Food for thought from the Rome Sustainable Food Project

Cutting cucumbers...

At the American Academy in Rome, Executive Chef Mona Talbott is showing that food can be educational, artistic, and sustainable. Over the last five years, Mona has made the Rome Sustainable Food Project (RSFP) a beloved part of the scholarly and artistic mission of the Academy: Mona and others train interns in the kitchen, gardening and food preparation take place where others can watch and join in, and the chefs write books about their work. Throughout, the kitchen team does its best to connect those who eat the food to the network of local organic farmers who produce it.

The benefits of a project like RSFP for the Academy are clear. Suddenly, invitations to meals are coveted. People are excited to spend time with each other over delicious food, and feel well-nourished. The seasonal and largely traditional food connects the people eating it to the land and culture around them. By tying the food to the educational and artistic mission of the institution, Mona helps people see it as more than just a service.

In turn, Mona says, teaching makes her a better cook. She thinks it's important that people preparing food identify with something bigger than just chopping vegetables. Cooking is a way of working towards a mission, of expressing a point of view: For example, the RSFP resists the American idea that "more is more." Instead of producing a food-court-like smorgasbord of different options, Mona's kitchen team "edits" the choices available. The spread is focused, healthy, and artistic, sustaining the scholars of the Academy both physically and mentally.

Mona thinks many other institutions offer opportunities to transform ordinary dining experiences into something special, like she has done with the Rome Sustainable Food Project. I agree.

 Scholars at the Academy can admire the herbs and produce RSFP grows in this garden. 

Alternatives to chemicals and GM seeds

A short piece I wrote about Navdanya's work to promote organic farming in India was just published on the Nourishing the Planet blog. Check it out here.

Some beautiful kohlrabi at the Navdaya farm.

Buying what I need from Delhi's mom-and-pop stores

An Indian mom-and-pop grocery store.

I did my Fulbright research on fruit and vegetable purchasing in Delhi. But I was struck by how very different all food buying patterns are from those in the U.S.

In most Indian cities, almost everyone buys foods from the mom 'n' pop grocery stores embedded in streets--and sometimes homes--throughout the city. These stores range in size from a simple window hung with goods to an entire room complete with a counter and cash register. Instead of strolling through aisles of products and picking up products as you would in a supermarket, you walk up to a counter and make your request. No marketing consultants have been through here: Many items are so hidden in back corners and recesses that the store owner has to clamber up on a chair and search for them in the shelves.

When I go to the supermarket in the US, I'll usually browse the aisles and count on visual triggers to remember what I need ("Oh, yeah--we ARE out of flour"). I frequently end up buying more than I plan, whether it's because I notice that my favorite yogurt is on sale--got to stock up!--or see a new product I want to try. 

In Delhi, I was far more likely to go to the store with a list of items to buy, ask for them, and then leave with exactly what I needed--and nothing more. On occasion I made impulse purchases, such as picking up a pack of gum at the counter, but I wasn't walking past every item in the store and was therefore far less likely to grab extras. 

A small general store in one of Delhi's slums.

Compared to the mom 'n' pop format, exposure to every product in the aisles of the supermarket encourages people to buy and consume more. Therefore, the predicted transition from mom 'n' pop grocery stores to supermarkets in India seems likely to increase consumption. This can’t be good for India’s growing epidemic of obesity.

But where are the nutritionists in the debate over changes in food retail in India? While there have been protests and political debates over how supermarkets will change supply chains and affect employment, no one mentions nutrition. I think that's a problem: We need to collect data on how the shift from mom ‘n’ pop stores to supermarkets will affect food buying patterns, and therefore nutrition. Then we need to use that data to inform food retail policy.