The importance of food and cooking

“Your health, happiness and the future of life on Earth are rarely so much in your hands as when you sit down to eat.”
-John Robbins, Diet for a New America

As part of the do-it-ourselves ethic of Family Lives Worth Living, we make our own meals.  The great majority of our dishes are prepared from scratch, and whenever practical, we like to use organic and/or local ingredients.  While cooking a meal from scratch can seem intimidating at first, it has been our experience that our students surprise themselves with their own versatility and creativity in the kitchen.  There are always other people around to help out and often there are students who are eager to share their cooking knowledge with others.  Cooking provides a wonderful chance to engage as community members and to share skills, knowledge, stories and fun. (See an example of the meal team's rotation schedule for cooking, housekeeping, and cleanup.)

Keeping it CHEAP and simple: Another important consideration is keeping Family Lives Worth Living affordable and accessible to as many students as possible.  For this reason, we need to be very mindful of our food budget.  Whenever we can, we buy simple foods in bulk.  This saves money as well as eliminating unnecessary food packaging and waste.  Making meals from scratch is not only more flavorful, but is far cheaper than buying food that is already prepared.  For instance, if you were to buy a small can of black beans at the supermarket, you would probably pay around $1.00.  But if you bought a large bag of dried black beans in bulk, you would only pay around $1.10 for an entire pound.  Or, instead of buying a pre-made pizza crust, we make our own from scratch—saving packaging, money and ending up with a much more delicious pizza.  For those of us accustomed to eating things that come out of a plastic wrapper, this can be a bit of an adjustment, but in the end you may wonder why you weren’t eating this way all along!

Slow Down! So many times in our lives, we eat convenience foods on the run.  Obviously this is not a particularly healthy practice, but it also eliminates opportunities for spending meaningful time with the people in our lives whom we care about.  When we make time to eat nourishing meals together and to enjoy meals leisurely, eating becomes an invaluable part of community-building.  Eating good food fuels us, both physically and mentally.

Making the connections—Where does food come from?
One of the dominant themes of farm life is the attention to connections.  All living things are interconnected and dependent on one another, and this becomes especially apparent when one’s livelihood is so directly affected by the health of crops and animals, weather, and farm economics.  In the city, it is easy to lose sight of the effort, planning, and hard work that goes into producing grains, produce, and meat.  The journey from seed to supermarket is a long one.  That is why when choosing what to eat, it is important to understand where that food is coming from.  We live in an age where we have a greater access to wider variety of foods than ever before.  But we also experience a greater disconnection from our food than ever before, too.  As time passes, we are learning that it may not always be wise to eat with little attention to how, why, or when food arrived on our plates.

FAQs

So what are some actual examples of the foods that we eat at Folk School?
Some past favorites include:  enchiladas, burritos, shepard’s pie, hummous and pita bread, lasagna, build-your-own taco salad, egg rolls, fried rice, many varieties of stir-fry, homemade bread, omelets, burgers and veggie burgers, Shalom Hill Farm-raised chicken (in many forms), curried dhaal with cauliflower, lotsa pasta, pancakes, wontons, homemade granola, roast beef with roasted vegetables, lots of different soups and stews, falafel, garlic mashed potatoes, and of course cookies, cakes, fruit crisps and pies.  There are always snacks available, too, including popcorn, fruit, granola, chips, nuts, bagels, and hard-boiled eggs.  We have access to eggs laid by chickens just outside the kitchen door— and it’s amazing how much more delicious truly fresh eggs are.

Accommodating everyone and eating “low on the food chain”
(i.e. Why don’t we eat more meat?) At every meal, we provide a vegetarian option as well as a vegan option, if desired.  It is quite possible that a majority of meals at Family Lives Worth Living will be entirely vegetarian.  There are a number of reasons for this.

