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Sacramento Bee Diana Griego Erwin: Delegates enjoy meal, but nations' food woes are harder to digest By Diana Griego Erwin -- Bee Staff Writer Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Thursday, June 26, 2003 My stomach was rumbling, but I did not eat all day Tuesday. I craved a Macho Chicken Salad from Bandera. A glass of grapefruit juice. A greasy burger. Anything. By 5 o'clock, I was shaking. I didn't cave in to the hunger pangs for one reason: Everyone gushed that I was in for the meal of my life that evening, and I wanted to savor each morsel. According to those in the know, the dinner invite on my desk was a gastronomical "E" ticket to the culinary magic of world-renowned chef Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame, the Queen Extoller of Fresh, Healthful, Locally Grown Food herself. Well, I was ready. What really made the evening interesting, though, were the socio-political undertones of the meal -- that is, Waters and her co-hosts concocted this feast to make a point. Their guests: California elected officials (did anyone show except state Sen. Liz Figueroa?) and international ministers attending the U.S. government's controversial agricultural-science expo in Sacramento. So amid the helicopters buzzing downtown and the line of cops in riot gear on horseback lined up across the street from the Sheraton Grand Hotel, here was Waters selling ecologically sound farming practices to people through their taste buds -- her mantra for years. As mother of the cooking fresh movement, she is America's patron saint of organic farmers; everything she serves is organic, unprocessed, unadulterated -- grown and nurtured by local growers devoted to chemical-free farming. But would her message waft beyond the palates of government officials in need of food solutions in countries as diverse as China and Zambia, Turkey and Nicaragua, South Africa and Fiji, ministers who dared cross an invisible line to what expo organizers might call the other side. So what that they relished the lip-smacking fava bean toast appetizer, swooned over the flavor-bursting rocket leaf and cherry-tomato salad? How does that translate amid clinking wine glasses to feeding the masses, particularly in developing countries? Organized by the International Forum on Globalization and Center for Food Safety, the evening included a panel speaking against industrial agriculture and genetic engineering -- and speak they did. All through dinner. By the time the entree arrived -- orange-and basil-infused local king salmon with green beans, beets, carrots and the tiniest new potatoes with a subtle garlic mayonnaise -- the friendly, outgoing Macedonians were weary of all exhortation, which was informative but overly preachy. "We think there are different manners," Menva Spirousus of the Macedonia delegation said with her kindest smile. "In our country, you enjoy the food and one another, not speeches." A scientist representing China at the dinner was, on the other hand, quite interested, although his concerns about genetically engineered products vary. "Are you talking about cotton?" fish biologist Seta Lee asked. "Corn? A fish?" Cotton doesn't concern him. "You wear it. Big deal." Corn, yes, people ingest it. A fish is even more worrisome. You can't control it; it moves; its genetics can affect other populations. "Too many unknowns," he said. The Jamaican ministers, who say their country needs to bring back "the dying art of agriculture -- fast food is taking over," already were sold on the praises of sustainable farming. "We're already organic," Camella Rhone said, shrugging and smiling. "We can't afford fertilizers and all that." While silently enjoying a sliver of Goat's Leap goat cheese and Winchester Gouda followed by a layered apricot tart cut like a pizza slice, the Nicaraguan minister, José Augusto Navarro Flores, said he found the evening's messages "unrealistic." "This (dinner) is very nice quality, but how much did it cost?" he asked, popping a luscious cherry in his mouth. "For a developing country, one with many poor people, in the mountains, without refrigeration, without even electricity, this is not realistic. "The question in my country is not natural or genetic engineering, it's eat or no eat." FAIR USE NOTICE: This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The International Forum on Globalization is making this article available in our efforts to advance the understanding of environmental, corporate accountability, human rights, labor rights, social justice issues, etc. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. |