by Eric Goldstein

www.olivestudio.com

Tonight, I am having the pleasure of sitting down with Luke Michal, Proprietor, Cook, Producer, Voice Artist, and Personality behind S.Africa’s GoodPHooD.com

GoodPhood is a 13-Part series around eating, nutrition, food preparation, a little biology, a little funk and a lot of fun.

With our topic of Sustainability, and being a huge fan of eating GOOD FOOD!,it was a natural fit for me to interview a few of my favorite people, doing really good things in the promotion, education and entertainment using organic and heritage farm to table practices. In another interview, we will discuss one of the Southeast’s top educator/entertainers in the food industry – Brady Lowe of the Taste Network, but for now – let’s have Luke take us to South Africa, Johannesburg in particular, and give us some insight into what‘s happening with the awareness and promotion, but more importantly, behavioral change around the consumption of organic foods.

EG: Luke, thanks for taking the time to talk with us – we’re super excited, having followed your professional career over the last 7+ years. What’s happening in Joburg as it relates to people’s eating/dining expectations and how the industry as a whole is accommodating that change?

LM: First of all, S Africa has probably the best/ most stable economy on the African continent. Yet the majority of the approximately 46 million population is not able to afford the higher premiums of Organically produced foods available in the large supermarket chains. There are, however, a number of privately funded programs aimed at educating the rural communities about the wisdom of Organics & sustainable farming. In practical terms, people in the rural villages are being shown that by taking care of their small plots of land, by not using chemicals to “poison the soil”, they are able to produce better crops for a lifetime of harvests, and that the harvests they consume are more nutritious, and healthier for their families.

In the case of the more affluent population, especially in the large cities like Joburg & Cape Town, awareness is steadily growing, & with that awareness, obviously, demand.  The large Supermarket chains are now catering to this demand, and, I’m delighted to report, the availability & variety of Organic produce & goods, is rapidly increasing in SA!!

To me, it’s very clear that as people’s demand for healthier fare has increased, especially over the last 24 months, most restaurants are now offering Local Organic produce & ingredients. Free Range poultry & Grass Fed Free Range meats are staples in the higher end establishments … no Organic meats are available yet, but awareness is definitely there.

EG: What we like about GoodPhood.com, is that you take a more casual, yet urban and “funkier” approach to your messaging and how you relate to your audience. How did this evolve for the brand of GoodPhood?

LM: I always intended GoodPHooD to be accessible to a very broad range of audience. I believe that the more casual approach is less confrontational, and therefore more readily accepted by that audience.  The funkier side is just my take on life, & I believe that’s what makes the series more entertaining. Let’s face it, if the message is put across in a more entertaining way, it kinda slips in without people feeling they’re being preached at!!

EG: What trends in entertainment, social media and in various culinary circles do you see GoodPhood/Luke Michal engaging in over the next 12-18 months?

LM: Two tools I’m engaging are Facebook & YouTube.  Working in the current Global financial squeeze has made a lot of folk rethink “social networking” into powerful marketing tools. With the way regular television is going, I find people less interested in waiting for a weekly broadcast of a series, so I’m exploring other broadcast avenues for GoodPHood, yet at the same time earn revenue to offset my capital expenditure … aren’t we all??!

EG: What would you suggest as a first step for someone (who doesn’t have the benefit of your 13 part series) to gain insight into the proper steps to adapt good eating, proper food selections and proportions/food types for their own personal body types? This is where I think your program really shines and reinforced by your very fun, approachable attitude and style.

LM: Local, Seasonal, ORGANIC!!!  I ALWAYS stress Organic for the simple reason – you ARE what you eat.  If the food one consumes [ie PUTS INTO ONE’S BODY] is grown with pesticides and chemical fertilizers, that’s what’s going to manifest at some stage. By eating Organically grown foods, one can be guaranteed the food is healthy & nutritious… with NO chemicals at all.  In my opinion, NOT to eat Organically is an interesting choice!!

EG: What is the next step around education, food and nutrition?

LM: Conventional, unregulated farming practices are leaving farms/areas barren & unable to produce …they’re poisoning our planet. I believe that there needs to be a greater level of an educational drive – globally – to get Humankind back on track.  The fewer chemicals going into the earth, the more sustainable our food production is…..and after all, isn’t that what keeps us all going?????

People all over the world keep talking about this concern, yet the awareness hasn’t yet kicked in, with enough force, to radically change the way food is produced in the world.  How does it happen, I’m not sure, but what I DO know is that more and more people are being touched!  The Tipping Point is high!