First and foremost, we are able reap the economic, health, and environmental benefits of eating less meat.  It takes a huge amount of water, grain and fossil fuels to produce meat, and modern meat production takes a tremendous toll on the environment. Eating less meat—and eating less wastefully and with less negative environmental impact—gives us a chance to look at how our modern agricultural systems work, and what effect they have on our diet and on local agrarian communities, such as the one we live in during Camp.  And did we mention it’s cheaper and makes tuition more affordable? :-) 

Don’t worry:  we eat a protein-rich, filling, and satisfying diet.
If you find yourself needing more meat than what we provide (though you may not even notice it’s missing, as there truly is an abundance of good eatin’ here at the farm) there are additional sources available in town and at the farm – especially the chickens at Shalom Hill Farm and the "Holy Cows" beef from Lubben’s family farm.  

What does the word “organic” really mean? (From Wikipedia)
Organic food is, in general, food produced without the use of artificial pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and in many definitions genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Farms that grow organically, do so in a sustainable, environmentally sound, manner, and more often than not, are small family-run farms.  These qualities of organic farming, among others, are in stark contrast to the more common industrial farm. 
          
Thus, the term organic has become associated with certified organic foods, which are produced and labeled according to strictly regulated standards. In many countries, including the United States, Japan and in the European Union, certification is a matter of legislation, and commercial use of the word organic, outside of the certification framework, is illegal. The specifics of legal certification are subject to debate, with corporate interests on one side, and consumers and family farms on the other.

Why is it important to use local foods when possible?
Ten Reasons to Buy Local: (adapted from “Edible Twin Cities”)

1.  Locally grown or produced food tastes better.  It is fresher when it gets to you and has not been on a truck or a plane for hundreds or thousands of miles.
2.  Local produce is far better for you.  Purchased soon after harvest, it retains its nutrients.
3.  Local food supports local farm families and smaller farms.
4.  Local food builds community.  Connection between consumer and grower builds trust and relationships.
5.  Local food supports a clean environment and benefits wildlife.  When food is bought locally, far less petroleum is used.
6.  Local food tends to be GMO-free.  (Not biogenetically engineered)  Local produce is still grown the way nature intended it to be.
7.  Local food preserves genetic diversity.  Crops that are more unusual, but often more flavorful and nutritious are preserved for future generations to enjoy.
8.  Local food preserves open spaces.
9.  Local food keeps your taxes in check.
10.  Local food is about the future.  By supporting local farmers today, you can help ensure that there will be farms in your community tomorrow.

What does it mean to be a vegetarian? It depends on the person.  Many people who define themselves as vegetarians do not eat any meat at all, but some people who describe themselves as vegetarian still eat fish or poultry.  Strict vegetarians abstain from foods containing any animal products or byproducts, such as meat broth, flavorings derived from animal products (i.e. fish sauce, etc.) or gelatin (which consists of bones and animal hides).  But it all depends on the individual.

What is veganism? A vegan is someone who eats a diet devoid of any animal products whatsoever, including dairy and eggs.  Many vegans also do not eat honey or foods with dairy-derived ingredients.  (An example of this is “whey”- an ingredient commonly found in snack foods, breads, etc.)  Often, vegans do not wear or use leather.

Geez, who knew that what I eat has such an impact on everything???
We all eat everyday, several times a day.  Most people are happily oblivious of where their food came from and how it reached them and care little about who prepared it.  In Family Lives Worth LIving, we examine our personal choices, including our diets, and their impact on family life. Family Lives Worth Living allows us to experiment with how the meals we eat affect family living and reflect on how families' food choices influence larger systems involved in food production and consumption.

There is power in food—social, economic, political, global, and environmental!         

A few additional resources:

Web
http://www.localharvest.org
http://www.OrganicConsumers.org
http://www.thegreenguide.org/article/food
http://twincities.citysearch.com/roundup/37190/twincities/twin_cities_farmers_markets.html
http://www2.mda.state.mn.us/webapp/mngrown/mngrown_default.jsp
http://www.slowfoodusa.org
http://www.edibletwincities.net
http://www.EWG.org

Print
John Robbins,  Diet for a New America
Wendell Berry, The Unsettling of America:  Culture and Agriculture
Eric Schlosser,  Fast Food Nation
Michael Pollan,  The Omnivore’s Dilemma
Andrew Kimbrell (editor),  Fatal Harvest:  The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture