Chef's Collaborative 2000 Charter: Food for Life!

"We, the undersigned, acknowledging our leadership in the celebration of the pleasures of food, and recognizing the impact of food choices on our collective personal health, on the vitality of cultures and on the integrity of the global environment, affirm the following principles..."

o begins the Charter and Statement of Principles for the Chef's Collaborative 2000, a project by gourmet chefs from around the world to advance sustainable food choices for the next century. Food luminaries such as Wolfgang Puck, Paul Prudhomme, Jacques Pepin, Susan Feniger and Nobu Matsuhisa have joined well over 50 other world-class chefs worldwide to promote the fact that food is fundamental to life and that choices we make every day relating to food have impacts on ourselves, our culture and our environment.
On November 10, a special signing of the charter, including a gourmet dinner and presentation by John Robbins will be held in San Diego. Michel Stroot, head chef of the world renowned Golden Door Spa, will host the event at the Carmel Valley Doubletree Resort. The evening's festivities begin at 5:30 PM with light refreshments, followed by a gourmet vegetarian lasagne dinner prepared by Health Classic chefs. At 7:15 PM, guests will witness the signing of the Chef's Collaborative 2000 Charter by gourmet chefs based in San Diego. Musical entertainment will be offered at 8 PM by singer/songwriter Karl Anthony.
The dinner and signing will be followed by a presentation by John Robbins. Robbins is the author of the Pulitzer prize nominated bestseller Diet for a New America - How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness & The Future of Life on Earth, and the recently published May All be Fed (see article about Robbins above).
The Charter is the brainchild of Boston-based Oldways Preservation and Exchange Trust, a nonprofit education organization. The San Diego event is a joint effort of San Diego Earth Day and Santa Barbara-based Fall Health Classics, one of America's foremost presenters of preventive and wholistic health and environmental conferences. The event is being coordinated locally by Randl Rupar, a San Diego Earth Day volunteer.
Tickets are $35.50 per person. Proceeds will benefit San Diego Earth Day and the contribution is tax deductible. Call (619)272-7370 to make reservations.

Chefs Collaborative 2000 Statement of Principles

  1. Food is fundamental to life. It nourishes us in body and soul, and the sharing of food immeasurably enriches our sense of community.
  2. Good, safe, wholesome food is a basic human right.
  3. Society has the obligation to make good, pure food affordable and accessible to all.
  4. Good food begins with unpolluted air, land and water, environmentally sustainable farming and fishing, and humane animal husbandry.
  5. Sound food choices emphasize locally grown, seasonally fresh and whole or minimally processed ingredients.
  6. Cultural and biological diversity is essential for the health of the planet and its inhabitants. Preserving and revitalizing sustainable food and agricultural traditions strengthen that diversity.
  7. The healthy, traditional diets of many cultures offer abundant evidence that fruits, vegetables, beans, breads and grains are the foundation of good diets.
  8. As part of their education, our children deserve to be taught basic cooking skills and to learn the impact of their food choices on themselves, on their culture and on their environment.