'Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution' Goes to ... Los Angeles?

on September 2, 2010 at 5:19 PM

It certainly shouldn't come as a surprise that ABC has renewed Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution. The show -- which chronicled Oliver's attempts to improve school lunch in Huntington, West Virginia -- not only was a hit with fans and critics alike, but it also won an Emmy this week for outstanding reality series. Likely, the network execs want more of a good thing.

Instead of focusing on school lunch, however, Oliver will spend the second season of the show "helping people of all ages improve their eating habits in schools, homes, workplaces, and even restaurants." The goal of his newest undertaking is ambitious and commendable, but it's the location of the project that has me going "Huh?" This time around the show will move to: Los Angeles.

Do they even eat food there?

Okay, okay, it's lame to insinuate that the only people in L.A. are stick-thin, juice cleanse-obsessed celebrities starving themselves until their next audition.

Still, the choice of Los Angeles as the site for the newest Food Revolution is a little perplexing, especially when you remember that Oliver's reasons for choosing Huntington were nothing if not intentional: The West Virginia city was (allegedly) the most unhealthy city in America.

Surely, Oliver has heard of Men's Health Magazine and its annual list of "America's Fattest Cities." Why not go straight to the top of the list and pay a visit to No. 1 -- in this case Corpus Christi, Texas -- or any city in the Top 10 for the matter (which, unfortunately, is most likely to be in Texas). Why does Los Angeles, which is significantly farther down the list at No. 46, get special treatment?

Another idea: Oliver is all about eating healthy by incorporating fresh, local, seasonal food into a well-balanced diet. The simple fact of the matter is that Los Angeles -- and any other city in California -- has significantly more fresh food than other states in the nation simply because its growing season is among the longest. Why not give the Midwest -- which has one of the shortest growing seasons -- some love?

Or what about Vegas? There are thousands of unhealthy people there!

Call me regionalist, but I'm of the opinion that there are other cities that could benefit if not equally than more from Oliver's Food Revolution.

Which city is most in need of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution?

Image via JamieOliver.com

About the author Kim Conte

has shoes that make people stop her on the street and ask "Where did you get those?" but it doesn't work for taxi cabs as she was hit by one ... and lived to tell the tale. She has more freckles than Lohan but way less attitude. And she's a fierce cook with tons of recipes to share -- and wishes she could share some with Bourdain.

Filed Under: chefs & cookbooks, food

Comments (5)

hoticedcoffee

on Sep 2, 2010 at 6:42 PM

I totally think he should go to Texas. Pull out a Texas map and throw a dart at it - guaranteed bullseye, no matter where it lands. My husband is a native Texan, and we lived there for a handful of years in the 90's. I totally understand the phrase "Everything's bigger in Texas". Very unhealthy lifestyles, my inlaws included. Very sad.

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myloveynK

on Sep 2, 2010 at 10:14 PM

I agree, LA is a really weird place to go next! I would love for him to go to Texas (where lots of my family live and need help) or Michigan (where I have more family that needs help)! But I do like this show and I did learn a few things last season!

sstepph

on Sep 10, 2010 at 3:12 PM

Texas?

Carey2006

on Sep 16, 2010 at 12:26 PM

Just take a dart and throw it at a map of the US!!!!!!!!!! ~ANYWHERE,USA has problems!!!!

Facebook comment from Lisa Cohan

on Oct 5, 2010 at 6:35 AM

Every city needs Jamie. We should be glad he is doing another season of Food Revolution, for the whole U.S. to see, not quibbling over which city is unhealthier than others. I don't think ranking of fatness is why Jamie picked LA. I think he picked it because California is a place that pioneers. CA is usually one of the first states to adopt healthy trends and recognize the need for change. Yet, as far as the fresh food issue- the fact is supermarkets here are woefully inadequate if you want to eat well. It is impossible to find more than a handful of healthy items. It's disgusting. Some farmers markets, in some cities, are nice. Most are not great. Having lived in Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, I can say that we have some of the worst selection here. Most people are out of shape here, if you subtract the celebrities from the statistic.