The Idea of The Plant Based Chef

My conversion to the world of plant based eating has at best been slow and, at times exceeding difficult.  Having grown up in the traditional paradigm of the western based diet it was hard to break away from what was seen to be a normal diet.  And I guess, as a child and even as a young man it was hard to see that what we ate was anything but normal.  Anything else was strange and to be derided as extreme or dangerous.  As I grew up and studied agricultural science at University the paradigm of food production was never challenged.  The ideas and innovation around the production of food were constantly being challenged but the ethos of the omnivore remained set in stone.  But food has changed a lot in the last 40 years of my life and I feel that it is hardly recognisable anymore.  The farmers have changed, the farms have changed, our planet has changed, our health and our society has changed and we as individuals have changed.  But what I think is truely different is the relationship that we now have with each other, our food and the animals that we use for food. The modern food paradigm sees aminals as commodities not as sentient beings. You wouldn't allow anyone to chop up your dog but you'll happy let someone else chop up a cow for you. You wouldn't allow your dog to live in a crate or cage but your more than happy for a pig to. Why? Because these animals are viewed differently on a societal level. Is that right?  Ethically, probably not. 

Never before in human history have there been so many human beings living on this planet at one time, over seven billon people.  We are in unchartered territory. Logic would tell us that we need to pause and think about what this means not only to us but also every living thing on earth.  It is time to really examine what we do, how we farm and what we eat and ask ourselves a simple question; can we afford to keep living like this?  Is the way we farm and the way we eat right? Is this sustainable?  

I would bet that if we are to examine the true facts of what is occurring in our food system we would be unable to say yes.  But we say yes everyday we go to the shops and buy a plate of food.  Why do we do this?  Because we can't see the truth.  It is hidden from us because if we truly knew where our food came from we wouldn't want to eat it. It tastes good, it's what we have always done, it is what everyone else does. These thought patterns need to be challenged, need to be put into the context of the world we live in today not the world of our parents and grandparents.

We are not only eating ourselves to death but also the planet.  By closely examining the food system the fact that we are in period of high instance of metabolic disease and obesity it would seem self evident that this has a simple cause that of the increased consumption of sugar and processed food like products but also an increase in the consumption of animal based foods.  Interestingly enough from my own point of view I have been involved in both ends of the spectrum having studied and worked in agriculture and then working as a chef.  I have bourne witness and my health had bourne witness to the effects of the changing food industry.  My narrative is based on my own personal experiences. I don't wish to preach as this is counter productive. However though this blog I want to put forward what I have seen, what I have done, and what I have read and watched.  In doing so I am hoping to change the way that we think about food and hopefully make a change for the better. There will be recipes and ideas to help make a change, but a change without real belief isn't a change at all.