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In We Are What We Eat, Alice Waters urges us to take up the mantle of slow food culture, the philosophy at the core of her life’s work. When Waters first opened Chez Panisse in 1971, she did so with the intention of feeding people good food during a time of political turmoil. Customers responded to the locally sourced organic ingredients, to the dishes made by hand, and to the welcoming hospitality that infused the small space—human qualities that were disappearing from a country increasingly seduced by takeout, frozen dinners, and prepackaged ingredients. Waters came to see that the phenomenon of fast food culture, which prioritized cheapness, availability, and speed, was not only ruining our health, but also dehumanizing the ways we live and relate to one another.
Over years of working with regional farmers, Waters and her partners learned how geography and seasonal fluctuations affect the ingredients on the menu, as well as about the dangers of pesticides, the plight of fieldworkers, and the social, economic, and environmental threats posed by industrial farming and food distribution. So many of the serious problems we face in the world today—from illness, to social unrest, to economic disparity, and environmental degradation—are all, at their core, connected to food. Fortunately, there is an antidote. Waters argues that by eating in a “slow food way,” each of us—like the community around her restaurant—can be empowered to prioritize and nurture a different kind of culture, one that champions values such as biodiversity, seasonality, stewardship, and pleasure in work.
This is a declaration of action against fast food values, and a working theory about what we can do to change the course. As Waters makes clear, every decision we make about what we put in our mouths affects not only our bodies but also the world at large—our families, our communities, and our environment. We have the power to choose what we eat, and we have the potential for individual and global transformation—simply by shifting our relationship to food. All it takes is a taste.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
June 1, 2021 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
- ISBN: 9780525561545
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9780525561545
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9780525561545
- File size: 11372 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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April 15, 2021
The redoubtable Waters (The Art of Simple Food) returns with a paean to the slow food movement, a passionate advocacy for the best flavors that food can provide. Waters lambastes the "fast food" culture ubiquitous in America and increasingly so in the larger world. She finds it seriously wanting in its emphasis on uniformity and cheapness, traits adapted from industrial manufacturing's reliance on mass production and interchangeability. Its most egregious faults come from its emphasis on speed and instant gratification: hurry up and eat and move on to the next event--no savoring, no appreciation of the present moment. And industrial food relies on the subtle yet irresistible psychological manipulations of mass consumer advertising. Waters demands instead perfection of flavors, relying for satisfaction on fruits and vegetables appreciated in nature's rhythms of the passing seasons; foods gently, mindfully raised by farmers dedicated to sustainable agricultural practices. Waters is scarcely the first to advocate for such an approach to food, but her prominence in contemporary American cuisine adds heft to her enthusiasms.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Waters is a food-world legend, and this is an ideal title for discussion groups, sure to provoke passionate thoughts and feelings.COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
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April 26, 2021
Waters (Coming to My Senses), legendary chef and founder of Berkeley’s Chez Panisse, delivers an impassioned manifesto on how food and its quality impacts society and the planet. The back-to-the-land advocate outlines the threat that fast food culture poses on farmers, agriculture, and consumers’ health, and argues that pivoting to local, sustainable food can negate it. If it’s not confronted, she writes, “our well-intentioned work to solve the problems of our world will ultimately fall short.” Waters refers to the source of these problems as “fast food values,” among them that everything should be available all the time, more is better, speed is paramount, and that choices are free of consequences. She offers cogent, well-reasoned analyses of the price of convenience, blind trust in advertising, and cheapness, all of which seduce “us into losing our desire, confidence, and ability to do things for ourselves.” As an alternative, she underscores the virtues of slow food culture, highlighting biodiversity, environmental stewardship, and collective accountability. Along the way, she shares details of her Edible Schoolyard Project—which teaches children critical thinking around food—and shows how others, such as Slow Food International’s Carlo Petrini, are putting in the work. Highly convincing and incredibly inspiring, Water’s fervent entreaty is sure to open eyes and change minds. -
June 1, 2021
In this ode to slow food, chef Waters (Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA) considers fast food and slow food cultures. She examines convenience, availability, cost, and speed in fast food, juxtaposed with biodiversity, seasonality, and simplicity in slow food. She sets out her concept of "fast food values," by which she means demand for uniform, constantly available food, in the U.S. and other countries; she argues that these values deplete the land and spur hyperconsumerism. Waters shares stories from her years as a chef and restaurateur to draw attention to the subject and propose solutions. VERDICT Waters has important ideas about nature, respecting the land, eating seasonally, and appreciating traditional and/or organic agriculture, but readers may find her overall message a bit insensitive, when quality food and green space are luxuries inaccessible to many. Recommended for fans of Waters's works in general, and those interested in food culture narratives and sustainability.--Gricel Dominguez, Florida International Univ. Lib., Miami
Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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