Top chefs push Obama to improve food policy

maleficent · January 24th, 2009, 11:24 AM

Top chefs push Obama to improve food policy - Yahoo! News

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Top chefs push Obama to improve food policy By MARY CLARE JALONICK, Associated Press Writer Mary Clare Jalonick, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON – Visiting one of his favorite Chicago restaurants in November, Barack Obama was asked by an excited waitress if he wanted the restaurant's special margarita made with the finest ingredients, straight up and shaken at the table.

"You know that's the way I roll," Obama replied jokingly.

Rick Bayless, the chef of that restaurant, Topolobampo, says Obama's comfortable demeanor at the table — slumped contentedly in his chair, clearly there to enjoy himself — bodes well for the nation's food policy. While former President George W. Bush rarely visited restaurants and didn't often talk about what he ate, Obama dines out frequently and enjoys exploring different foods.

"He's the kind of diner who wants to taste all sorts of things," Bayless says. "What I'm hoping is that he's going to recognize that we need to do what we can in our country to encourage real food for everyone."

Phrases like "real food" and "farm-to-table" may sound like elitist jargon tossed around at upscale restaurants. But the country's top chefs, several of whom traveled to Washington for Obama's inauguration this week, hope that Obama's flair for good food will encourage people to expand their horizons when it comes to what they eat.

These chefs tout locally grown, environmentally friendly and — most importantly — nutritious food. They urge diners, even those who may never be able to afford to eat at their restaurants, to grow their own vegetables, shop at farmer's markets and pay attention to where their food comes from.

Dan Barber, chef at New York's popular Blue Hill restaurant and a frequent critic of the country's food policy, says a few small gestures from the president and first lady Michelle Obama could accomplish what many of the chefs have been working toward for years.

"I recognize that I'm an elitist guy," says Barber, who cooked a $500-a-plate meal for incoming Obama aides and other guests at a small charity fundraiser the night before the inauguration. "Increasingly raise awareness, but don't do it through chefs like me. ... My advice would be more of a symbolic nature, and to not underestimate what can be done through the White House."

Barber said good food needs more publicity, and he hopes Obama and his wife will advertise what they are eating and what they are feeding their children, 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha.

Many high-end chefs like Barber believe that most food in the United States is over-processed, over-subsidized and grown with no regard to the environment, making it harder for small farms to make a profit selling more natural, nutritious food.

Barber cooks with food grown at his farm, the Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, N.Y. At the pre-inauguration fundraiser, organized along with several other dinners by food guru Alice Waters, passed hors d'oeuvres included carrots, lettuce and cauliflower — untarnished and raw, delicious in their natural form. Sweet beets had been recently chiseled from Stone Barns' frozen ground, and hog snouts left over from slaughter were used as a garnish on a plate of Maine sea scallops.

Most of the chefs say they realize food policy and government support for larger corporate farms won't change any time soon. Congress, with Obama's support, overwhelmingly enacted a $290 billion farm bill last year that directs many subsidies to the largest agricultural players.
But Obama has already given chefs like Barber a small reason to hope. At his confirmation hearing, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made an overture to the growing number of food groups and experts who have criticized government subsidies for large corporate farms, saying he will seek to work "with those who seek programs and practices that lead to more nutritious food produced in a sustainable way."

"There's a lot of work that can be done in this area," Vilsack said after he was sworn in.

Other chefs in town for the inauguration and Waters' dinners had many suggestions to improve food policy. Daniel Boulud, the veteran New York chef of the restaurant Daniel who has cooked for at least five former presidents, said he thinks the Department of Agriculture should form an agency that exclusively oversees small farms. Lidia Bastianich, a New York-based Italian chef who has starred in several cooking shows on public television, says the government needs to encourage regulations and incentives to small farmers to give them the opportunity to compete against the "big giants."

Chef Tom Colicchio, the lead judge on the popular cable television series "Top Chef," agrees. He says foods that are genetically engineered should be labeled as such and fewer subsidies should go to corporate farms.

But despite loftier goals, Bayless, the Chicago chef, says the Obamas could make a world of difference if they just publish what they are eating every day.

"Everyone's going to want to be like the Obamas," he said.

Politics and food - my favorite topics... Anything that gets rid of processed foods is OK in my book... Real food...

worked_out · February 6th, 2009, 08:09 PM

One easy way would be to raise the price of the crappy foods, and lower the price of the foods that are truly good for us!

Doc Bunkum · February 7th, 2009, 04:22 AM

People would still buy the crappy food no matter the price.

Eaten at McDonalds or Wendys lately? I'd say that stuff certainly wasn't cheap - not that I eat there.

As a matter of interest, a number of studies have shown that a menu of "healthy" food (stuff good for us) isn't more expensive than fast food.

Only rub is, you have to take the time to prepare it. Thus the attraction to fast food.

