Last week my husband and I went to a "Seattle Arts and Lectures" session with acclaimed "New York Times" food writer Amanda Hesser, who is now doing her own thing on the Internet. After listening for over an hour to her take on the history of food writing, all the in's and out's of her extensive (for someone in their early 40's) experience as a culinary journalist/author and her interpretation of the current foodie climate, which she referred to as "The Food Revolution," we in the audience were invited to write out questions for a moderator to ask her. I submitted the following: "Is there any part of the 'Food Revolution' that deals with the fact that there are many people in this world who do not have enough to eat?"
Much to my surprise, the moderator actually asked her my question. Much more to my surprise, Ms. Hesser answered, "No." (Pause.) "We're in America. Our problems run in the other direction."
Granted, obesity is rampant in our country these days. But in a city where over 2,600 people sleep on the streets, families live in cars and by some counts one in five children in our country go to bed hungry every night, such ignorance and blithe dismissiveness on the part of someone who makes her living and reputation as an expert on food is saddening and, to my mind, absurd. I certainly intend to communicate with Ms. Hesser, in hope of setting her straight.
My friend Coco, who also attended the lecture and is a very wise woman, feels Ms. Hesser's statement is more the result of tunnel vision than anything else, and she may be right. But in any case, let us scream the truth from the rooftops so that everyone, even the "experts," will hear: People are hungry right here in America, and we need to do something about it!
Fran Abbott Seattle