We Are What We Eat: A Slow Food Manifesto

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Legendary chef Alice Waters knows that how and what we eat is a political, environmental, and humanitarian act that ricochets around the word, influencing ecosystems, labor, and equity. We Are What We Eat is her passionate plea to eat and act graciously, with the intention and compassion our planet (and our taste buds!) deserve. Recommended By Lucinda G., Powells.com

From chef and food activist Alice Waters, an impassioned plea for a radical reconsideration of the way each and every one of us cooks and eats.

In We Are What We Eat, Alice Waters urges us to take up the mantle of slow food culture, the philosophy at the core of her life's work. When Waters first opened Chez Panisse in 1971, she did so with the intention of feeding people good food during a time of political turmoil. Customers responded to the locally sourced organic ingredients, to the dishes made by hand, and to the welcoming hospitality that infused the small space — human qualities that were disappearing from a country increasingly seduced by takeout, frozen dinners, and prepackaged ingredients. Waters came to see that the phenomenon of fast food culture, which prioritized cheapness, availability, and speed, was not only ruining our health, but also dehumanizing the ways we live and relate to one another.

Over years of working with regional farmers, Waters and her partners learned how geography and seasonal fluctuations affect the ingredients on the menu, as well as about the dangers of pesticides, the plight of fieldworkers, and the social, economic, and environmental threats posed by industrial farming and food distribution. So many of the serious problems we face in the world today — from illness, to social unrest, to economic disparity, and environmental degradation — are all, at their core, connected to food. Fortunately, there is an antidote. Waters argues that by eating in a "slow food way," each of us — like the community around her restaurant — can be empowered to prioritize and nurture a different kind of culture, one that champions values such as biodiversity, seasonality, stewardship, and pleasure in work.

This is a declaration of action against fast food values, and a working theory about what we can do to change the course. As Waters makes clear, every decision we make about what we put in our mouths affects not only our bodies but also the world at large — our families, our communities, and our environment. We have the power to choose what we eat, and we have the potential for individual and global transformation — simply by shifting our relationship to food. All it takes is a taste.

“A passionate advocacy for the best flavors that food can provide….Waters is a food-world legend, and this is an ideal title for discussion groups, sure to provoke passionate thoughts and feelings.” Booklist

"An impassioned manifesto….Highly convincing and incredibly inspiring, Waters' fervent entreaty is sure to open eyes and change minds." Publishers Weekly

"This beautiful book speaks to the values we need to embrace at this moment in human history: Stewardship, diversity, interconnectedness, simplicity, balance. Reading it has inspired me to do things differently. It will inspire you as well." Jane Fonda, author of What Can I Do?

"In this warm, passionate and very personal book Alice Waters lays out a stunningly convincing case for changing the way we eat. No jargon, no big words, just Alice walking about all the things that matter most to her. I'm going to give this book to everyone I love." Ruth Reichl, author of Save Me the Plums

"Alice Waters is my favorite chef, and We Are What We Eat is a beautiful, important book. It's full of passion, anger at the way things are, and hope for a kinder, fairer, more humane, and vastly more enjoyable future. This book is the culmination of a life's work, a great life, and is a must read." Eric Schlosser, author of Fast Food Nation

"What Alice has contributed to the world is immeasurable, but this new book We Are What We Eat covers new ground. Alice has dedicated her entire life to people, the planet, and the food we consume. Here, she teaches us that food has an intrinsic value that today's society takes for granted. Imagine what this world would look, smell, and taste like if more of us followed her lead." Ron Finley, The Gangsta Gardener

Alice Waters is a chef and the founder/owner of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California. She has won numerous awards, including the National Humanities Medal, the French Legion of Honor Medal, the Cavaliere of the Italian Republic, and three James Beards Awards. As vice president of Slow Food International and founder of the Edible Schoolyard Project, she has helped bring food awareness to people of all ages all over the world.