Hi All,

I am just returning from a 4 day weekend in Denver, CO, where myself and other members of the Slow Food Community from the USA and around the world, convened for Slow Food Nations, which was a weekend of farm tours, panel discussions, delicious meals, cooking demos, cooking classes and food tastings, all presented by others who care about the Slow Food mission. Denver has a strong food culture of local producers, raising food in ways that support human health and the environment, including many community gardens and school gardens throughout the city. On Thursday, I joined a group of Slow Food members from around the country, to visit Denver school gardens. We only had time to visit three gardens, but it gave us a real taste for what it takes to get a garden going, and how important it is to integrate school curriculum into the work of the garden. I was inspired to help Slow Food North Shore build up it’s school garden program and assist more local school districts in starting more gardens! If you are interested in helping to build our school garden program, please email us!

My favorite experience over the weekend was the opportunity to listen to Ricardo Salvador,  the senior scientist and director of the Food and Environment Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, and the opening keynote speaker for the event. He is truly brilliant! He addressed the connections between food and health, environment, economic development, sovereignty, and social justice, and clearly explained how throughout history, our food system has been built on the backs of slavery and inequality, and until we come to terms with that, we are not going to fix our current food system. His talk and powerpoint presentation was amazing, and if it gets shared on line, I will be sure to share it with all of you. 

My one complaint, which I always voice openly, is that with all the talk of the connection between food, sustainability and the environment, I do not believe that Slow Food is doing enough to promote eating a more plant based diet for one’s health and the environment. I appreciate that individuals have a choice in what they choose to eat, and educating the public in making better choices is key to the Slow Food movement, but eating less meat is just as important a message to share as
eating meat that was raised in a more sustainable manner. We need to inspire people to eat less meat, and one way we can do that is by offering more samples of delicious vegetarian food, and much less in the sampling of pork, chicken, beef, fish and dairy. Every food event of the weekend was heavy in meat, and light in vegetables, and I know we could do a much better job in that arena. We need to walk the walk, and not just talk the walk. I will keep pushing and working with Slow Food USA, because I believe in the organization and their mission. It is the only organization I know of that brings together farmers, producers, ranchers, fisherman, and food lovers, to discuss and promote a food system that is honest, transparent, environmentally sound, and affordable for all. I know I am leaving the weekend with a renewed inspiration to change the world through food that is good, clean and fair for all.

Please join me on Thursday, as I invite Chef Rene Rodriguez to join me on the Progressive Radio Network. I met Chef Rene this past Spring, when I took a vegetarian cooking class at his beautiful restaurant, Tawa, in the Sacred Valley of Peru.  Rene Rodriquez is the owner and chef of Tawa Restaurant, which he opened this year after working in some of the finest resorts and restaurants in Peru. Tawa is a small, family operated, intimate restaurant, specializing in local, Peruvian cuisine, using organic ingredients with many vegetarian and gluten free options. Chef Rene is also a sommelier and pairs his food with some of the finest wines from Chile, Argentina, Peru and Spain.

Remember, my show is recorded live, every Thursday, from 10-11 am, EST.  To tune in, navigate to PRN.fm and click the “Listen Live” button on the left. Also try downloading the PRN mobile app, and take the station with you wherever you go! If you want to call in during the show with any questions for me or my guest, the call in number is 888-874-4888.

If you can’t tune in at that time, you can listen to the show in the PRN archives, or through a direct phone line to my archives. Just dial 1-701-719-0880, and you can listen to the past 5 weeks of shows! Of course you can also access the shows through my website, or through iTunes. Please “like” iEat Green’s Facebook page and feel free to rate the show and leave comments on iTunes and on my website. Thank you all for your support.

With love and gratitude,

Bhavani