The Expert: Dana Cowin, We Have Questions

The former editor in chief at Food & Wine for more than two decades, podcast host and self-admitted food-obsessed tastemaker has added “advocate for nature” to her résumé. Skipping ahead to the punchline, lest you think it’s all stern finger-wagging from Cowin to “do this, do that” when it comes to responsible cuisine; in fact, it’s all about joy. The joy of cooking? Has a nice ring to it.

Tell us more behind the journey to Progressive Hedonist.

About a year-and-a-half ago, I couldn’t figure out what to do next to impact climate change with an eye on positivity for the future. There were so many challenges around water and farming and everything seemed too big or small, you know, the classic “Goldilocks” dilemma. With food/agriculture industries accounting for 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, the need to reduce waste and plastics, to support local farming—where to begin? And then I realized that people would in fact pay attention if they reframed their thinking
on this to see that joy is the root (and the route) to change. People will never be inspired by shaming them for what they buy, where they shop, how they eat—but they will be inspired by learning how to bring more joy into their lives. 

On your website, you have a fun “Progressive Hedonist Quiz.” Explain.

It’s a way for us to help people put some real thought into how they eat out and cook at home, how they shop and how they like to receive information on healthiest practices for the planet. Some people have never thought about things like “When you have food in your fridge that’s about to go bad, what do you typically do?” which is a question on the quiz. If we can mentor and guide people who are open to learning more, we become a more fully integrated community of people with the same goals. 

Let’s talk about the obligatory “farm-to-table” concept: Overused? 

It’s kind of comical, isn’t it? I mean, if you’re eating it, it most likely came from a farm. My friend Dan Barber (Blue Hill At Stone Barns) often talks about the challenges around this and I like this example of why the concept is flawed: When you shop at a farmers market—and most of us love to shop at farmers markets because it’s so lovely to browse and see the purveyors and try new things—in the end, we’re really only interacting with about 25 percent of the crops grown that keep farms going. Which is why it’s important to educate people on “other” food they can try, such as buckwheat, rotation crops including clover and alfalfa, things that put nutrients back in the soil. And that’s a goal of Progressive Hedonist. I want to show people that what’s nutritious and good for the planet is actually also extraordinarily delicious. “Deliciousness” is key to motivating people to do almost anything around food.