Veggie Love. Real true veggie love. That’s what the future holds. It has to if we plan to feed the planet and free ourselves of the food idiosyncrasies that plague our generation. Idiosyncrasies that probably developed because the food supply we depend on has become all messed up.
When I say veggie love I don’t mean that we should all become vegetarians. Vegetarianism, one could argue, is one of the idiosyncratic reactions to the food that passes for mainstream fare in the modern world. Meaning vegetarianism is a lifestyle choice. A very good choice for a lot of people. A lot of rich people. Developing countries don’t have the option of choosing a culinary lifestyle. There has to be a broader answer to the problem.
So how did we get here? I’d argue, economics. The cost of producing and procuring food is rising at an alarming rate. Even (and especially) in North America. The soaring prices are not a temporary spike caused by a run on rice in India or the massive overplanting of corn in America. These are real-world prices correcting themselves after generations of cheap food, the result of the American agriculture industry run amok. Especially the meat industry.
For almost a century America was the envy of the world. New immigrants arrived to a country where it seemed that meat grew on trees. The culture reacted. Pretty soon Americans were having meat at every meal, which created demand. The natural reaction to greater demand in market economics is higher prices. But somehow that’s not what happened. Instead of raising prices (and losing customers), the American agriculture industry increased supply. In the short run, this seemed like the win/win solution. The American government even enabled this false economy through subsidies and regulations designed to keep the machine churning out product. Well, common sense tells you that the only way a cycle like that can continue is to keep lowering the quality of the product. So now we’re at a really ugly place. An artificially induced place that is unsustainable.
Veggie Love
It’s all very depressing. We could wallow in the hopelessness of it, or we could support veggie love over vegetarianism. Which is my way of summing up the philosophy of Alice Waters. Food is not to be taken for granted. Even food that really does grow on trees comes at a cost. Veggie love means knowing where your food comes from. It means buying food from farmers who are doing things the right way. It’s far more complicated than merely buying local and organic, eschewing GMOs, or going vegan. These philosophies can be part of the solution for individuals, but we need commerce, scale, and sensible production to feed the world. To me, the broader solution means developing attitudes about food that are more nineteenth-century than modern age fad. This is true for greens and for grains– for melons and for meat.
I believe that the proliferation of people adopting outlandish diets with marketable names is the result of a population that realizes something is wrong– but is paralyzed by the commerce machine when it comes to fixing what’s broken. So rather than looking at the source, they look at the self. “If I just don’t eat those things, or if I only eat these things– not only will I be healthy but I’ll be happy. Because I will be in control”. It’s a natural reaction to something so much larger than the individual, but it won’t feed the planet and it won’t change anything. Veggie Love is the first step towards progress.
Instead of twisting ourselves into gluten-free knots, we should look at the way people ate before so many of us became intolerant of the food we need to survive. There was a time when hunting wasn’t about trophies, it was about meat. Nose to tail weren’t buzzwords– they were sensible reactions to scarcity. Kitchen gardens weren’t chicly designed into multi-million dollar homes– they popped up wherever a small patch of ground allowed.
In order to change the quality of the worldwide supply of food, our first world plates need to look drastically different. We need to develop veggie love. Our plates need to be heavier on grains and greens. Meats shouldn’t sit at the center of every plate at every meal. Meat has a place in our food supply, a much smaller much more sustainable place. I know these changes are hard, especially on the scale we need to move forward. I look at my own choices and see how difficult the changes are. I’m often swayed by impossibly cheap prices. But once enough people change the way their plates look, large-scale demand will change. Once demand changes the supply will follow suit. Economics will prevail and the quality of our food will get better. I know it will. GREG
Veggie Love, Goat Cheese, Celery and Avocado Sandwich with Walnut Butter and Arugula
Print This Recipe Yield 4Source Slightly adapted from Tom Colocchio & Sisha OrtuzarPublished
Ingredients
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 2 tablespoon minced shallot
- 2 ¼ teaspoon kosher salt (divided, plus more for seasoning)
- 1 tablespoon sprig fresh rosemary
- 2 cup walnuts (lightly toasted)
- ¼ cup walnut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 8 slice whole grain multigrain bread
- 5 ounce fresh goat cheese (at room temperature)
- 2 stalks celery (sliced crosswise into ¼” slices)
- 2 cup baby arugula leaves (loosely packed)
- 1 ripe avocado (halved, pitted, peeled, and sliced)
- 1 pinch freshly cracked black pepper (or to taste)
Directions
Make the vinaigrette: In a bowl, combine the oil, lemon juice, shallots, and 2 teaspoons salt and whisk until the vinaigrette emulsifies. Add the rosemary sprig, cover, and set aside for 1 hour. Remove the rosemary before using. This recipe makes more than you need for the sandwiches. It keeps well if refrigerated for up to 1 week. Makes about 2 cups.
Make the walnut butter: Place the toasted walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and process them until they become sticky or paste-like. It takes a good minute or so for the nuts to release their oils and you may need to scrape the sides of the bowl. Be diligent. Add the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and red pepper (if using). Add the oil, a little bit at a time until the walnut butter binds together. You might not use all the oil. Use your judgement. This recipe makes more than you need for the sandwiches. Store covered in the refrigerator. Please note that the shelf life in of homemade nut butter is shorter compared to commercial brands.
Make the sandwiches: Lay the bread slices on a work surface. Divide the goat cheese in 4 equal portions; spread each portion onto 4 slices bread.
In a small bowl, toss the celery in 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette; season with pepper. Place the celery on top of the goat cheese. Add the arugula to the bowl used to dress the celery and toss with 1 more tablespoon vinaigrette. Top the celery with avocado slices; season with salt then follow with the dressed arugula.
Spread about 1 heaping tablespoon (or more to taste) walnut butter evenly over the 4 remaining bread slices. Use these to close the sandwiches; cut into halves, and serve.
Unfortunately when one in four children in America are hungry, they don’t have the option of eating sustainably. It’s a vicious cycle of Big Ag having the populace by the short hairs. Us “haves” will have to change the world for the “have nots,” but so far, Americans have been too complacent about the demand.
Yep. Burgandy from the Hollywood Farmers Market.
Great post. Dare I say it? Food for thought… WHen I do go to the butcher I am buying better quality, sustainable, organic, etc. but also in MUCH smaller quantities so I stop and appreciate it more. I make it count. I’m not going to be vegetarian ever…but I am a flirt. That is for sure.
Well said, Greg. This is a beautiful, insightful piece. I agree that it’s not necessary for us to eat meat with every meal, and we should all practice veggie love for the sake of sustainability and balance. There is also the issue of waste. A friend of mine who is from Asia once told me how appalled she is at how wasteful she finds many people in first-world countries are with their food. She comes from a middle class background, but she’s raised in a culture where every bit of food on the plate is eaten and leftovers are never thrown away unless they have become spoiled and useless. She claims they do this out of respect for the food and its source. I think she has a point. We need to develop a better respect for our food and our food sources and avoid being wasteful.
Very thoughtful and intelligent piece Greg. Unfortunately, though, you’re probably ‘preaching to the choir’ since everyone reading this is probably very much of the same mind. But, it’s important to speak out and hopefully (like cigarettes) America’s bad eating habits will one day be a thing of the past or limited to a few slow learners.
A very nice message. I could eat your goat cheese sandwich over a chicken anytime.
I’m in a unique perspective right now Greg; living with some friends during a period of transition. While I’ve thought of them as being conscious of matters of conservation, I’ve been surprised at what that means to them. The lady of the house will save everything that is plastic imaginable, including Ziploc bags, to use over and over and over…yet? Has no problem leaving the back door open for her dog to get in and out while the air conditioner is running. Lights are left on all over the house while talk of conservation of our natural resources would have you believe they are participating. I feel like the light Nazi; I am FOREVER turning off that three light fixture that also runs because they want the overhead fan to circulate air!
Despite all of that, it’s in the food arena where I have seen the most prolific statement of just how far we have to go. The man of the house would have you believe he deserves a medal for the occasional vegetarian meal. I’ve made pizzas with cheese and artichokes and fresh veggies and he’s a bit condescending with his, ‘Well, I guess I could eat this one night without meat.’
I’m not in a position to lecture but what I am in is a position of concern. I’m sure they are more ‘typical’ of most Americans; almost unaware that any real crisis exists. A comment above mentioned water. We have a problem with water in this area so in times of less than prolific snowfall in the winter, we can face harsh conservation measures. Because Denver is dry, every yard has a sprinkler system to water grass. Kentucky Bluegrass; that alone is mind boggling isn’t it? It is too dry here for bluegrass to thrive but it’s still put into every damn yard with an underground sprinkler system that then waters both the grass and the sidewalks and the streets. I’m considering a new build and was told that to have the builder put in xeriscape I would pay a premium. I want to scream or cry or both. Part of the problem is also economics. Our water company dictated a policy early in the season to cut back as reservoirs were low; a couple of snowstorms, a good spring runoff and they decided to reverse that policy. Why? Wouldn’t it be best to just get everyone used to watering their grass less? Well, sure it would but once there was enough water their issue was to bring in revenue and no longer worry so much about conservation. Huh? Really? Yes, really.
I often wonder…are these folks living on the same planet I am…and realize sadly that yes they are.
How right you are. The system could right itself if enough people just adopted better practices. From light switches to hamburgers– both a which we don’t need to live with out, we just need to think broader about how we use these things. GREG
Fabulous post and message, Greg. I haven’t eaten meat since I was in elementary school and a little bit of fish when I was pregnant. Other than that, plants for me. To each their own of course but I love your sandwich and would love a big smear of that walnut butter on anything and everything!
This is a beautiful, beautiful entry. I became a vegetarian because I’m an animal lover, but am glad there are others ways it can be considered a good thing. I am thinking I need to take a look at all my eating habits and make some changes-then I can hopefully rightly called myself not just a vegetarian, but a Veggie Lover.
I ate a sandwich just like this yesterday… I have a 1943 magazine filled with veggie ideas for rationing, the best one was to go on a picnic and eat dandelion greens you pick from the field imagine that?
As a veggie I never really push anyone being full on vegetarian or vegan but rather find a bit of balance in their diet. More veggies and whole grains and less on meat and beige processed foods. My “evangelist” goal is to get people to eat more green, not eliminate x, y or z from their diets.
I’d rather have this sandwich than a piece of meat any day. My hubby is one of those who thinks a meal is not a meal unless there’s a hunk of meat on the plate :/
I completely agree with you on the food supply issue. The worst is yet to come however when the water runs out. That’s going to be truly frightening.
About this sandwich, wow, it sounds great. I think I’d really enjoy the contrastinc textures, and teh crunch of the celery. You make some truly fine food.
What a fabulous looking sandwich, Greg! And it looks like you’re using my favorite whole grain bread from La Brea. YUM!
What he said! — Truly, Greg, well said. We *are* at a really ugly place that is unsustainable. I don’t have an unlimited food budget, but rather than buying lots of cheap(er) conventional meat, I buy smaller amounts of grassfed, organic, pastured, etc. We do not need the gigantic portions the country has gradually grown accustomed to and have come to expect. And we do not need meat at every meal. I’ve been practicing “veggie love” all my life, and I hope at least a billion people read this post!
Hi Jean!