Free Screenings of Food, Inc.

Thanks to eaterLA for the alert (and to Judi and Rob Bikel for spotting the news) that two free screenings (sponsored by Chipotle) of Food, Inc. are coming up:

July 14, 2009 at 7:30pm
Laemmle Playhouse 7 Cinemas
673 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena

July 16, 2009 at 7:30pm
Laemmle Sunset 5
8000 Sunset Boulevard, West Hollywood

If you haven't already seen Food, Inc., do take advantage of these opportunities. And if you have seen it, encourage your friends, family, coworkers, and neighbors to see it. As Corby Kummer noted in his review for The Atlantic, "There hasn't been a film this important about American food production, and probably not about industrialized food anywhere."

More information about the film is available on the Food, Inc. website, including a trailer and links to other reviews and news. Robert Kenner also appeared on yesterday's episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, answering questions about why fast, cheap, and easy food isn't sustainable:

Josh Viertel and Ruth Reichl: Slow Food on Less Money

Slow Food USA president Josh Viertel and Ruth Reichl, editor-in-chief of Gourmet, appeared recently on Leonard Lopate's WNYC show to discuss the importance of sustainable agriculture and how good, clean, and fair food can be affordable and accessible. They also talk about how they became aware of Slow Food as a social movement, how the movement has grown in the United States, and about our heritage as a nation of farmers. They also take on Slow Food's "elitist" reputation and why good, clean, and fair food can and should be considered a right that we fight for, not a privilege for only few to enjoy. (~32 minutes)

Novella Carpenter talks about Farm City

The ALOUD lecture series at the Los Angeles Public Library's Central Library continues to provide free and fascinating lectures, and they have just announced a program that will be of interest to Slow Food Los Angeles members and friends.

Novella Carpenter, author of Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer, will speak with Evan Kleiman about life as an urban farmer in Oakland, California and the process of turning a vacant lot into a productive and thriving farm.

When: Thursday, July 23, 2009, at 7:00pm
Where: Central Library Mark Taper Auditorium, Fifth & Flower Streets in downtown Los Angeles
Cost: Free, but reservations are recommended. Reservations are available via the ALOUD website or by calling 1.213.228.7025.

Public transportation to the library is available. Those driving may wish to park at the 524 S. Flower St. Garage; the rate is $1 until 8:45pm with Los Angeles Public Library card validation.

Reviewed recently in the San Francisco Chronicle, Carpenter's book describes her experiences establishing the farm. You can also read more about Carpenter's adventures on the farm and in connection with her book on her blog, Ghost Town Farm.

Orange County Event: Vietnamese Market Tour, Cooking Class, Dinner

Our colleagues in the Orange County chapter invite Slow Food Los Angeles members and friends to market tours and cooking classes focused on Vietnamese cooking. Details below:

Tour Vietnam without your passport --this Slow Food OC sponsored tour takes you on a wonderful journey to a Vietnamese market where you learn more about the glorious produce, live seafood, and cookware; then we return to Xanh Bistro to see the exotic ingredients we purchase transformed into delectable dishes, with a chance to taste this light and healthy yet flavorful cuisine.

Come and join Chef Haley Nguyen on this exciting and educational experience. We’ll start out at a local Vietnamese market, buy the ingredients and come back to Xanh for the demonstration hands-on regional Vietnamese cooking class, then savor a scrumptious multi-course dinner.

When: Monday, July 13, 2009 and Monday, July 20, 2009. See schedule below.
Where: Thuan Phat/Westminster Super Store and Xanh Bistro
Cost: $75 per person, per event. Price includes market tour, cooking class, dinner, tax, and gratuity but does not include alcoholic beverages.

Monday, July 13, 2009: Market tour, cooking class, and dinner
1. 6:00 pm: Meet in front of the market and tour the market (address below
2. 7:00 pm: Go to Xanh Bistro for cooking class
3. Hands On Cooking Menu:
Rice paper rolls with grilled pork
Banana blossom salad
Simmered fish in clay pot of black pepper & soy reduction
4. 8:15: Eat dinner. Dinner includes: rice paper rolls with grilled pork, cucumber and rice noodles, banana blossom salad with shrimp & Vietnamese mint, simmered fish in clay pot of black pepper & soy reduction, sauteed seasonal Vietnamese greens with garlic, tapioca pearl and grilled seasonal fruit.
5. 9:30 pm: end of event

Monday, July 20, 2009: Market tour, vegetarian cooking class, and dinner
1. 6:00 pm: Meet in front of the market and tour the market (address below)
2. 7:00 pm: Go to Xanh Bistro for cooking class
3. Hands On Cooking Menu
Lotus roots salad with Asian celery, mint & cucumber
Kabocha squash soup with coconut milk
Braised tofu with tomato and pineapple
4. 8:15: Eat dinner. Dinner includes: lotus roots salad with Asian celery, mint & cucumber, kabocha squash soup with coconut milk, braised tofu with tomato and pineapple, grilled eggplant with purple parilla & scallion and vegan soy cheese cake.
5. 10:00 pm: end of event

Market Address (where class meets): Thuan Phat/Westminster Super Store, 15440 Beach Blvd., Westminster CA 92683 (Corner of Beach & McFadden)

Reservations may be made online via Brown Paper Tickets.

Screening of Food, Inc.

Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media, River Road Entertainment, the California Center for Public Health Advocacy, and the California Farm to School Program invite Slow Food Los Angeles members and friends to a free screening and panel discussion of Food, Inc.:

When: Thursday, June 4, 2009 beginning at 7:00pm
Where: Whittier Village Cinemas, 7038 Greenleaf Avenue, Whitter
Cost: Free but reservations required and seating is on a first-come basis. RSVP online.

