Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at 12:11PM | 5 Comments tagged Robyn O'Brien | in Food, Well-Being
Robyn O'Brien | in Food, Well-Being Dear Jamie Oliver: What You're Telling Us Hurts
This morning's headline out of the UK reads, "U.S. loses appetite for Jamie Oliver as 75 LA school districts turn away his Food Revolution show" and for some reason, it didn't really come as a surprise because sometimes, when a message hurts, it's easier to just shoot the messenger.
There have been a lot of headlines recently addressing Jamie Oliver's efforts to stir up a food revolution here in the US, and lately, not all of them have been kind. A recent article in Esquire called "Is Jamie Oliver the Biggest Loser of All?"
And as I reflected on this father of four's attempt to educate and inspire us, I realized that perhaps he wasn't aware of one key point in communicating his message: His knowledge hurts.
It hurts to hear that what we've been feeding our kids causes harm. It hurts to hear that our kids don't know the names of vegetables, or that our lunchrooms aren't designed to serve real food or that we haven't prioritized funding for our children's school lunch programs. And it hurts to hear that America is one of the fattest countries on the planet.
To hear all of this causes injury. It creates a wound. It inflicts damage. It hurts.
And in a world in which there is already so much injury, grief and heartache, it is as if we are simply saying, "Enough. We can't handle any more."
But at the end of the day, when we are laying in bed, reflecting on how much we don't want to hear this message anymore, we quietly know it to be true. And shooting the messenger won't help. Because we see our system's failings in the health of our families. We see that our failing to prioritize funding for the school lunch program is failing our kids.
But perhaps more than being reminded of this on national TV, what we need to be reminded of is that each and every one of us matter and that together, we can affect remarkable change.
So maybe, rather than a revolution inspired by food, the revolution actually begins with love, since the knowledge hurts. A lot. And then, with compassion for the fact that what we are learning is ripping our hearts out, we can then work together to restore the health of our families.
Reader Comments (5)
Hi Robyn
Yes it hurts but that's the point. Jamie is confronting the issues head on and trying to do for America what he has achieved over here in the UK. I admit I'm a big fan of Jamie but watching some of his Food Revolution shows at the end of last year was horrific. I thought our UK school program was both mad and ridiculous but the US system is worse. The insanity of the administrators has to stop. The end result of giving kids pizza for breakfast and double dosing on carbohydrates because the "law" dictates you need two for every meal so Jamie had to serve pasta and potato is killing your kids. So it does hurt. But your missing the point. Jamie's doing it because he cares. Because he loves people. he loves good food and is seizing on his popularity and "brand Jamie" to make a positive change. I cried when watching the program. He cried making it. lots. Because he cares so much.
Perhaps America just doesn't want to change. The new vat of latte you can get in Starbucks is bigger than the human stomach. It's not a lack of love, it's ingrained bad habits and administrative nonsense that has created this culture. Love won't change it. Staring at it hard in the face and realising you are killing your future generation will. Jamie tried. And if he failed, I don't think it's his failing. It's Americas. And America will keep on making excuses to avoid this change.
To understand how sensible are we to gastronomy you can take Spain as an example. 30 years ago most of our daily meals where eaten at home. Today is not like that anymore. That´s a whole cooking heritage throwned away, and very fast. The result: Spain is nowdays the second country in Europe with highest rate of obese and overweight child. How can you let that happen?
Oh, would that I was Queen of Everything.
"Dear Parental Units:
"Today we stop serving soda. We will serve cold water and/or plain milk. We will serve fresh steamed vegetables because that is good for your children. A simple green and orange color palette combo will be offered so as not to shock the sensibilities of little people who are accustomed only to seeing beige food on the plate. We will serve fresh fruit -- bananas, oranges, apples, grapes, fairly inexpensive and readily available all year long. And most kids will readily eat any and all of those fruits.
"We will serve diced cheddar on some days, real yogurt on some days, hummus on other days, pecans when we're busting the budget. We will serve freshly prepared tacos -- ground beef or fish, child's choice -- and by freshly prepared we mean, cooked beginning to end on the premises. We will serve a rice-vegetable main course dish and sneak tofu into it. Sometimes we'll serve baked ziti and occasionally we'll sneak tofu into it. There will be pureed vegetables in the taco filling and pasta sauce, but for cryin' out loud, don't tell the little rug rats.
"That is an example of what we will serve henceforth because it's cheaper than what we're serving now. On every single level, it's cheaper. And yet better. On every single level, it's better. And by the way, if your child comes home hungry, it's because your child didn't take the opportunity to eat what was served. This isn't a restaurant or a catering service. We promise -- because experience has shown this to be true -- on day three your child will eat what is served.
"Amazing how that happens."
Thank you, Robyn, for bringing this to our attention. And don't give up the good fight, Jamie.
Everyone wants ReVolution, but no one wants to do the dishes! Thanks Robyn and Jamie; I'll dry.
Smiles and Blessings.
Did you even read the article, Robyn? You're completely off base.
It's about money, not morals.