She also (I learned on Wikipedia) pioneered a program where a grade school in Berkely grows a lot of its own food.

Rather more she's in complete disagreement with how the rest of the country lives.

Paycheck to paycheck, in a place where the kitchen is a closet, the garden could be shoehorned into two square feet of window sill, you have other things to do with your life than spend it on the zen of cooking, and you can either buy three day's worth of pure, wholesome, morally correct food or two week's worth of something that will keep people alive and hopefully somewhat satisfied.

Sorry, religious zealots of all stripes tend to irk me.

What, um, a lot of people ^^^^^ said. And (not having seen this particular interview) Waters does often come off as more than a little unrealistic -- maddeningly so, even. But if it weren't for what she's done over the years, we wouldn't be in the position we're in as a culture to finally start taking back some damned sense in our food culture.

Check out Bittman's Food Matters if Waters drives you crazy or Pollan is too preachy for you. It's thoroughly sensibly grounded, and all about how eating consciously is better for both health and the planet.

(And I'll even refrain from CSA fangirling or my-garden-likes-carrots. At least until it grows the carrots. Then we'll see whether it likes them or not.)

Nods with Connie.

or two week's worth of something that will keep people alive

Alive, maybe. But not necessarily healthy by any measure.

I am not saying everyone should eat the way Alice Waters says, but it's not the worst idea. And saying "it's not the way the world is" is like saying that "violence is part of cities, especially inner cities." It's true. But it doesn't, to me, mean we should not strive for something more healthy and sustainable.

If Waters, Pollan, ellie krieger, the Moosewood collective, or Bittman can make it easier to pick a morehealthy meal at the grocery store, I'll live with the zealotry. But that may be because I live with two chronic conditions that might be better if the planet was less toxic.

P-Patches are a great thing, as are CSAs and some Farmer's Markets. If I were not on my phone, I would probably go into a paragraph or two about factory farms as tools of The Man.

Don't shoot the messenger, is what I am saying.

What she seemed clueless about was the amount of time the average person can devote to cooking.

Yeah, but that's kind of the point. We don't have time because we don't make it a priority. Because we keep sacrificing everything for expedience, we wind up with nothing but a fast pace. And stress. And bad food.

The whole culture is out of whack is what she's saying.

I don't think she has a realistic view - ever. But she did create a successful business based on her philosophy. And she has helped a number of local business, over all. ( local farmers) And lots of people in this area have changed how they think about food.

If I listed all of the local culinary institutions that go directly back to Alice Waters' Chez Panisse it would be a very very long list indeed. There are probably three or four major bakeries that all feature people who started there. Innumerable organic growers. Fish mongers, sustainable farmers, chefs (of course), pastry chefs, cheese makers, etc.

And it's really the French ethos. Locally grown food, in season, simply but properly made. Even the local bartenders are pulling directly off that tradition.

She's clueless like the guy who suggested washing your hands before surgery and was dismissed as a quack.

P-Patches

This is Seattlese for community garden, yes? Never seen the term before, but I love that y'all have your very own.

Yep, Seattlese. And a lot of the people with them are using them for a large portion of their foodstuffs.