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Professional chef cooks her way out of global warming
October 10, 2007

We first met Laura Stec in a local Step-It-Up event. She was this nice and modest lady sharing a booth with us. On her side of the table, the display was quite simple, a book called “The Global Warming Diet”. Intriguing. So between speaking with the event attendees, we found out that Laura was a San Francisco Bay Area chef, health educator, and environmental advocate. We knew that eating organic was good for the health of our body and the soil. We knew that eating local supported the local economy and reduce the consumption of oil. But could eating be that closely tied to climate change?

“Most people don’t go to environmental events, half of the people in the US don’t even vote,” Laura said, “but people vote at least three times a day by choosing what to put in their mouths.” She continued to explain that most people probably would never use a CO2 calculator to guide their lives. However they can all relate to food. Food, what it is, how it is grown, and how it gets to our dining tables, has a great impact on global warming.

A few months after the event, we thought about our short conversation and started to see more of her perspective. For every meal, you choose fresh vs. packaged, organic vs. conventional, local vs. shipped around the world, home cooked on reusable plates vs. store bought in clam shell containers, meat vs. vegetarian, etc., etc. Subconsciously 300 million Americans are making these choices at least three times a day. The industrialized food industry tries to influence people’s choices everyday by advertising in all available space. So it is high time for Americans to hear from a professional chef about how to nurture their bodies and along the way nurture the planet.

We caught up with Laura again recently and continued our conversation. So what inspired her to write the book? “I was driving one day and listening to the radio. They were talking about the Live Stock Long Shadow report from UN,” Laura started, “Do you know that livestock are responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions? After I heard that (the report), I literally ran out of my car when I got home and started researching on the web.” With her 20-year background in food, she decided to bring the climate change via various topics of food.

The Global Warming Diet will touch upon all the current food issues, such as, organic, local, and seasonal food, nutrition, water-consumption, and food waste. For example, Laura said, “In the US, on average we consume 2100 calories a day. However 1600 additional calories are produced. This is a major waste and contributes directly to global warming.”

Another food related issue is safety. Not knowing who grow your food limits food safety. “Going to your local farmer’s market is one way to reassure yourself. The same vendors who grow the food are there week after week. If something does not work for you, you tell them directly and they will make it work,” Laura suggested. Being an innovative chef for 20 years, Laura offers simple kitchen tips that will make cooking that much more enjoyable. Then of course, she also has many yummy “cool recipes for the hot climate”.

To strengthen the global warm scientific component, Professor Eugene Cordero, a professor in the Meteorology Department at San Jose State University, is writing all about the science. Dr. Cordero’s research expertise is in global climate change, atmospheric dynamics, and the interactions between ozone depletion and astropospheric climate.

We heard from Laura that she turned in her manuscript a couple of days ago. So stay tuned for more details of The Global Warming Diet in the upcoming months.

CindyW at Organicpicks

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