Smithsonian - Perishable Pundit

ISustainable farmers such as Eliot Coleman are proving that locally grown food is viable in allclimates. Here, Coleman harvests lettuce at his Four Season Farm in Harborside, MaineThe host of companies specializing in craftand sustainable production keeps expanding. Steve)emos, founder oí Silk Soy, started out makingsoy milk at a local fanners market in Boulder,< ni. irado. Michael Cohen started peddling tempeliin 1974 by a 25-year-old hippie and sixtunecollege dropout named |ohn Mackev.who opened the Safer Way, then one ot 25health food stores m Austin, Texas. Today,while most ot those other 24 health foodstores are defunct, Sater W.iv has grown intofor Lite Lite, abrand now owned by ConAgra. Henthe largest chain ot grocerystores with anCohen and [erry Greenfield propelled then peaceand love ice cream to the mainstream. StonyfieldFarm yogurt, Annie's Homegrown pasta, and( alitornia's Earthbound Farms all sell throughnational chains. ( lone are the days of unappetizingmacrobiotics, brown nee, and totu. A wholeindustry has arisen making veggie burgers andmeatless sausage and salami, Tofurkys tor vegetarianThanksgh ing dinners, and "not dogs" and "phonybaloncv" all out or soy. While 25 years ago healthconsciousness was the domain of the counterculture,and vegetarianism and food coops were a signot pacifism, today they have become mainstream.An increasing number ot companies andretailers have pioneered nationwide markets.organic slant in the country. Whole Foods,with [65 stores coast to coast, are in mainplaees where there is rarely a hippie in sight.The retailer is now the leading outlet foragrowing number of national brands thatshare the store's commitment to health andsustainability. Whole Foods has also spurredother supermarkets to stock their shelveswith a growing number ot organic products.This combination ot environmental stewardship,flavor, and health is quietly buildingup around the country in schools, neighborhoods,and cities. As globalism increases inour kitchens and supermarkets, there iscountervailing trend of people who want toa1 he health-food mass movement was startedsee what can be produced intheir area ot thecountry. Most people realize, ot course, thatSMITHSONIAN FOLKLIFE FESTIVAL