Family and friends celebrating Kevin's grandmother's 94th birthday My husband, Kevin, recently read an essay arguing that sourcing food locally adds nothing to the food experience. The author argued that it's the company and conversation that makes a satisfying meal. It doesn't matter where the food is grown.
I would argue that cultivating a connection to food, when coupled with the company and conversation, does more than enhance the experience. It completes the experience.
Traditional food regions -- Italian, Greek, Indian, Middle Eastern, Asian -- are steeped in history. Their foods are as much a part of their culture as their language, clothing or architecture.
It is only here in transient America that we think the food itself doesn't play a role. The melting pot is empty -- devoid of unifying meals. The few traditional foods we have -- Thanksgiving turkey, apple pie, hotdogs -- are more often than not shaped by marketing and mass entertainment. How many of us raise or hunt turkeys, grow apples or even know what's in a hot dog?
Sourcing food within a defined area, like a 500-mile radius, forces us to think about what we're putting in our mouths: Where it was grown, who grew it, and how. It helps us re-evaluate our relationship with food, redefining it as more than just something to fill us up.
When we're connected to our food, it becomes so much more: It becomes sustenance.
I would argue that cultivating a connection to food, when coupled with the company and conversation, does more than enhance the experience. It completes the experience.
Traditional food regions -- Italian, Greek, Indian, Middle Eastern, Asian -- are steeped in history. Their foods are as much a part of their culture as their language, clothing or architecture.
It is only here in transient America that we think the food itself doesn't play a role. The melting pot is empty -- devoid of unifying meals. The few traditional foods we have -- Thanksgiving turkey, apple pie, hotdogs -- are more often than not shaped by marketing and mass entertainment. How many of us raise or hunt turkeys, grow apples or even know what's in a hot dog?
Sourcing food within a defined area, like a 500-mile radius, forces us to think about what we're putting in our mouths: Where it was grown, who grew it, and how. It helps us re-evaluate our relationship with food, redefining it as more than just something to fill us up.
When we're connected to our food, it becomes so much more: It becomes sustenance.
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