Organic food is now a booming billion dollar industry. And today's top chefs are its biggest cheerleaders. They say locally-grown, organic food will help save the planet. But not everyone agrees. In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, an argument for why celebrity chefs are just food snobs serving up a platter of global doom.
Greg Critser writes for USA Today and the L.A. Times. He tells Steve Paulson that most of the claims of the advocates of organic food have very little science behind them. He thinks chefs should concentrate on creating satisfying food and not saving the world. But Joan Dye Gussow grows all her own produce and feeds herself from her garden year round. She tells Anne Strainchamps what she eats, and why people should care about the political and environmental implications of their food choices. Gussow is the author of "This Organic Life"SEGMENT 2:
Russ Parsons is food editor for the L.A. Times and author of "How to Read a French Fry: And Other Intriguing Tales of Kitchen Science." He tells Jim Fleming that french fries should be crisp on the outside and fluffy on the inside, and shares the secrets of fried spinach and Tuscan potato chips. Also, Debra Ginsberg has been waiting tables for some twenty years, and is the author of "Waiting." She tells Jim Fleming what can turn a shift into a nightmare; why so many wait staff are performers; and that people tip better when they're spending someone else's money.SEGMENT 3:
Pat Willard is the author of "Secrets of Saffron." She tells Steve Paulson that saffron is more than just a spice. It's rare and difficult to harvest but has an ancient history as a food additive, hair and skin dye, and as an aphrodisiac.Cassette copies are available at 1-800-747-7444. Ask for program number 01-09-02-B.
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