3-02-09, 1:48 pm
About 300 chefs and other food professionals have signed a letter to the Obamas praising their commitment to healthy, sustainable food, a press statement by the Chefs Collaborative, a non-profit culinary organization, announced last week.
The letter, which will be sent to the White House on Earth Day, April 22nd, encourages the Obamas to continue their dedication to sustainable food issues and to use the White House kitchen as an example for the rest of the nation.
Bruce Sherman, chef-owner of North Pond Restaurant in Chicago and chair of Chefs Collaborative's board, said, 'The purpose of the letter is to applaud what the Obamas have begun to do, encourage them to keep going, and offer our help, expertise, and full support. We have written this letter not as critics from the sideline, but as active teammates on the field.'
The letter asks the White House to continue to help Americans think about 'our food choices and the long-term health of the nation.' White House events provide 'an opportunity to serve food that celebrates our rich cultural heritage, our diverse culinary traditions and the historic agricultural backbone of our nation.'
The Chefs Collaborative hopes to stimulate discussions about balancing successful restaurant businesses with people's health needs, a clean environment and food that is grown in a sustainable and responsible manner.
Key goals of the group include producing 'good food' that starts with 'unpolluted air, land and water, environmentally sustainable farming and fishing and humane animal husbandry.' In addition, food that is locally grown and consumed with a minimal amount of processing is healthier. It also encourages the growth of local marketplaces and localized transportation, reducing fossil-fuel consumption that harms the environment.
The letter also notes that chefs and food professionals can also promote 'cultural and biological diversity [that] are essential for the health of the earth and its inhabitants. Preserving and revitalizing sustainable food, fishing, and agricultural traditions strengthen that diversity.'
Melissa Kogut, executive director of Chefs Collaborative, stated, 'We have watched with pride in the weeks since the Inauguration as the Obamas have begun to publicize their interest in sustainable food issues. And we are thrilled by the response we've had among the nation's chefs to our letter of support.' Food professionals interested in signing the letter can do so at .
While the letter described the importance of promoting healthy food choice as part of revitalizing local economies and communities, it did not directly address how the economic crisis has impacted the food needs of more and more families. According to Feeding America, food banks across the country are reporting a 30 percent increase in the number of people seeking aid.
More resources need to be shifted to food aid to prevent malnutrition and other harms caused by shortages. Vicki Escarra, president and chief executive officer of Feeding America, said “Our food banks are seeing unprecedented numbers of people coming to food pantries across the country, and their shelves are becoming emptier by the day.'
'We cannot continue to feed millions of additional men, women and children who are turning to us, often for the first time, without more support from the federal government. Americans are going hungry, and we are in a crisis,” she added.
A systematic commitment to a national policy on sustainable food as outlined by groups like Chefs Collaborative and others like the Cool Foods Campaign can help feed the hungry, protect the environment, stimulate local economic growth and may also help ease a current crisis in family farms.
According to a recent survey of agricultural professionals conducted for Texas A&M University, the number of farmers who are experiencing or expect to experience financial distress within the next few years has sharply risen.
