Living the American Green

Cats and kittens, we’ve got a real treat tonight. I sat down yesterday with Jared Koch, nutritionist and author of a dense gem of a book, Clean Plates NYC.

“Jared’s nutritional advice in Clean Plates has the power to transform your individual health and our collective well-being." --Deepak Chopra, M.D.

I first met Jared at New York’s monthly schmooze-fest for all breeds of vocational environmentalists, “Green Drinks,” where he was giving a brief presentation on his project. And quite a project it is: teaming up with a professional food-critic, Alex van Buren, Jared conducted a phenomenal amount of research deep into the food sourcing, cooking methods, and final products of over 300 restaurants in Manhattan – eating at over 125 of them. All with the objective of compiling a list of New York restaurants, accommodating omnivores and vegans alike, that stand out at the helm of a subcultural shift towards food that is as healthy as it is delicious, as ethically sound as it is aesthetically rich. 

After a brief rundown of the criteria by which foods and restaurants were evaluated, the meat and potatoes (so to speak) of Clean Plates NYC begins with ethos, laying out Jared’s five precepts for finding a unique manner of eating that is suited to the individual rather than to the hippest new diet.

He parses the complex relationship between genetic history, cultural background, day-to-day lifestyle, sex, and age in determining what diet may suit us best as “bio-individuals” – and it turns out that the “ideal diet” is just as in flux as we are. Nonetheless, the other precepts make it clear that the nutritional situation of virtually all of us suffers from excessive processing of foods away from their state as they come from the earth, from a gross imbalance of the plant-animal ratio in our diet, from the presence of hormones, antibiotics, and heavy metallic sterilizers in our food, and from addictions to mood-and-energy-altering substances like sugar, caffeine, and alcohol. 

And then come the reviews. And O, the reviews. The rest of the book is composed of nuanced, in-depth, high-quality reviews of the 75 top choices from Jared’s and Alex’s research. Now, I visited two of these places prior to interviewing Jared, and already I’ve had the most interesting tea I’ve ever tasted, one of the best salads I’ve ever had, the third most delicious sandwich I’ve ever had (1st place goes to the Italian ex-pats at Panino Sportivo Roma on 121st and Amsterdam, and 2nd to the sandwich ninjas at our dear City Sub on Bergen near 5th Ave in Brooklyn), and one of the best (organic!) cocktails I’ve ever had (called, no less, the “Slap & Tickle”). These restaurants are the real deal: hedonistic, atmospheric, and power-packed with nutrition. And because the book is pocket-sized, you can stick it in your pants and go on the healthiest damn glutton-crawl this side of the Sardinian countryside. Clearly, the authors are onto something here – something way, way overdue…

So I knew straight away I needed to talk to this guy. Get him to weigh in on all these tricky issues we keep carouselling around at LtAG – local vs. organic? just how much difference can we actually make on the environment with our food consumption choices? how do we get schools involved in re-rooting our agricultural system in real foods that don’t need to be shipped halfway around the world? on a scale of 1 to 100, just how elitist is arugula (okay, I didn’t ask that one)? But the rest – and much more – are answered below the fold.

So here are the steps to take. 1) Click “More” to read this exclusive interview with Mr. Jared Koch; 2) Reflect. Salivate; 3) Buy the book – you won’t regret it if you’re ever planning on being in this beautiful, busy, and surprisingly healthful city of mine.

LtAG: Tell me a little about your career path. Why did you become a nutritionist?

JK: I always had an inclination towards health and healing since I was young. I studied premed at college and was accepted to medical school, but I decided last minute to take time off and help my brother out in a start-up entertainment business. I figured that if I was going to go to med school and follow that path for the rest of my life, I would take some time off, and we actually ended up building a pretty successful business. I thought I had everything that I was told would make me happy, that was supposed to make me happy. But I wasn’t. I also had a lot of health issues – skin issues, digestive issues, low energy, fatigue…kind of a combination. So I seized an opportunity to sell my share in the business.

I wanted to see if I could start studying again, in preparation for going back to med school, and also to see if my personal health issues were related to nutrition. I decided to enroll in a nutrition program through the Global Institute for Alternative Medicine – and the more I dove in the more I realized how uneducated I was, and how uneducated we are as a culture, in nutrition. It’s a huge problem, a missing piece in health care. I think we’re just starting to move in that direction now.

But so many chronic diseases we face as a culture are definitely, strongly linked to nutrition and lifestyle. So on the personal side of health and general wellbeing, and also systemically on the economic side, I knew it could have a huge impact on the whole health care system if we devoted more time and resources to nutrition.

LtAG: What misconceptions would you say exist in how most of us think about our own nutrition? Would you say that many people’s ingrained sense of what “healthy food” is – vegetables, cereal with skim milk, grilled chicken, what have you – is still by-and-large accurate?

JK: I think the biggest problem is that as a culture we’re obsessed with the quantitative – “high protein” diets, “low carb” diets, “low salt,” “low calorie” – not that calories don’t play a role, but they’re a lot less significant than people believe. And as a result we’re not really putting any focus on the quality of the foods that we eat.

Another misconception is that eating healthier is some kind of sacrifice – boring, tasteless, a pile of sprouts on a plate. And people are looking for a one-size fits all approach, and at the end of the day it’s very much about the individual – there’s no one diet that works for everyone and that has to be taken into account

SuperFood! Up up and awaaaaaay!

LtAG: Your book begins with five ways to impact the planet positively through food choices: 1) cut down on animal products, 2) stock up on organic foods, 3) choose locally grown foods, 4) avoid genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), and 5) replace bottled water with filtered water. Say you were advising someone who wanted immediately to be more mindful and environmentally responsible with what he or she was eating, but found all these steps too daunting to take. If any, which would you stress as most important – or most important to begin with?

JK: The issues are so complicated from an environmental perspective. It’s hard to know what individual action has the most beneficial effect at the environmental level. I think there’s a reality that we’re just starting to learn, which is that we don’t necessarily know what the right choice is – which can create paralysis.

It’s not realistic that everybody is going to do everything, but if everybody did something, then it would have a huge positive effect on the system overall. I try to identify for my clients where they have the least resistance to make a particular change , and have them focus on that one – because then they’re more likely actually to make that change, which will create positive momentum and which leads to other things. I don’t think it’s good to get attached, too obsessed, with one particular life choice.

I will say from a health perspective that one of the biggest and unrecognized problems we face every day is the eating of conventionally-raised animals, which is a disaster for the planet as well as for our bodies. 

LtAG: Along the same lines: someone less-than-passionate about health food might accuse your recommendations of being a bit austere. For instance, even allowing for bio-individuality, you still advise restricting intake caffeine, sugar, alcohol, cheese, and of course, meat. How would you respond to someone committed to eating healthier but feels strongly that eating should be a joyful, sensual affair?

JK: In my experience, change happens over time. As you eat higher quality food, your taste buds adjust and you begin to taste the chemicals and other unpleasant aspects of heavily processed, industrial foods.  Everybody’s at a different point – so whenever I work with my clients, I meet them where they’re at and try to make progress from there. What I try to do is tell people – whatever you are eating, even if it’s Big Macs every day of the week, add more nutrient dense foods, especially leafy green vegetables, because that will crowd out some of the cravings for sugar, dairy, etc. I also have them upgrade the quality of the things they are eating, whether it’s meat, cheese, alcohol, or whatever it is, which will have some positive impact.

I encourage people, rather than approaching their nutrition with only an intellectual approach, to experiment with how they feel when they eat in a particular way – my advice incorporates my own self-reflective experience and that of the people I work with. Knowing and adapting to how they feel should add to the quality of their lives. This is the point of the book: there are tons of ways to eat healthy food that are extremely beneficial and also extremely delicious.

LtAG: Let’s switch gears a bit and look at the restaurant-critic element of your project. Are there any particularly interesting trends among the restaurants you reviewed? How would you say the restaurant industry is responding to our increased food-consciousness these days?

JK: Nothing happens as quick as one would like it to…but I was pleasantly surprised when I went out. I had always compiled a list of restaurants before I decided to do the book, just for myself and for my clients. But when I started researching for the book I was pleasantly surprised by how many restaurants, even those that aren’t prioritizing these elements, were starting to use higher quality and more sustainable animal products, more local and organic produce, more greenmarket seasonal food. I think this will continue – chefs are more aware of this possibility today, and demand for it will continue to increase as the public become more aware as well. I think a lot of chefs are also realizing that better quality food is also better tasting food.

LtAG: Now, you did, to my astonishment, include a fast-food joint – Chipotle – in your survey of healthy NYC fare! What’s going on here?

JK: When I was approaching the project I wanted the selection to be as varied as possible. As New Yorkers we live kind of varied lives – whether we can afford to frequent fancy restaurants or not, we still sometimes have a need for fast food. I wanted to make sure to have options for all situations. So we were looking at what are the best fast food options. Chipotle’s meats and cheeses are hormone and antibiotic free – here is a place where for a reasonable price you can get your meat and beans and cheeses without the chemical additives, quickly and cheaply. This summer they’re starting a program to source local produce. The fact that it’s a chain just means that it’s more accessible to more people.

