The TED Prize is one of many programs of TED--Ideas Worth Spreading, a small nonprofit organization founded in 1984 that is devoted to bringing together people from the worlds of Technology, Entertainment, Design to converse.
Incidentally, Jamie Oliver will air "Food Revolution" on Friday, March 26 at 9 p.m. (EST) to explain his work with the "most unhealthy town in America:" Huntington, WVA, where half of its citizens are obese.
Gardens teach kids (and adults) how to grow and then enjoy fresh, non-pesticided fruits and vegetables. Even my own students from an elite, private, Midwestern liberal arts college, did not know what it was like to eat fruit without that metallic after-taste that is caused by chemical pesticides used in industrial agriculture. Such a lack of food knowledge is not just a problem for the poor, as Flanagan would have us believe.
I gave my students a taste of the organic potatoes that I grew in my garden, and they were astonished. So was I. This past year as a result of my learning how to garden, I have become "a believer" that growing and buying fresh, organic fruits and vegetables is a taste experience par excellence--not to mention a healthier alternative to industrial food.
Gardens were a staple in American homes two generations ago and many people like Waters, Allen and Oliver see the wisdom in bringing them back. During World War I and II, as well as the Great Depression, American families grew backyard gardens that produced more than half their food. A visit to Abraham Lincoln's home in Springfield, IL, shows a backyard garden--and his wife, Mary, did all the cooking, even though the family had a maid.
So here's to you, Mrs. Flanagan: please don't worry about the kids who are learning how to garden. Their lives--and their health--depend on it.(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
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