vegetarian..from hippie to mainstream

January 8, 2004

By Elyse Friedman

Special to the Tribune

Published January 7, 2004

Oprah Winfrey has lost weight. Again. She looks fabulous! How did she do it this time? Her luxury-priced trainer advised her to cut out all processed white foods like sugar, flour and rice from her diet. Oprah tried it and said she "immediately lost 10 pounds." Oh, wow!

There was a time when almost any self-respecting hippie could have given Ms. O. the same advice--free of charge. Members of the '60s counterculture knew processed white foods were to be avoided. They just didn't know why. Earthy brown foods like brown rice, whole-wheat bread and honey were definitely where it was at.

So, what's the difference between then and now? In today's world it is socially acceptable and scientifically reasonable to eat like a hippie. Dig it!

Food would hardly be the first subject that comes to mind when reflecting back on the adventurous appetites of the counterculture. Nonetheless, the powerful wave of rebellion that swept across America in the late 1960s and early '70s had a transformational effect on almost every area of life, including the way people ate, cooked and thought about food.

Contrary to popular thinking, and despite millions of jokes about seeds, sprouts, soybean casserole and granola, the most significant legacy of the '60s counterculture may have less to do with sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll, bell-bottoms and Birkenstocks than with the food on our plates and in our supermarkets.

Hungry for change, the hippies discovered that food represented an ideal medium for merging their personal values with their political goals. The phrase "you are what you eat" was embraced as a mantra to live by--and interpreted literally to include the physical, mental and spiritual whole of one's entire existence. Maybe they couldn't change the world overnight, but they could change--and express themselves--through the foods they chose to eat (and perhaps even more important, not eat). Ironically, the most important revolution instigated by the counterculture (with apologies to Janis and Jimi) may have been over America's stomach.

Erasing the old culinary and cultural boundaries while creating an alternative to the processed, toxic, "straight" regimen on which they were raised became increasingly important elements of the hippies' mission. (The fact that it was so radically different from anything that Mom and Dad might eat made the new diet that much more attractive.)

Sparking a cultural revolution

Experimentation and improvisation were the culinary bywords of the time. There was tremendous interest in fresh, organic, pesticide-free and preservative-free foods as well as foods then considered "exotic," but now commonplace, such as spicy Chinese, Middle Eastern and Medi-terranean cuisines.

Restaurant critic and culinary historian John Mariani wrote in "The Four Seasons: A History of America's Premier Restaurant":

"By the time the volatile issues of civil rights, Vietnam and Watergate died down, many in the counterculture had turned their energies to the study, growth, preparation and cooking of an incredible new variety of foods Americans had never before considered eating."

Those food choices have become a major influence on today's diet. Remarkably (and unintentionally), when food entered their revolutionary equation, the counterculture ended up creating culinary history.

Today, the culinary revolution pioneered by the practical idealism of the '60s continues to reverberate. Over time, we've become so comfortable with the fare of the hippie kitchen, we barely notice how thoroughly it has infiltrated--and transformed--our own 21st Century kitchens and how completely accepted it has become.

"Since the organic foods revolution in the 1970s, Baby Boomers have drawn a link between food and health," reported a 2002 article in American Demographics magazine, "but these days, many products once confined to hippie co-ops are now filling mainstream supermarkets."

Hippie cuisine has come of age and, ironically, has become very big business. The past 10 years have witnessed an explosion in the organic and natural foods marketplace with sales of organic food growing five times faster than food sales in general, according to the Organic Trade Association. With national standards in place, organic producers will continue to supply a hungry market that is expected to continue growing up to 25 percent a year. Most surprisingly, a recent survey conducted by Prevention magazine and the Food and Marketing Institute (FMI) found that 53 percent of all organic food is now purchased at conventional supermarkets.

"Counterculture foods were generally sold in out-of-the-way locations and were very time-intensive to prepare," says Mary Meehan, a partner with Iconoculture, a market research firm. "First you had to wash the beans, then soak the beans, then cook the beans and then all you had when you were finished were beans--and a very boring plate of food. Now there are a tremendous number of natural and organic options available--from organic fruits and vegetables to microwave organic macaroni and cheese--all at a store near you."

Fortunately, the "countercuisine" as a whole has grown up--and lightened up. It's also more colorful, more creative and, best of all, it tastes better. A lot better. A good thing, since eating for pleasure is now considered politically correct (and even encouraged!). And real men have been known to eat tofu, another counterculture favorite enjoying booming sales.

"Today, people of all generations are eating foods that were once in the realm of a small population," says Judy Krizmanic, author of "The Teen's Guide to Going Vegetarian" and the "Teen's Vegetarian Cookbook."

"It's a significant cultural change that you can find soymilk next to the skim milk in your supermarket dairy case. This kind of fundamental food change is much more than a fad."

Meehan concurs. "What was once fringe, tasteless-but-good-for-you hippie food [has evolved] into fresh, flavorful, healthy, aromatic, accessible and convenient food choices."

Former flower child favorite vegetarianism also is in bloom and in the news, with ever-increasing public acceptance and enthusiasm for plant-centered diets. According to A. Elizabeth Sloan, president of Sloan Trends and Solutions, a consultant to the food service industry, "with 12 million 'true vegetarians,' record numbers of 'semi-meatless eaters' and 15 percent of college students now describing themselves as vegetarians, [we can] expect the 'new vegetarian' to come of age as a strong and sophisticated mainstream cuisine."

The spawning of many movements

Moosewood Restaurant of Ithaca, N.Y., illustrates the shift of vegetarianism from iffy alternative into popular life-style choice. Named one of America's 13 most influential restaurants of the 20th Century by Bon Appetit magazine, the collectively owned restaurant recently celebrated 30 years of serving natural foods. Festivities included the publication of the 10th in a line of award-winning cookbooks, "Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates: Festive Meals for Holidays and Special Occasions."

But it was the first book, the charmingly homespun vegetarian classic, "The Moosewood Cookbook," hand lettered and illustrated by early collective member and natural foods pioneer Mollie Katzen, that assumed iconic status when it was named one of the top 10 best-selling cookbooks of all time by the New York Times. More than 31/2 million copies are in print.

FULL STORY:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/food/chi-0401070095jan07,1,7921631.story?coll=chi-leisuregoodeating-hed