Jacqueline Church: Inspiring Change
Posted on | February 15, 2010 | No Comments
Sustaining a career as a freelance writer and independent businessperson is no easy feat. It is even harder when one of the fields you work in is still in its formative stages. As one of the leaders in the sustainable seafood field, Jacqueline Church channels much of her energy and passion into educating others and raising awareness. SOP caught up with Jacqueline in Boston to learn more about her insights into the movement and the cool projects she heads up.
Somehow Jacqueline fits sustainable seafood into a list of passions that includes gourmet foods, photography, and Heritage pigs. For the past three years she has been spreading enthusiasm for sustainable seafood through her online blog events called Teach a Man to Fish. The premise is simple (i.e., pick out your favorite recipe for preparing sustainable seafood, take a photo of the dish, and email them to her) but the collective impact is profound. Her events are far-reaching with participants from across the globe and from many different professions. Sustainable seafood heavy hitter chefs Rick Moonen and Barton Seaver sent in their recipes. Also, you may recall SOP contributed its favorite, Maine Shrimp Fra Diavolo. We encourage you to find a recipe that looks good. And, when you go to purchase the fish, talk to your fishmonger about the sustainable seafood choice you are about to make.
Jacqueline shared with SOP a couple interesting perceptions. When asked in what stage is the sustainable seafood movement, she replied, “Toddler…we’re up on our feet.” To illustrate her point, Jacqueline cites how our understanding of aquaculture has evolved. At first, everyone thought it was a bad thing because it caused spreading of pollution, disease, and habitat destruction. But, the tides have turned and many aquaculture operations can legitimately call themselves sustainable. SOP will dive deeper into sustainable aquaculture in future articles.
Another insight Jacqueline dropped for us was, much like the idea behind her blog event, simple yet profound. For those people considering joining the sustainable seafood movement, she offers, “You don’t have to go all or nothing.” She encourages chefs and consumers to take steps as a way to become engaged. Tell people what you are doing and why you are doing it, and they will appreciate it.
“This sustainable seafood thing won’t let go of me.”
~Jacqueline Church
And SOP hopes she doesn’t let go either. Fortunately, Jacqueline continues to lead the charge. She is hosting a “Teach a Chef to Fish” panel at the International Boston Seafood Show on March 16th to talk about how to source sustainable seafood and make it a highlight of menus. This panel discussion follows up on the “Teach a Chef to Fish” workshop series she held in various cities this past year.
SOP looks forward to keeping in touch with Jacqueline and reporting back on her next moves.
Tags: aquaculture > Barton Seaver > blog > chef > farm-raised > International Boston Seafood Show > Jacqueline Church > recipe > restaurant > Rick Moonen > seafood > sustainable > Teach a Chef to Fish > Teach a Man to Fish
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