The "We" Generation

I haven't blogged for a few days, because although I am a great cook, I suck at navigating my way through the digital world. Consequently I have written several blogs over the past few days and then promptly lost them in cyber-space.

Anyway, the blog I wrote yesterday had to do with what I call the new "We Generation." In the past it was the "Me Generation" where all of us searched desperately for our inner child (personally I'm still searching for my inner adult). As a culture we insisted on achieving our individual goals, often at the expense of others. We took tons of antidepressants to ease the pain and now after all of this, ex Vice President Al Gore has not so gently, informed us that we have about five decades before billions of us perish due to global warming.

Consequently society is rapidly beginning to coalesce into the new paradigm of community and global healing. What does this have to do with food and cooking, everything as far as I am concerned. Food is the fuel of human existence, and it is the primary resource being threatened by planetary change.

On May 2nd there was an article in the Washington Post about Chef Barton Seaver and his restaurant Hook, which is a seafood concept. It spoke about his tireless commitment to using only foods from the ocean which are sustainable, and what type of research and customer re-education that requires.

I have been cooking now for over thirty five years, and in that span of time I have witnessed entire species of fish either completely disappear or become endangered. This is a serious problem and a hard one to swallow for restaurant customers who are used to getting what they want. On the positive side this new "We Generation" attitude is beginning to nibble on the collective consciousness of both chefs and consumers alike and people are now willing to try new things.

There are several resources available for researching what types of fish are sustainable and those that aren't. Two of the primary ones are Monterey Bay Aquarium's web site www.blueoceaninstitute.org and www.seafoodwatch.org. Both of these sites publish up to date information on what's happening in our oceans.

If you want to become part of the "We Generation" as a chef, take the time to research and purchase foods that are both sustainable to both your own as well as the global communities.