Jamie Oliver is a world-renowned chef and celebrity from Essex, England that has truly begun to change the way the world looks at food. When I listened to Jamie Oliver’s TED prize speech, I was truly inspired. In the span of 20 minutes, he cemented principles and beliefs in my mind that I had been processing for years. As someone who has seen the power of food in all its glory to bring joy, health, comfort, pleasure, and inspiration, I’ve also seen food as a powerful catalyst for depression, disease, discontent, and a jaded sense of reality. All my life I’ve been someone who, more than anything else loves food and everything involving my taste buds.
Jamie has already changed the landscape of food in England. He has been working tirelessly over the better part of the last decade to bring this change to the rest of the world. “A revolution has to happen,” he says, “in order for us to change the culture that we’ve created for our children and the situation into which we’ve placed them.” The facts of said situation are:
• This generation of children will have an average lifespan of 10 years less than that of their parents.
• Ten percent of what we spend on healthcare yearly is due to obesity.
These facts coupled with the knowledge that American food culture is founded on consumerism and pleasure/enjoyment, and not a deep-seated belief in “the greater good” health of the American people, is downright frightening. John and Jane Q. Public should be sufficiently alarmed to realize they need to know as much as they can about every piece of food that goes into their mouths. Unfortunately, given the current economy, most people are eating to live, and only eating what they can afford.
The economy aside, the simple truth is that the shortcoming lies not entirely with the choice-maker. The downfall comes with the choices that are so unabashedly vomited into our faces. That we feed our children and ourselves a diet of fast food and sugary drinks is a travesty. We raise them on pizza and McDonalds, with a serious lack of viable nutrition that is nowhere near the recommended minimums. Granted, there are exceptions to this rule, but it is a HUGE problem.
Jamie believes the solution to this problem is a 3-legged stool: 1. Home, 2. Main Street, and 3. School, with each leg as important as the last. There has to be coinciding reform from the food industry, not only in what they sell, but how they label and advertise their food. There also have to be changes in both what we choose to serve in school and how we choose to prepare it. Lastly, we need to educate our children, and ourselves for that matter, how to provide great, fresh, nutritious food at home. Good food can not only be convenient, it can also taste DELICIOUS!!
Jamie has taken our country by storm in the last 2 years. He began his “Food Revolution” in Huntington, WV, which at that time was the least healthy city in the unhealthiest state in the most obese country in the world. (Evansville just so happens to hold this claim to fame now.) When he began, elementary school students there couldn’t even tell the difference between a tomato, an onion, and a potato. The schools were serving pizza for breakfast, categorized french fries as a vegetable, and served flavored milk without batting an eye at the amount of added sugar. He met resistance on many fronts, even publicly.
Jamie and his insatiable drive to bring people healthy food persevered in Huntington. He was able to change the habits of several families. He also succeeded in changing the culture by educating the people and giving them perspective on the current food climate in their area. He’s taught many how to cook, how to shop, and how to plan, in order to have a healthier, more sustainable food lifestyle.
In his second season, he took on a much bigger challenge. He chose to move his entire family to Los Angeles and serve as a food coach there just as he had in Huntington. Through his efforts he brought about a high level of change in one of the biggest cities in our country. One of the most outstanding accomplishments to note is the decision by the LAUSD to eliminate all flavored (sugary) milk from being served in public schools. As a note of comparison to the unknowing, a carton of flavored milk has nearly the same amount of sugar content as a can of soda.
While coaching and leading the “Revolution” from the field this year, Jamie and his team have launched an enormous mass media campaign, partnering with multiple organizations and agencies to bring awareness to America as a whole. Multiple community kitchens have been started with the intent of offering low-cost cooking classes. A “Food Revolution” truck has been mobilized for the same purpose. Towns and cities across the country are coming together to form “Food Revolution” Community groups. Community pages on Facebook and Twitter keep “Revolution” fans updated on everything going on in the movement. Petitions have even been submitted to the USDA on behalf of the nation’s children to change the way legislation and tax dollars affect what kids are given to eat for the 180 days each year they are in school.
I hope to see changes like these made in the Tri-State region. There is an amazing foundation of people that support this movement. Moreover, the people that are already supportive of local, fresh, non-processed food are very well connected and adept at networking here in Evansville. From chefs, to business owners, physical trainers, farmers, growers, artisans, and knowledgeable consumers that fill in the gaps, Evansville is ripe for the picking. What can you do to change the way you think about food? If you’ve already changed your lifestyle, what could you do to help your brother or sister, friend or neighbor? Maybe we could create a “Revolution” of our own. I’m sure Jamie Oliver would be proud!
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Photo Credit Chris Terry
