Ruth Reichl’s Town Hall South Talk Focuses on America’s Poor Food Quality

Former Los Angeles Times and New York Times food critic, chef and author Ruth Reichl said the quality of American food isn’t nutritionally what it once was — or should be.

The James Beard Award-winning writer took the stage at Upper St. Clair High School Theater, pulled her glasses down from the folds of her hair, leaned into the microphone, paused and gave the audience something to chew on Tuesday morning.

Her Town Hall South lecture focused on food quality in America, the degradation of farming practices and the cheap cost of food production that have led to a multitude of negative outcomes — the worst being the overall health of the country.

“We don’t have only organic food because it is more expensive to grow; as a nation, we decided to have the cheapest food in the world,” Reichl said.

According to Reichl, the notion of organic food went out the window and became more of an elitist concept in the United States, but she said food is bipartisan and for everyone.

Reichl’s film, “Food and Country,” premiered earlier in the year at the Sundance Film Festival, and her book “The Paris Novel” is set to be released in April.

“We try to make sure our audience learns something new every time they come to a lecture,” said Janette Simmons Clements, board chair of Town Hall South. “This is an incredibly significant issue that may not have been at the forefront of everyone’s mind.”

Reichl called out technology as a catalyst that pushed the food landscape into a place of convenience — but has also caused it to regress.

During the early stages of the pandemic, Reichl said she went to the grocery store and became wary about the future of American food because she was greeted by scarce shelves and no fresh produce or meat.

Reichl said unstable production of food was exposed during covid, and it still has a long way to go for improvement.

Reichl said in October, America imported more food than it exported, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Self-sufficiency in terms of food production is crucial, according to Reichl, and could be necessitated by having more local, organic, sustainable farms, with farms committed to being organic in every agricultural community in America.

The impacts of food production became more apparent last week when U.S. officials recalled fresh cantaloupes because they are potentially contaminated with salmonella, Reichl said.

Farmers’ role in the production of food often gets overlooked — Reichl reminded the audience that farmers are the nucleus of food production and they often receive the shortest end of the stick.

Many farmers have to work other jobs to survive; only 7% are able to survive off the land alone, Reichl said.

On stage, Reichl reviewed harrowing statistics from her research that were met with gasps.

Reichl said turkeys grow to full size — more than 20 pounds in half the time — and are no longer able to breed naturally, so they must be artificially inseminated.

Since the 1920s, plants have lost 70% of their nutrients, and 80% of the antibiotics used in America are injected into healthy animals, a statistic confirmed by the World Health Organization.

But it was the information about potatoes being laced with a cocktail of pesticides that likely made the audience think twice about the vegetable — at least 35 pesticides have been found in the conventional potato.

“If you are planning to ‘go organic’ on a single food, potatoes would be an excellent choice,” Reichl said. “We eat a lot of calories, but we don’t get a lot of nutrition, and it is a tragedy.”

Laryn Finder, a 93-year-old resident of Upper St. Clair, said she does things the old-fashioned way.

“We have to start considering how our food is grown and remove all the chemicals. … I think they are having a bad effect on our children,” Finder said. “It was interesting to learn that the farmers are having a terrible time, and the chemicals are putting them out of business.

“I still cook from scratch,” Finder said. “I don’t use the instant foods, and I think because of the way we eat we have been able to live into our 90s.”

“I really learned something today,” said Mt. Lebanon resident Bonnie Bagay. “It reminded me of the importance of supporting local and rural farmers. I would not have thought of potatoes as being a big offender, but it will definitely change the potatoes I buy.”

Reichl emphasized the need for policy change. She said eating organic and going to farmers’ markets isn’t the answer.

Rather than using technology to increase speed and production, Reichl said it’s important to use technology to make the food taste better and more nutritious. She referenced a farmer who is currently experimenting with greenhouse lighting to enhance flavor, particularly looking at how pink light increases the spice level of arugula.

Some of the farmers that Reichl believes have a good blueprint for the future often say they are just trying to go back to raising food the way their grandparents and great-grandparents did.

Source : Trib Live