A Restoration Economy Based on Reviving Regional Cuisines & Protecting Landscapes. That’s what was in a dialogue I participated in this morning in a wonderful encounter with David Shields, chairman of the Carolina Gold Rice Foundation & Distinguished Professor at University of South Carolina. In his fine book, Southern Provisions: the Creation & revival of a Cuisine, David comments:
“To resuscitate a cuisine, one must first revivify the soil. But even when we convert (exhausted) fields into vital organic systems again, simply replicating what was once grown does not recognize other changes wrought by history…[such as] how produce functions shift over the decades.”
And yet look at what progress David, Glenn Roberts, Steve Cresovich & others have made:
“In the past six years, we have brought back Carolina Gold rice, the Carolina sieva bean, the Sea Island red pea, Sea Island white flint corn, and the Berbemount grape. The rice pea, Carolina African peanut, white imphee sorgum, the purple-ribbon sugarcane, the Hayman sweet potato, the Bradford watermelon, the Palmetto asparagus, and several southern peppers are on the horizon.”
These crop restorations have increased jobs and revenues for farmers, millers, chefs, bakers, brewers and others throughout Low Country, restoring land and flavor!
Brother Coyote, OEF