San · February 7th, 2009, 06:38 AM

Hmmm....a crappy microwave meal with processed ingredients and too much fat etc. costs me around $ 1.50 in the supermarket. Fresh chicken breast is around $ 3.00 a piece, plus some salad and maybe a potato or something, comes to around $ 4.00 altogether. Per day....averages $ 45.00 for crappy food a month compared to roughly $120.00 for the healthier options. Healthy food cheap? Don't think so.

Personally I have gone back to crap food and simply don't eat much at all anymore, because I can't afford the healthier alternatives. So yeah....make healthy food cheap, and people will eat it, at least more than right now.

PaperAirPlanes · February 7th, 2009, 06:47 AM

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Originally Posted by San

Hmmm....a crappy microwave meal with processed ingredients and too much fat etc. costs me around $ 1.50 in the supermarket. Fresh chicken breast is around $ 3.00 a piece, plus some salad and maybe a potato or something, comes to around $ 4.00 altogether. Per day....averages $ 45.00 for crappy food a month compared to roughly $120.00 for the healthier options. Healthy food cheap? Don't think so.

Personally I have gone back to crap food and simply don't eat much at all anymore, because I can't afford the healthier alternatives. So yeah....make healthy food cheap, and people will eat it, at least more than right now.

Woah, 1.50$?! Around here, those microwave meals around 3 to 4$! Where as a bag of chicken breasts cost like, 6$ and will last a few days.

I guess it all depends on where ya live, but I do agree, healthy food should be made cheaper!

San · February 7th, 2009, 06:51 AM

Unfortunately it's the other way around here. All the fresh stuff is really expensive, especially meat. Chicken breast is one of the most expensive.

And you can always get offers on microwave meals and ready meals, like 3 for 2, or buy one get one free or something to that degree, while there are very rarely any real offers in the meat or fruit/veg department.

As you said, probably a question of where you live. But it would be nice for everybody if healthy stuff was cheaper. Maybe the UK will wise up eventually...seems they're always a little slower with things like that. But they have just started a big 'food awareness' campaign and all of that, so maybe they'll eventually realise that if you want people to eat healthy, you need to make healthy food available at affordable prices!!

PaperAirPlanes · February 7th, 2009, 07:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by San

Unfortunately it's the other way around here. All the fresh stuff is really expensive, especially meat. Chicken breast is one of the most expensive.

And you can always get offers on microwave meals and ready meals, like 3 for 2, or buy one get one free or something to that degree, while there are very rarely any real offers in the meat or fruit/veg department.

As you said, probably a question of where you live. But it would be nice for everybody if healthy stuff was cheaper. Maybe the UK will wise up eventually...seems they're always a little slower with things like that. But they have just started a big 'food awareness' campaign and all of that, so maybe they'll eventually realise that if you want people to eat healthy, you need to make healthy food available at affordable prices!!

Oooh, hmm, you really do live in a place that's slacking! If I go to the local grocery store I can get blueberries [2 backages for 5$] or strawberries [2 packages for 4$], I always scan the newspaper for the fruits and veggie deals! My Dad planted an orchard in our yard, so in the summer we get millions of peaches and sour cherries, tons of blueberries, a few strawberries and such. So that sure helps with the fruit deal. I'm a huge edvocate [sp?] for growing your own foods if ya can.

Judyb · February 8th, 2009, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doc Bunkum

People would still buy the crappy food no matter the price.

Eaten at McDonalds or Wendys lately? I'd say that stuff certainly wasn't cheap - not that I eat there.

As a matter of interest, a number of studies have shown that a menu of "healthy" food (stuff good for us) isn't more expensive than fast food.

Only rub is, you have to take the time to prepare it. Thus the attraction to fast food.

Are you kidding me? With dollar menus a person can eat well over their daily allotment of calories per day for under $5 at McDonalds...and it tastes good! Plus there is no prep time and no clean up.

I haven't eaten any fast food in well over a year...but that doesn't mean it doesn't taste good or that it's not inexpensive.

It's very cheap to eat high fat fast food.

San · February 9th, 2009, 12:08 AM

And it's not only McDonalds. All the fastfood restaurants have stuff like that. Plus, over here we have Indian and other restaurants which have a $ 5.00 'all you can eat' buffets, and all the stuff they serve is high calorie, yet extremely tasty. I can't get that from any of the places that serve 'healthy food' (or so they claim).

Don't get me wrong, I prefer the healthy option and stay away from McDonalds and Co. now, but everything I eat at the moment is processed and ready to eat for the simple reason that it's cheaper.

Whoever came up with those so called studies that prove that healthy eating isn't more expensive than crappy eating either did their study in the wrong area, or they were growing their own veggies or something. With a garden the size of a spittoon, like mine, that's not feasible. Besides, I wouldn't eat anything that grows in the earth around here.

