Portland, Oregon. I signed up for community supported agriculture (CSA) delivery and its changing my life. Instead of going to the store and picking the usual grocery list which is mainly what my parents fed us, now I receive sometimes surprising new vegetables and am learning how to store and prepare them in delicious healthy ways. Plus with the exponentially rising costs of healthcare, my new healthcare program is DONT GET SICK! So Ive been vegan for 6 months and am focused on exercise, sleep, low sugar, and lowering my cholesterol. I also read Food Revolution and that changed my outlook on food.

fcseamstress 4 years 8 weeks

I'd love to think so, but I know no one in my family buys local/organic and very few of my friends make it a point to. We try, but unfortunately $ sometimes gets in the way. Can't wait for the farmers markets to start again, my town has 3 in the summer! The more I read about our current agriculture processes (both livestock & produce) the more I wish it was viable to 'grow your own' for everything. Take a look at "King of Corn" or read "Fast Food Nation". Also, I suppose it helps that I was raised in one of the stinkiest and most polluting livestock towns there is, so I grew up seeing the firsthand effects of what our practices are doing. As soon as I left that town, I was able to decrease my asthma meds by 50% and haven't had an ER visit since.

aimeeb 4 years 8 weeks

I'd like to think so...but who knows.

Spectra 4 years 8 weeks

I'd like to think so, but the truth is that there are a LOT of people to feed and on a large scale, farmers are still going to go for overall yield and will continue to use fertilizers/pesticides to increase production. It's still nice that a lot more people are at least trying to buy locally and organic.

ilanac13 4 years 8 weeks

i want to think that we are but a lot of people are so scared about the economy that they don't think about sustainable foods nearly as much.

CaterpillarGirl 4 years 8 weeks

Just because Michelle Obama is pretending to garden for photo ops, doesnt make this a movement.

Smacks83 4 years 8 weeks

I sure do hope so, but as a whole I think we are far off. We are too profit driven and we want what we want when we want it, not when it's had time to mature on its own. That applies to produce that is artificially ripened using dangerous gases and livestock being artificially "grown" using dangerous chemicals and unnatural feeds. People need to wake up a realize the true cost of their food!

flyingbaran 4 years 8 weeks

With all the illnesses and recalls I think more people are becoming aware of what is in the food they're eating and where it's coming from. Hopefully companies will figure out a new method to deliver more natural food to everyone without the high prices.

tlsgirl 4 years 8 weeks

I'm leaning towards "I think so." But then, my BF and I just started to try vegetarianism, and his parents are super committed to using local/organic/sustainable ingredients in their business (they run an ice cream shop), so I might have a slightly skewed view as well.