Food, Wine and the Future of Work

This chart from Pew Research tells you why the U.S. desperately needs a vibrant food and wine culture:

73% of Americans say its very important to work hard to get ahead in life. Only a quarter of the French think hard work is important for getting ahead. Even the hard-working Germans tally only 49 percent.

What does this have to do with food and wine?

As I argue in American Foodie, the culture of the table teaches us to slow down, savor the moment, put pleasure before production and care before commerce. That is the essence of the food revolution in the U.S.—a rejection of the production paradigm that values only efficiency and profit.

And when the robots come to take our jobs, which culture will best adapt to a world in which none of us are really needed any longer? Probably not the U.S.

It’s easy to joke about this but it is a serious matter. I tell my students this will be an issue in their lifetime.

Better learn to lift a glass or two, or three.