Spring Break
Worldwide consumption and edible gardening
In an effort to expand our eyes to the global perspective, the Kansas City Public Library Central Branch is showcasing a unique photography exhibit on who eats what where.
Amy Wright
Issue date: 11/3/08 Section: News
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It is interesting to note both the similarities and differences between the series of photos. A diverse diet still maintains staple food groups, though each has its own individual flavor.
In 2002, the American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts presented an exhibition of Menzel's global photographs from eight countries. Since then, Menzel and writer Faith D'Aluisio have extended their project by visiting 16 more countries.
Divided by country, each section of the exhibit depicts how the families acquire their food and prepare meals according to their cultural traditions. Every section is centered around a family portrait with members gathered around a selection of one week's worth of groceries.
These families are as diverse as the food they showcase, from a small Cuban family with two young children to an extended family from Bhutan, complete with grandparents and cousins.
Menzel and D'Aluisio have created a truly global picture of food habits, yet the end result remains remarkably personal. In each country visited, the pair developed a special relationship with the family pictured, overcoming language barriers and cultural differences.
The Kansas City Public Library kicked off the "Hungry Planet" exhibit with a presentation from Alan Branhagen, director of horticulture at Powell Gardens. Branhagen spoke on plans for the Heartland Harvest Garden, a major expansion opening in early June 2009.
The fifth largest botanical gardens in the Midwest, Powell Gardens is a private, non-profit botanical garden located just east of Kansas City. Set on more than 915 acres of gently rolling hills and peaceful meadows, the garden's mission is "to offer an experience that embraces the Midwest's spirit of place and inspires an appreciation for the importance of plants in our lives."
The new Heartland Harvest Garden will be the nation's largest edible landscape, showcasing a culmination of aesthetically-pleasing and nutritionally-beneficial plants. Every plant will have some kind of edible use, from fruits and vegetables to herbs and spices.
"This will be a place to reconnect with where food comes from and to celebrate the pleasures of eating well," said Branhagen.
Branhagen also noted the garden's importance for children. The garden will feature an spiral-shaped apple orchard where he hopes "kids will just want to run through and have fun."
"It brings us back to the next generation who needs to know where their food comes from," he said. "Kids are astounded that carrots come out of the ground. This garden will teach you."
Educating the younger generation is a major theme for this new garden. It will feature a special Youth Garden, which will help reshape the way the next generation thinks about food.
Children will have the chance to get involved with hands-on lessons to illustrate the entire 'seed-to-plant' theme: they will plant, maintain and harvest vegetables, and later taste the fruits of their labor.
There will be other interactive components on water conservation, sustainable and organic gardening, pollination and living off the land as our Native American forefathers once did.
awright@unews.com
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Losing Weight
posted 11/06/08 @ 1:10 AM CST
It is much better for health and staying thin to eat food as it is grown without processing. Processed foods has made America the fattest society ever. (Continued…)
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