Anything Alice Waters–related usually provokes criticism and cries of elitism, but it seems that her recent 60 Minutes appearance caused even some of her fans to question her grip on reality.
There’s the Chowhound discussion that’s gotten 100 replies in a couple of days, ranging from: “I took Waters’ comment to say whatever discretionary income you have, be it $100 a week or $1 a week, think about where it’s going … Then again, I was eating a Wendy’s-TM junior cheeseburger while watching the segment,” to “What I came away with was a sense that AW is an idealist and a visionary, and as such, can never be an actual model for how we normal, non-idealists and non-visionaries live our lives.” Bonus: an interesting digression comparing Waters to Jesus.
I have to agree with the Eat Me Daily blog, which wondered why she didn’t use her prime-time slot on 60 Minutes to demo an easy affordable sustainable meal for American families instead of “an incredibly time-consuming luxurious breakfast, with heirloom tomatoes (likely $5/lb) and an egg cooked in a long metal spoon that has to be hand-held over the fireplace in her kitchen.” Sure, I’d love to eat that breakfast, and I totally envy that in-kitchen hearth, but at this point her approach to food may be doing more to alienate than to inspire people.
I’m seriously offended by Waters’ “let them eat cake” mindset. She’s an example of moral relativism at it’s worst, and she herself is incredibly wasteful. People like her are the reason why such movements end up being discredited and written off as elitist.
“an incredibly time-consuming luxurious breakfast, with heirloom tomatoes (likely $5/lb) and an egg cooked in a long metal spoon that has to be hand-held over the fireplace in her kitchen.”
Really? Chopping a couple of tomatoes and herbs, toasting bread and making two eggs is “incredibly time-consuming”? I can only guess that it’s the editing by 60 Min and the use of the kitchen hearth that makes this seem so exotic, so labor-intensive.
I can easily translate how to do this in my own kitchen in just a few minutes. Respectfully, I disagree with the headline of your article. Count me as more annoyed by your title than by the 60M segment, :).
I watched 60 minutes because I wanted to see the Bernanke interview, but I ended up seeing the Waters piece as well, and honestly, I wanted to throttle her. When asked about affordability, she coos “well you can’t afford not to.” What bourgeois BS, give me a break. I’d challenge her to live on a food budget of $67/week (the going rate for food stamps for a family), while working a full time job and looking after a couple of kids and then come back to me with her notions of what we can and can’t afford.
http://urbzen.com/2009/03/16/the-recession-garden-seeds-of-discontent/
I saw the interview because I tuned in for Ben Bernanke.
Alice Waters is a little bit obnoxious but that’s fine with me because she uplifts the image of gardening and cooking. I have similar feelings about Martha Stewart who has done a lot for the image of housekeeping. I like to learn new things and what they teach about are what I am interested in. I have never met anyone like Alice Waters or Martha Stewart in real life though and that is probably a good thing.
Here is another point … you can’t use food stamps at your the Farmers Market – and even though you can get organic at every supermarket now, a good amount of time I see their product is less than fresh! I see produce rotting on the shelf at Walmart!
I wish I could have my own garden but unfortunately I live in a condo and my patio doesn’t get much sun.
I do understand that she means well, but her thinking that most people have choices (i.e. buy 2 pairs of Nike’s instead of buying Organic) is a bit naive. Especially in this economy!
Actually, many vendors in the Boston-area farmer’s markets DO take food stamps.
And in many other parts of the country. When greenmarkets first came into existence, the use of food stamps for wholesome, inexpensive, high-quality produce was kind of the point.
Maybe Alice came across as ‘a dreamer’ or unrealistic- but her ideas about public health are true money savers in the long run. Like the tone of this administration- Alice believes in investing in public health. $5 per pound tomatoes are expensive- but a healthy diet can save tens of thousands of dollars in health care costs per person. Consider the cost of medications, procedures, doctors visits and hospital stays associated with obesity, diabetes, hypertension and cancer. The package may sound elitist- but her message to stay away from processed foods can be affordable on any budget- including food stamps. Education is key.
you people take the cake. what is wrong promoting standards? instead of striving for something better, is the national goal to dive deep into the gutter for fear of being labeled “elitist”? she’s an advocate for fresh food, and exposing youngsters to gardening and cooking. for that she’s equated to a nazi, and people want to beat her. i was under the (mistaken) impression that people who visited this site cared about fresh food. instead, i found ditto heads. what a disappointment. just pitiful. seriously, just go to macdonalds, or is that too elitist now that they offer salads?