Food, Culture, and Community

I happened upon the article Brooklyn's New Culinary Movement in the NY Times this morning and started squirming (good squirms) in my seat. I could barely contain myself at the thought of this community based food culture. All morning I had been reading Edible East End's article, Touting Tators, about potato farmers on Long Island going under - LI's premiere crop used to be spuds and consumed 30,000 acres, today they are down to 2,500. I became depressed and couldn't help but thinking how globalization and uninterest from our younger generation (my generation) would be tossing aside such a way of life.

Then, my faith was restored. I understand that we have to change and adjust with our changing world, but I couldn't wrap my head around why we would have to abandon tradition (both of agriculture and community) for the sake of our future.

A few weeks ago I sat down with my friend Sarah Copeland, a recipe developer here at the Food Network. I was interviewing her for an article I am writing for Dish Du Jour Magazine (Queen's foodie publication) and asked her what she thought about the green/local/organic fad that is buzzing around. She told me, yes, she thinks it is a fad, but one that wont be going anywhere any time soon. "I don't mind fads if they bring light to a good cause", she commented - and I couldn't agree with her more.

After reading about this community based comradery with food I began to think - this is beyond a food fad, this is an anti-globalization movement. And I want to be part of it.