Comments on: Alice Waters' Crusade For Better Food

Lesley Stahl Profiles The Outspoken, And Sometimes Controversial California Food Activist

[rustyH20]

I loved the segment on Alice Waters and wanted to comment on Lesley Stahl's remark about it not being feasible to have organic food in schools. Wouldn't it save money if the schools grew their own food? The gym class could plant and tend a large garden (gardening is great exercise), the Home Ec class could prepare the food and serve it in the cafeteria. They could start during the growing season and can and freeze (for class credit) what couldn't be eaten immediately. Maybe they could even sell some of their bounty at a local farmer's market to buy seeds for the next year. Not only would the students eat healthier foods, they would hand down their knowledge to the next generation. To paraphrase an old saying: "Give a man vegetables and he'll eat healthy for a day. Teach a man to garden and he'll eat healthy for a lifetime." Isn't it time we got back to basics?

[hopeac]

This morning I had breakfast a la Alice Waters. An egg frittata made with last night's roasted asparagus and well, fake, tomatoes. My toast was from the grocery store too, although it was whole grain. It was good, and I only barely thought of the kids running off to school at 6:30AM with pop-tarts in hand!

[sparaxis]

Alice Waters is a multi-millionaire. It is EASY for her to eat all of the right stuff. It is easy for Alice Waters to grow her own vegetables, she has the employees, the land and the income to eat healthy. She and Michelle Obama can easily have healthy food...they can afford it. The rest of us live in the real world!

Start talking about something that could help real people.

[contraryjim]

Pretentious ecologic BS - It is a great marketing strategy. Didn't PT Barnum have a saying...about a sucker born every minute. Even changed the meaning of the word - organic. Oil (petroleum) is organic in it's true sense & it can be fresh and natural.

[ordQ]

Damn it, I'm tired of these rich, pampered, white ladies trying to tell people whats best for them....if Alice is so into people eatting healty, I wonder is she ever opens the doors of her restaraunt, or lowers the prices on her menu to accommodate poor folk in her city? Did anyone else notice the total lack of colored people, except for the students that work in the garden? I mean even during the Slow Food Fest., there were hardly any people of color. Also, what major American city doesn't have a homeless population, where were they during this Fest.? Alice does not recognize or care about the difficlties of citizens to feed, clothe and house themselves and their families.

I live in Downtown L.A., and see poor people growing their food, in East L.A. and Compton because they have too. Except when government decides that teh land cold be put to better use and find ways to take the garden away from citizens.

Alice, if you care so much, how about using some of the money you get from your rich customers to buy plots of land in poor communities, and help start low-cost community gardens, which could provide employment oppotunitied while providing average people the opportunity to eat healthy.

I agree with the commentor that stated that this is just another attempt of the media promoting a lifestyle that just isn't feaseable for most people.

[texasam]

Although I agree that in a perfect world it would be best to produce and eat organic food. However, Alice, as well as the "whole Foods" movement need to realize that if every American were to consume organic food, we would need ~10 times the land base currently used for farming purposes. If Alice can solve this issue, I, as a farmer, would be happy to produce organic food for her. Alice, please be careful not to "bite the hand that feeds you"

[oldgrower]

Your story mentioned Michelle Obama starting a garden of 1100 square feet. How about a follow up of the true percentage of her time is actually spent tending this garden, and how much is done by others? Also, what is the final cost per item when it is finally harvested? Most of us do not have the luxury of hiring help to tend the garden, nor the time to do it ourselves, even though we still have the canning equipmnet and freezer to store what we grow. We have to work at something else to make a living. The price for food at the local grocery store is low only because it is grown in huge volumes.

[4mula01]

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[SHARKLEADER]

We just opened a new restaurant in Salt Lake City , Utah Called "au naturale" We specialize in fast healthy food. We serve healthy organic and great tasting food. We have no microwaves or deep friers and serve awesome food. Arminian flat bread known as Lavash with lesst fat than a tortilla encompass the majority of our sandwiches. Turkey Avocado, Veggie Wrap, pulled Pork on a whole grain bun, Turkey Burgers, Beef Burgers and Veggie burgers all served on a whole grain bun. Brown Rice Sushi, Yam and Black Bean Burritos, Chicken and Baby Spinach Burritos and not to mention all the fresh organic salads that we serve. We offer regular baked fries and our sweet potatoe fries all offer great taste and fast food. We are green, so there is no reason to say that it can't be done.

[1averageguy]

oh - and "one more thing" :) "Natural" and "Fresh" are NOT synonymous with "Organic". Fresh foods, of any type, certainly do taste better (in my opinion) than processed. BUT - not always. "Fresh" fruit and veggies at the local farmers market are NOT necessarily due to the fact that they were harvested early to handle the transport of a day or two or three. This does vary by Farmers Markets....but in the areas of the country and world where there isn't year round fresh produce locally grown, what you get is NOT going to be as fresh some times of year. Our farmers market only operates April - October.