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07 April 2009
Eat Local, Stay Healthy, Says Pioneer of “Local Food” Movement
Adults, children benefit from meeting farmers, growing food
Washington — You really are what you eat, says a pioneer in the sustainable food movement, who advocates purchasing and eating smaller quantities of food that promote a healthy lifestyle.
“Who needs a potato chip bag the size of a pillowcase?” asks Nora Pouillon, owner of Restaurant Nora in Washington, the first certified organic restaurant in the United States. “People are beginning to pay attention to how they spend their dollars — and they are seeing the health benefits of focusing more on quality and less on quantity.”
Pouillon, 65, was born in Austria and moved to the United States in the 1960s. She said it was difficult in the 1960s to find locally grown produce to serve her family and her restaurant customers. So she began visiting farmers in the region. “I rented buses and organized trips to visit farms so I could introduce chefs to the farmers,” Pouillon said. By the early 1990s, this face-to-face introduction of chefs to farmers led local restaurants to purchase their supplies from food cooperatives such as the Tuscarora Organic Growers Cooperative. Food cooperatives — often called co-ops — are food markets owned by those who produce the food.
Locally produced food tastes better, Pouillon said, and she uses only seasonal produce — citrus in winter, berries in summer. Organic produce is grown in soil rich with nutritional value and full of microorganisms, she said. “Soil treated with chemicals for several years tends to dry out and become disease-resistant. You need the microorganisms in soil to retain the nutritional value of food, as well as the taste.”
ORGANIC AND SUSTAINABLE
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), organic fruits and vegetables are produced free of bioengineering or ionizing radiation and without the use of pesticides or fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge. Organic meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones.
Before a product can be labeled “organic” in the United States, a government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown. Companies that handle or process organic food before it gets to local supermarkets or restaurants must also be certified.
Sustainable food is considered to be healthy for people and animals and to be grown in a way that does not harm the environment and that supports local farmers. According to U.S. government standards published in 1990, sustainable agriculture integrates plant and animal production in a way that satisfies human food needs, enhances environmental quality and the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole, and makes efficient use of nonrenewable resources.
GENERATIONAL LESSONS
Children benefit from meetings with farmers and gardeners, Pouillon said. “The best way to get children to eat vegetables is for them to learn and see how they are grown.”
If parents take their children with them to the farmers’ markets and introduce them to the growers, she said, children will develop a connection between the growing process and the food on their plate.
They can also plant their own gardens, she said.
“Food is really important with the health crisis we’re in,” Sam Kass, assistant White House chef, told students invited to the White House in March to help first lady Michelle Obama dig a garden patch on the South Lawn to plant an organic garden. “Food grown closer to home happens to be more delicious and healthier for you.”
Kass also said cooking is a big part of healthy eating, and he plans to invite the students — fifth graders from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington — to cook with him in the White House kitchen once they’ve harvested some of the produce in the garden. The last time a garden was planted on the White House grounds was during World War II when first lady Eleanor Roosevelt planted a victory garden.
“I want to make sure that our family, as well as the staff and all the people who come to the White House and eat our food, get access to really fresh vegetables and fruits,” Mrs. Obama told the students. “I’ve been able to have my kids [Sasha and Malia] eat so many different things that they would have never touched if we had bought it at a store because they either met the farmer or grew the food or they saw how it was grown.”
And once they tried it, Mrs. Obama said, “usually they liked it.”
Additional information about the White House kitchen garden is available on the White House Blog.
