By Katherine Pyles
HQ 69 | WINTER/SPRING 2010
I joined the Huntington Quarterly staff in August of 2009 as its managing editor, and my initiation into the complex world of magazine publishing came rather quickly when we were faced with the question of whether to feature Jamie Oliver on the cover of our current issue.
We were all a little concerned about how Huntington would be portrayed in Oliver’s new reality show, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. The TV series, which premieres March 26 on ABC, centers on the controversial Associated Press article that declared Huntington “America’s fattest and unhealthiest city.”
Our editor Jack Houvouras was especially worried. For 21 years, he has published a magazine showcasing only the most positive stories from our community. Articles in the Huntington Quarterly are meant to inspire, inform and entertain residents of the Huntington area and provide a pleasant trip down memory lane for those who have moved out of town. What would happen if, as many predicted, Jamie Oliver depicted us on national television as unhealthy, uneducated and unchangeable?
Once the initial hullabaloo of Oliver’s arrival died down, we began to learn a little bit more about why he was here. Reflecting on the time he spent in Huntington, Oliver said, “I’m here to inspire and show America that just a little effort can make a difference. I’m talking about causing a big fuss. I’m talking about a seed of change. I’m talking about schools; I’m talking about the fast food industry. I’m here to start a revolution, the biggest food revolution this country has ever seen.”
With an undeniable passion for encouraging a healthy lifestyle, and a genuine compassion for those in our community suffering from obesity and the resulting poor health, Oliver stood out as an obvious choice for our cover story. I successfully persuaded Jack that putting Jamie Oliver on the cover of our magazine would be timely and appropriate, and it might ideally encourage those still unsure of his intentions to consider a new perspective.
The truth is that our entire nation – not just our city – has done a phenomenal job in making daily life quite a bit easier and thus significantly more sedentary. From vehicles to escalators to riding lawnmowers to video games, an active lifestyle has almost become unnecessary. Along the same lines, drive-through windows, frozen dinners and processed foods have made our lives simpler without a doubt, but have they made our lives better?
Oliver came to Huntington to fight the notion that convenience reigns supreme. He argued instead that much value could be found in healthful eating and food preparation. While he was here, he convinced thousands that eating raw foods – fresh, unprocessed foods – would provide innumerable benefits for their health. He worked with the Cabell County school system and local medical professionals to make sure that his ideals remained intact once he left. And despite our initial stubbornness, we can’t deny that we learned a thing or two from him – even if it meant reexamining our less-than-positive traits.
At the outset, Oliver’s reality show will likely cast us in a negative light; our area has heard frightening statistics for years concerning our overall health and the declining health of our children. Somehow we need to transition from our passivity and indifference toward health advice and disease prevention to actual change, putting Oliver’s good ideas to work and ultimately assimilating them into our lifestyles.
So, Huntington, we hope you enjoy our look at Jamie Oliver’s life and mission. We also hope you watch Jamie Oliver’s show, not as another form of negative publicity for Huntington, but as a message and caution for all Americans. He may expose some of the problems of our community, but as he says, the problem is not just here in Huntington. It’s all over the United States.
I think Oliver said it best himself: “There are towns and cities all over the United States and the world with the same problems as Huntington. I wanted to go somewhere that anyone could recognize as ‘home.'”
While accepting Oliver’s beliefs may take some effort, there is still no better place for his “Food Revolution” to begin than in our fair city. I certainly hope I’m right about Jamie Oliver and his new show on ABC. Otherwise, I may be looking for a new job.
