On the QT | The Official Newsletter of GWA February-March 2016 | Page 18

FOOD JIM LONG P H OT O C OU R T ES Y JIM LONG Food becomes main dish in 2016 In 2005 I was a delegate and speaker at the first International Slow Foods Conference in Turin, Italy. There I heard a variety of world leaders and activists speak about the future of food production and agriculture. I heard Alice Waters, Michael Pollan, Prince Charles, Vandana Shiva and many others describe a new movement in food and gardening some of us had only dreamed about. In those forums, I heard almost revolutionary concepts put forth: That locally grown food mattered; that saving seed to protect diversity – not just for gardeners, but for all of agriculture, – mattered and that growing healthful, organic food was an attainable worldwide goal. There, I witnessed people from 125 countries, embracing a goal that matched my own beliefs and goals. 18 Garden writing was once primarily focused on how ornamental plantings increased aesthetics and property values. A key concept was curb appeal, as real estate agents like to describe it. Trees, shrubs, perennials and lawns once formed the top tier of subjects for garden writers. Now, in the decade since that Turin conference, I have seen the world of gardening – and garden writing – change radically. We have witnessed what had once been described as merely a passing fad, then grudgingly a trend, turn into a genuine culture shift. We have witnessed the rise of Whole Foods, the acceptance by Walmart and Costco as purveyors of increasingly locally grown and organic produce and the rapid expansion of farmers markets nationwide.