After the screening, Matthew Green of Active Voice will moderate a panel discussion about the issues presented in the film.

Winner of the Golden Snail for documentary features at the Slow Food on Film Festival in Bologna, Food, Inc. examines and exposes aspects of the American food production network that are largely hidden from consumers. Produced and directed by Robert Kenner and coproduced by Eric Schlosser, the film includes interviews with Schlosser, Michael Pollan, Gary Hirshberg of Stonyfield yogurt, Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm, and many other farmers, activists, and individuals whose stories illuminate the current state of our food system.

From legal battles over a farmer's ability to save seed to consumer disclosures about genetically engineered food, from the environmental impact of feedlots and mass production methods to a mother's determination to change the law after her son's death from E.coli poisoning, Food, Inc. shows why Slow Food's advocacy for good, clean, and fair food is vitally important.

Food, Inc. will be released in Los Angeles theatres on June 12.

The Missing Link: Cooking

Saturday's New York Times featured an op-ed contribution by Amanda Hesser that deserves attention. "Commander in Chef" highlights the fact that all too often, developing cooking skills--and the desire to cook--is overshadowed by issues surrounding the acquisition of food:

[T]errific local ingredients aren’t much use if people are cooking less and less; cooking is to gardening what parenting is to childbirth. Research by the NPD Group showed that Americans ate takeout meals an average of 125 times a year in 2008, up from 72 a year in 1983. And a recent U.C.L.A. study of 32 working families found that the subjects viewed cooking from scratch as a kind of rarefied hobby.

As we lost our skills at the stove, we also lost something less tangible but no less important: the opportunity to spend time together in the kitchen, talking and cooking. Similarly, we gave up the chance to improve our children’s eating habits by example. Studies by Harvard Medical School and the University of Minnesota show that children in families that ate together consumed more fruits and vegetables, as well as less fat and fewer snacks.

Volunteer Opportunities This Weekend

Two opportunities for Slow Food Los Angeles members and friends to help local organizations help others:

At the 24th Street Elementary School:

Nat Zappia, Director of the Garden School Foundation, invites Slow Food members and friends to come plant and eat in the school's kitchen garden this Saturday, May 30. The school and garden are located at 2055 West 24th Street in Los Angeles (90018), and help is needed between 9:00am and noon.

No experience is necessary, but please bring work gloves and sunscreen. If you have tools you can share (shovels, pick axes, or rakes), please bring those, too.

Those interested may contact Nat at 310.699.2902 or by email to nat [at] gardenschoolfoundation [dot] org

Rick Nahmias of Food Forward has alerted us to a multi-property pick this Sunday, May 31.

Starting at 10:00am in Encino, Rick and his band of fruit-picking volunteers will gather produce to benefit SOVA. For more information about location and other details, contact Rick directly at 818.530.4125 or visit the Food Forward website at http://foodforwardla.org.

Food Matters with Mark Bittman and José Andrés

Earlier this week, the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC welcomed Mark Bittman, author of Food Matters and the popular Minimalist food column in The New York Times, and José Andrés, chef, author of Made in Spain, and advocate of food and nutrition education for elementary and high school students.

In the one-hour program, Bittman and Andrés discussed the evolution of their views regarding sustainable food production, its connection to human and ecological health, how the conversation about food is changing, and the differences that individuals can make by changing their choices about the food they consume.

View the program below:

Possible space for a community garden--Chatsworth

Delila Vallot with Black Equities has contacted Slow Food Los Angeles because her client, a property owner, has an undeveloped lot in Chatsworth that might be suitable for a small community garden.

The land is approximately 4331 square feet (112 feet x 40 feet). Beyond that we don't have more information, so interested parties should contact Delila Vallot directly for details, terms, and conditions:

J. Delila Vallot
Black Equities Group
Email: delila@blackequitiesgroup.com
or phone: 310.278.5833.

Go Fishing with Edible Los Angeles and a Crew of Chefs

Our friends and colleagues at Edible Los Angeles are taking to the sea again, inviting Slow Food Los Angeles members and friends to come along for fish tales and tips:

When: Sunday, May 31, 2009 from 12:30pm until 6:00pm
Where: On board the Monte Carlo at the 22nd Street Landing, San Pedro, California
Cost: $100.00 per person. Tickets available via Brown Paper Tickets, but only 30 tickets are available on a first-come basis. All ticket sales are non-refundable.

In April, Chef Michael Cimarusti of Providence restaurant fished with Edible Los Angeles for a Sea to Plate story for their summer issue. The trip was such a success that another voyage has been planned.

For the 31 May voyage, Edible Los Angeles has invited Donato Poto (Providence), Neal Fraser (Grace), Josiah Citrin (Mélisse), Walter Manzke (Church and State), Alain Giraud (Anisette), David LeFevre (Water Grill), Curtis Stone (Take Home Chef), Brendan Collins (The Hall), Michael Voltaggio (The Bazaar) and several others. The final chef list is being confirmed, but participating chefs have agreed to bring potluck snacks to share plus recipe ideas for the fish they catch.

Participants should bring a rod and a fishing license (both available at the dock), sunscreen, and a smile!

No coolers or alcohol may be brought aboard. As well as the edibleLA treats, drinks (including beer) and food will be sold on the boat.

For more about Edible Los Angeles, visit their growing site at ediblela.com and for their video of the April expedition, visit their site or watch below:

Edible LA Sea to Plate from Todd & Diane on Vimeo.