The Quest to Revive Healthy Eating

“In 2000, my husband and I took a motorcycle trip across country,” Sherri related to Organic Connections. “We were living in New York and I was very excited to get out into the country where the farmers lived, and I expected to eat very well. I was really shocked when we arrived in the middle of the country and found how little fresh food there was available. We saw a lot of small farms just melting into the landscape, and the land that was being farmed didn’t seem to have any humans tending it or any real connection with my vision of farming.”

Upon her return to New York, Sherri set out to discover what was happening to all those disappearing family farms and what was occurring in the small towns that she and her husband rode through, expecting to at least find some gasoline and a bite to eat but instead finding they were just ghost towns. Industrial agriculture had moved into farming communities and taken over and consolidated family farms, turning them into agricultural factories.

As she learned, the situation runs quite deep. While the USDA is now providing $50 million in new funding for organic food producers, the US corn subsidy (for chemically fertilized, sprayed and genetically modified corn) for 2010 will be nearly $2 billion. According to the Organic Trade Association, organic food sales account for only about 3.5 percent of all US food sales. Genetic modification is now occurring with major crops such as corn and soy—with little or no testing as to human health risk.

Sherri also found a tiny upside, however: there was a real-food movement going on under the radar. She instantly became a part of it. “I found this movement I could tap into, and realized I could support the family-owned farms that were still in business and could eat really well in the process.”

She started going to farmers’ markets. After learning what a CSA was (Community Supported Agriculture—a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer), she became involved with one. She discovered Slow Food and became the governor of Slow Food organizations in New York and New Jersey. She also began enjoying cooking and eating on a whole new level.

Telling people about all of her discoveries concerning the industrial food system and the available alternatives eventually turned into a book, The Real Food Revival, co-written with Ann Clark Espuelas. The book goes aisle by aisle through the grocery store and details the truth of where industrial food comes from, and what to look for in obtaining their sustainable counterparts.

Sherri has just finished her second title, called Put ’Em Up, which she describes as “a cookbook for home food preservation.” The book instructs people on how to extend their harvests for a few days, a few weeks or even up to a year so that they can eat abundantly all year round. It is due for release in the harvest season 2010, coincidentally the tenth anniversary of her fateful motorcycle trip. She is looking forward to touring around the country with the book and seeing and tasting the difference between then and now.

In addition to her publications, Sherri also lectures and offers workshops, spreading the word wherever she can. “I’ve dedicated my life to talking to people about supporting local agriculture and how vitally important that is, and also how delicious it is when you do.”

Despite the enormous job remaining to be done, Sherri feels very good about the strides made in the last several years. “I’m really excited about how far we’ve come and the direction we’re heading,” she said. “So many eaters have become aware of what’s going on in the food scene and have really taken it upon themselves to make a difference with their food choices. There’s just a whole new level of consciousness about the ripple effect that you create every time you buy food that you’re going to eat, and the far-reaching implications of those choices. I think we have a bright and delicious future.”

How does she see the best way to educate people on the real-food difference? “I think through the taste buds,” she replied. “I like to say that you can come to the real-food movement whether you are an environmentalist or an anarchist or a hedonist, because there’s something in it for everybody. We like our immediate gratification and this is the one environmental movement where you get immediate results. The minute that you buy food locally, you have this great impact. You can provide a very tasty meal for you and your family, and you don’t need a corporate sponsor to make that happen; you just need to go visit your local farm.”

In bringing about a change for the average consumer, she advises a “shades of gray” approach, having a person change over as they can. She wouldn’t send someone home to clear out their entire kitchen. She recommends starting slow, perhaps with a few staples that the family eats a lot of, or picking one or two fruits or vegetables that they really like, finding out when those are in season and then celebrating when they come into the market.

“For example, when the strawberries are ripe and ready at the beginning of summer, go to the farmers’ market and load up on them. Then really taste the difference—between a strawberry that’s been allowed to ripen on the vine and one that has been forced to grow and then shipped six days across the country to get to you. I think that the person’s taste buds will lead them in the right direction.”

To find out about Sherri Brooks Vinton and her work, visit her website at www.therealfoodrevival.com. Sherri’s book The Real Food Revival is available at Amazon.com, through our own bookstore and many other book outlets.