LowFatMilk · February 10th, 2009, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by San

And it's not only McDonalds. All the fastfood restaurants have stuff like that. Plus, over here we have Indian and other restaurants which have a $ 5.00 'all you can eat' buffets, and all the stuff they serve is high calorie, yet extremely tasty. I can't get that from any of the places that serve 'healthy food' (or so they claim).

Don't get me wrong, I prefer the healthy option and stay away from McDonalds and Co. now, but everything I eat at the moment is processed and ready to eat for the simple reason that it's cheaper.

Whoever came up with those so called studies that prove that healthy eating isn't more expensive than crappy eating either did their study in the wrong area, or they were growing their own veggies or something. With a garden the size of a spittoon, like mine, that's not feasible. Besides, I wouldn't eat anything that grows in the earth around here.

For us vegetables are very cheap in the summer. You can get a big bag of peppers for a buck or two, same with cucumbers, tomatoes, watermelon anything. You can't go down a country road without finding a cheap stand. You can even get cherries for a buck or two a pound right out of the stores here.

In the winter though, we're not as fortunate. Cherries cost around $8/lb in the winter here, and much of everything has followed suit. The only thing we can get cheaper in the winter is oranges/ clementines- which we do eat a lot of when the time comes.

squeak · February 10th, 2009, 12:45 PM

I have to agree that the cost of chicken breasts has grown ridiculous. I've been saving money by buying bone-in breasts rather than boneless (it's about half the cost for just as much, if not more, meat). You can also save money buying bags of frozen chicken breasts, but when you do that you're buying way more than 3 at a time.

I'm very interested in the concept of cooking/eating stuff that you know where it comes from, I am just too lazy to go down to the farmer's market instead of the supermarket. Maybe I will make a trip sometime soon and compare the prices. It seems like the big chain store would have a price edge but you never know.

T2 Trucker · February 20th, 2009, 07:19 AM

This kind of reminds me of the commercial of the county fair where cauliflower is being put in popcorn tubs and salad eating contest replacing the traditional fruit pie variation (Hidden Valley Ranch, maybe?).

Conceptually laughable, tho chemically correct until you realize the popcorn butter pump is replaced with ranch dressing in sinful amounts. It's quite a wholesome hook, is it not - until you visually digest what's going on within the ad. Trying to get your kids to eat veggies and our hi-fat product will make your kids love and explore 'healthy foods' all over again. Any real value in this? Not if portion control is taught right along with it.

I don't even own a bottle of ranch dressing here. Not that I don't like it, you understand, I'm a heavy salad eater and ranch dressing would diminish my bottom line. I could only use this product in the interim, at best, but due to it's strong flavor, I have to avoid it all together.

Not sure I understand the cost increase in eating better. I have, in the past, done cost breakdowns on here and ultimately the savings is there. If nothing else, your volume reduction should be producing less spending. If not, you're really reaching for a menu that is fairly exotic which is probably not feasible for the average working mom due to the high preparations and time constraints. I can maintain a 1500-1800 cal a day menu on 7.00 a day quite easily. Hell, that's less than one trip to Mickey D's or double what I'd spend on Pizza Hut delivery.

Meh, taste good?? I dunno about that. I believe absence from fast food changes one's sensory perception over time. After two+ years of dodging fast food, I caved in with a sitdown sack of Wendy's Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers and a Biggie Fry (hold the mayo) and wow did it taste like shit to me. Hard to believe because that was my true blue waist stretching favorite. I chucked the second burger and half the fries. It wasn't for the guilt either, it just tasted like I licked a lard bucket.

So now Obama is going to be our Poster Child of Good Health, er, ok, I guess. The man can get up and down the hard court and throw down the basketball pretty much with ease (consult youtube) but when xprez Bush was jogging 6 miles a day (until he had a blow out) no one paid attention to better living through presidential example. Fucking elitist.

If you're still needing that night out at a 'chain', Go to the Olive Garden, order the Lasagna (it's about the same size of a credit card) with a vinaigrette, throw the breadsticks under the table, quaff your thirst with an unsweetened iced tea, pay the 15 bux and smile on the way out to your car. The OG got that portion control down to a science

for those that can't help themselves.

Shep03 · February 20th, 2009, 01:13 PM

I agree with fact that having fast food after it has been absent from your diet for so long that it does not taste good at all. One day my co-workers were all going to Wendy's for lunch so I decided to join, after not being to a fast food restaurant for over 3 years. I got a kids meal, which consisted of chicken nuggets and fries, which tasted horrible, leaving me wishing I had grilled chicken, like normal. That was over a year ago and I've never been back.

Healthy food is expensive, but I find by going to farmers markets I can get a good deal. Since it is winter, there aren't any farmers markets, but I look for sales in the ads on the paper. Also I get blueberries and strawberries from Sam's Club for a good price and eat those with yogurt and granola.

Top chefs push Obama to improve food policy

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Top chefs push Obama to improve food policy