Several weeks ago, a troupe of advance men for the Flavr Savr tomato-expected to be the first genetically engineered tomato available to consumers-visited David Jarvis at Melange, his restaurant in Northfield.
They hoped to persuade him to buy their bright red, recombinant beauties when they become available. By manipulating genes to slow down the softening process, these altered tomatoes have better taste and texture than the typical, tasteless off-season orbs that often are as much like a tennis ball as a garden fresh tomato.
“I wanted to listen to both sides of the fence before I said no. You can’t really make the right decision until you know the issue,” Jarvis said, explaining why he’d even consider the controversial techno-tomato as a part of his produce order.
Last Monday, at a ceremony at Zinfandel Restaurant, Jarvis formally cemented his negative decision by signing a charter drafted by Chefs Collaborative: 2000, a group dedicated to promoting the growing, cooking and eating of food in ways that will sustain the natural resources of the planet and the health of its human inhabitants.
Innovations such as the Flavr Savr tomato are the antithesis of what the charter represents. Although the anti-softening gene occurs naturally in tomatoes, the two-step process used with the Flavr Savr also adds a marker gene derived from an antibiotic-resistant bacterium. Stephen Benoit, vice-president of marketing for Calgene Fresh, developers of the tomato, insists that more than $20 million and five years spent on research and testing point to a tomato that is safe. Presently, the company is awaiting FDA approval for the tomato.
Campbell Soup Company was an early partner of Calgene in developing the Flavr Savr, but Jim Moran, director of public relations for the soup giant, says there has been no decision to use the Flavr Savr.
“We don’t use any bioengineered product and we have no intentions of doing so,” Moran said. Public opinion against the technology was one factor in that position, he said, explaining that the Calgene partnership was a routine part of their research and development program.
Says Jarvis, “This (genetic engineering of food) is the complete wrong direction to be taking. It makes you wonder who is behind it.”
In cities across the country, hundreds of chefs are expected to speak in a single voice with Jarvis by endorsing the charter. The movement, organized by Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust, a Boston-based group which promotes traditional, healthful eating habits, is another reflection of the increasing politicization of chefs. Noting that food can be only as good as the ingredients they work with, these chefs are trying to promote the use of better food and to take a respectful approach to the earth.
As artists, chefs want to control the medium with which they practice their culinary skill as well as the canvas it is presented on. This means speaking out against many conventional practices, including genetically engineered foods, synthetic hormones such as bovine growth hormones in milk, artificial ingredients, soil and water pollution, pesticide residues and the homogenization of the world’s cultures and cuisines.
Rick Bayless of Frontera/Topolobampo and Zinfandel and local chairman of Chefs Collaborative: 2000, said, “We’ve taken a full stance as part of the community. We care very intimately about the products we work with.”
In Chicago, support for the tenets sweeps across the upper echelon of chefs and restauratuers. Almost 50 signatures were etched onto the charter, including Gordon Sinclair of Gordon, Andrew Rothschild of The Marc, Tony Mantuano of Tuttaposto, Charlie Trotter of Charlie Trotter’s, Gabriel Viti of Gabriel’s and Yves Roubaud of Shaw’s Crab House.
Nationally, Alice Waters of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Mary Sue Milliken of City in Los Angeles, Joyce Goldstein of Square One in San Francisco, Mark Miller of Red Sage in Washington D.C. and Larry Forgione of An American Place in New York signed the charter as well.
Gregory Drescher, a director of Oldways, said the statement of principles is designed as a roadmap that anticipates problems with the food supply and issues of cultural diversity without bowing to current trends and hot buttons.
“In contemporary life, we tend to tackle one problem at hand without looking at the greater issues that surround it,” Drescher said. “We have to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”
The eight principles on the charter are:
– Food is fundamental to life;
– Good, safe, wholesome food is a basic human right;
– Society has an obligation to make good, pure food affordable and accessible to all;
– Sound food choices emphasize locally grown, seasonally fresh and whole or minimally processed ingredients;
– Cultural and biological diversity is essential for the health of the planet and its inhabitants;
– The healthy traditional diets of many cultures offer abundant evidence that fruits, vegetables, beans, breads and grains are the foundation of good diets;
– And that as part of their education, children deserve to be taught basic cooking skills and to learn the impact of their food choices on themselves, their culture and their environment.
How will these principles manifest themselves at the restaurants?
Tuttaposto’s Mantuano explained that his Mediterranean cooking jibes perfectly with the charter. Less protein, more grains, vegetables and natural foods are very much a part of his approach. Bayless, long known for his regional cuisines, initially of Mexico and now expanding to include American regional at Zinfandel, has proven that an intellectual and slightly esoteric approach can co-exist in popular restaurant culture.
Jarvis is adamant about adhering to his own principles which fall right in line with those espoused on the Chefs Collaborative: 2000 charter.
“I fight every day. For fresh, for seasonal, for quality over quantity. I honestly believe that if I give up, then I’ve sold myself. I shouldn’t be in the business then.”