If I shill for this - delicious, sustainable, atmospheric, and all-around fantastic! - restaurant, will they give me free burritos?

LtAG: But Chipotle is obviously the exception here among our cheap, fast food options. So what’s your stance on the famous “elitism” argument? Or rather, the more nuanced argument that organic and local foods are being sold at prices – both in restaurants and in grocery stores – that make them impractical for lower-income families?

JK: It’s a big, complicated question – the short answer is that to a degree it’s true. There’s a slight variance in who can eat healthfully because of price. The problem is systemic – government subsidies for industrial food, etc. That being said, as a consumer, if budget is a problem then it comes down to individual responsibility. A lot of people who really look at their budget could find a way to cut extraneous expenses – soda, cigarettes, coffee? – that could be put towards food. Even if it’s not organic, even if it’s just real food, less processed fruits, vegetables, nuts – everyone is better off getting that into their system. And there are ways to shop for organic foods or local foods in season that are affordable – vegetables and fruits and good quality stuff – you can do it.

They’re starting to take food stamps at farmers’ markets. We’re moving in a direction where healthful food is more accessible, and hopefully, with supply and demand being what they are, as the people who can currently afford to eat it more frequently do so, the price comes down to where everyone can afford it.

LtAG: What is the responsibility of schools and teachers in all this? How could food production and consumption be better integrated in our education system –in the cafeteria, the classroom, or otherwise?

JK: In any kind of school environment, people are to some extent confined. One of the most important things is access to good quality food – which usually not the case, because it’s all institutionalized. There needs to be a systemic shift in making sure good food is available. Culturally, at some point it became cool to be bad, to eat whatever you want – and this has to shift. Kids have to be exposed to real food – school has a certain responsibility, parents have a certain responsibility here. I think we’re disconnected in general – kids’ relationship to food has to be developed, not just mom sticking it on the table with no sense of where it comes from.

So yeah, get them out on a field trip and get their hands in the soil. Once people are educated not just intellectually but experientially, they can make changes that are internally motivated, not just surface level changes. So much of kids’ perception is influenced by marketing – it’s a powerful force to counteract – and a whole cultural conditioning won’t budge unless more people, especially celebrities, get involved and talk about food…For example, when Kobe Bryant gets out there and talks about the need to be healthy from a young age and the risks of not doing so, when people realize there are broad implications, environmentally, economically, for their kids’ entire lives, that’s when change will occur.

LtAG: Our project at Living the American Green is everyday environmental perspective, each day being a bit more informed and responsible than the day before, while trying to keep a sense of humor about the whole thing so as to avoid burnout or tunnel vision. Given the overall state of agriculture and nutrition in this country, do you see a silver lining? How do you keep your spirits up in your line of work?

JK: My spirits are always up. I’m a positive person. I’m very aware of all the negative and that’s what motivates me to work tirelessly at what I do all day, and I feel like I’m contributing in my own way. I created the book to be very accessible and very positive – to be very enjoyable and to meet people where they’re at. New York City – it’s a culture where people go out and have fun and experience the incredible diversity of food. It doesn’t have to be a sacrifice, if you’re open to new things. Realistically, most people frequent – how many restaurants in a year? It’s really just about changing habits – find the restaurants you like that are serving these kinds of food and enjoy them. And even those restaurants that aren’t currently serving healthful food – ask them about it and tell them it’s important to you as a customer that the food have real health value. If a lot of people make any positive change, that leads to a significant effect beyond any one person’s comprehension.

LtAG: My last question is a fun one: imagine that from now on, every meal you eat has to include, along with anything else, at least one of five all-star ingredients. What five would you choose? [Ed. note: mine are tomatoes, wild mushrooms, walnuts, goat cheese, and quinoa.]

JK: Definitely some kind of green leafy vegetable – kale, swiss chard, collard greens. A cruciferous vegetable, maybe broccoli. A sweet vegetable like squash or carrot. A sustainable protein source – either a bean of some kind or a grass-fed, naturally-raised animal. Ginger.

That’s all, folks. Thanks again to Jared Koch for his time, enthusiasm, and good fight.

Who wrote this one?  Me: Cook, hiker, mushroom hunter, snowball fighter, lover of good coffee and cheap wine, enjoyer of the taste of tap water, wannabe Sicilian goatherd, comrade of big hairy spiders. You: widespread sustainable agriculture, bioregional community structures, innovative green-collar workforce policy, pesto sauce made by an Italian grandmother. Come over for dinner sometime. --- “A gastronome who isn’t an environmentalist is just stupid, and an environmentalist who isn’t a gastronome is just sad.” -Carlo Petrini, Founder, Slow Food Read more from this author