Deconstructing Supper

The Deconstructing Supper was a delicious thought-provoking evening held at Vancouver's Norman Rothstein Theatre. The one-hour documentary takes us around the world on a journey into the billion-dollar battle to control the world's food production. The film states only five major corporations control the food supply. Do you remember the images of the line-ups at the gas pumps during the so-called oil crises? I remember the images as a kid running to the fridge fighting off five brothers and sisters to ensure my food supply.

One reviewer summed up the film as a plea for organics. A food only the rich can afford. They missed the point. Another writer Nathan Batalion says, the creation of genetically modified foods is allowing, for the first time, the patenting of life forms for commercialization.

The film brought that point home to me with diagrams displaying how we all could have a little pork served up with our wheat. This comes about when the genes/DNA of sheep, pigs etc. are cross bred with the genes/DNA of wheat. That's genetic modification.

Would a rose still be as sweet smelling if it were not called a rose? Sure, but with genetic modification, roses are no longer crossed with just roses. They can be mated with cows, tomatoes with maple trees, fish with donkeys, butterflies with cockroaches, orchids with lizards.

Monsanto is a name that comes up in the film. You may remember them in association with the bovine hormone treatment for cows, to make them produce lots more milk. The hormone is banned in Canada and Europe, available in the USA.

Ben and Jerry the good ice-cream guys went to court to win the right to use hormone free dairy products in their ice cream. They won. Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser was not so lucky when he warred Monsanto.

Percy had already been growing high yielding disease-resistant canola crops for more then fifty years when he discovered crops in his field that he had not planted? Monsanto genetically modified the foreign seeds found in Percy's field. Impossible to believe but Monsanto sued Percy and won with the Judge declaring, "the mere fact that it's on your field, you're violating Monsanto's patent if you let it grow."

Percy was a seed developer and seed saver. His 53 years of developing his own canola seed was destroyed. Talk about literally planting the seeds of destruction.

UCS is an independent nonprofit alliance of 50,000 concerned citizens and scientists; they explain the concept of Terminator Technology. Plants are being genetically produced with no annual replenishing of perennial seeds so farmers will become wholly dependent on the seed provider.

In the past Monsanto had farmers sign agreements that they would not collect seeds, and even sent out field detectives to check on farmers. The Canadian farmer Percy says whoever is in control of the seed supply will control a country or a nation.

The film moves to show people passionately protesting against genetically modified foods in Britain. Europeans are resisting biotech food and risking a trade war with the United States, for refusing to accept imports of genetically altered crops. If we currently label the contents of our food according to the fat, salt and chemical components in two official languages, as well as a variety of other languages, why not label for GM's?

Michael Ableman an activist and a farmer on British Columbia's Saltspring Island asks, why do we spend so much money on SUV'S, leather coats and other status symbols but expect to pay so little for our food? Ableman traveled to Mainland China where he observed the remnants of a traditional system of agriculture that had sustained people and the land for thousands of years. The film and Michael's talk worked up our appetite as we proceeded into the dining hall.

You would think eating with over 300 would be chaotic, not so. Glowing lanterns gave the room ambiance. Beautiful cloth covered the tables. We sipped on Gewürztraminer organic white wine from Summerhill Estate; Crannog Ales gave us Red Branch Irish Ale that went well with the Indian Buffet. Out back may have been at bit frantic, though it still looked like the chefs were having a pretty good time.

The evening was sponsored by Capers and catered by Edible Planet. The catering truck was magnificent and if I were ever stranded on a desert island that would be the one thing I would want with me. Maury Restaurant cooked up all the naan bread on a kiln like stove. The grilled salmon with chutney was exquisite; the tables were over flowing with fresh vegetables. Once I finished tending bar I managed to snack on those amazing brownies by Terra Breads.

Not only did he orchestrate the dinner and host the film, there was Chef John Bishop long after the hall was empty, clearing tables. John is planning to be part of an organic learning center. Young chefs can see how food is grown and John can share the insights he has learned. He and co-author Dennis Green have a new cookbook, Simply Bishops: Easy Seasonal Recipes.

Director/producer/writer Marianne Kaplan, producer Leonard Terhoch and writer Merrily Weisbord are all to be commended. The film is brilliant and can rented or purchased from Moving Images Distribution (Canada) 800-684-3014 or Bullfrog Films (USA/International) 800-543-3764.

Venture out and drink up life!

The Sipping Chef
Email: chefsusan@wineries.ca