Alice Waters Can’t Catch A Break…

…mostly because she is a moron when it comes to things other than free-range broccoli grown by New Age hippies on communal land expropriated from THE MAN. But if you don’t think that I am scrupulously impartial, just take a look at this article in National Review Online.* The skewering is wonderful.

More seriously, I think she does this country a disservice by being so stunningly ignorant of the basic laws of economics, and the reality of the world outside of North Berkeley.

*Will, thanks for the link!

9 Replies to “Alice Waters Can’t Catch A Break…”

  1. “The most important thing that Michelle Obama did was to say that food comes from the land. . . . People have not known that. They think it comes from the grocery store

    “Oh, really — is that what people think?”

    i’m of the opinion that yes, Ms. Sarcasm, people don’t really give consideration to where food comes from, regardless of all of those corn fields (which are apparently somewhere) to which the author refers.

    Alice Waters, who admittedly I know little about, seems to end up the punching bag in any of the inevitable “organic” or “slow food” backlash. Articles on Waters seem to make these bold claims that she doesn’t “get it”. I’m not sure why everything is so sure they know what she knows or understands. Although I admit, it’s much easier to make your point seem strong when you claim to to know exactly what someone thinks, or better yet, by dismissing them as an idiot or kook.

    My guess is that Ms. Waters doesn’t often challenge the statements of her critics. I don’t blame her. Who can be bothered with those tools.

  2. Well, at the risk of being accused of being “a tool,” I have read and heard many of her public statements, and I can say confidently that she does not get it. I do not claim to know what she thinks, I am simply judging her by what she chooses to present to the public as her thoughts and beliefs. In her defense (sort of) she says stunningly stupid things, but no stupider than many. The problem is that she is tone deaf; she has no idea what it sounds like to the public when she giggles and says that we should all buy local, organic, sustainable food because it’s just better for the earth and our bodies, and then dismisses the outrageous cost of eating the way she suggests.

  3. i think i need to find her on youtube. having been sequestered to the east coast for my entire life, i haven’t heard her go on, and i will no doubt be annoyed when i do. but, if she’s constantly suggesting that people who can’t afford to eat a certain way go into credit debt to do so, i’d be surprised. as far those who can afford to eat a certain way, there’s no harm, no foul.

    i submit that she may very well know *exactly * what it sounds like when the prattles on. if i were her, i would do exactly what she does, the way she does it, because it clearly gets people talking and thinking.

    regardless, the writer was toolish. i don’t think there’s any doubt that the overwhelming majority of americans don’t give 1 second of thought to (or give 1 rat’s ass about) where their food comes from. if you doubt me, go talk to most people. i’ll give you 10 minutes before you want to pull your fingernails out instead.

  4. I have a challenge for Ms. Waters. Let her cook for a family of 4 for one full month (30 days) without spending more than $300. That is $10 per day. Tasty, nutritious food can be prepared on this budget but not with $4 per pound organic grapes or imported tofu.

    Let her see how many people today must live. It will give her a better appreciation of her life.

  5. Well said! And I agree that it can be done, but with a careful eye on prices and quality. But that is something that Waters never has to worry about. She has an unlimited budget (and often the food is free) and people competing to provide her with the best of everything.

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