Food crusader Jamie Oliver has succeeded in recruiting 800,000 people to participate in his inaugural Food Revolution Day which is set take place in 488 cities around the world this weekend.
Meant to draw attention to the growing epidemic of obesity and poor diet and nutrition in the developed world, Oliver is challenging families, schools, workplaces, restaurants and food lovers to organize local events on May 19 that promote healthy eating.
Among Oliver's most staunch supporters are a string of celebrity friends such as Sir Richard Branson, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston, Sir Elton John Robert Downey Jr., Orlando Bloom, and teenage heartthrob Justin Bieber.
Fans of the international celebrity can also ‘hang out' virtually with the British chef on Google+ May 19 at 8 pm EST (5 pm PST) when he'll be online to take questions from participants.
The Asian ambassador for the event, meanwhile, is Asian martial arts superstar Donnie Yen, whose last film Wu Xia was an official selection of the Cannes Film Festival in 2011.
Food Revolution Day Asia will include cooking classes using organic ingredients, organic farm carnivals and other events across China, all of which can be found on the Asian Facebook page. The website will also provide cooking techniques and recipes in Chinese.
The philosophies espoused by Food Revolution Day are reminiscent of another worldwide phenomenon which, decades ago, rallied consumers to reject the notion of fast food and embrace sustainable, whole foods that uphold local culinary traditions and the pleasure of eating: the slow food movement.
For more info, visit http://frd.asia/ or http://www.foodrevolutionday.com. For how to participate in Oliver's Google+ hangout, watch his video invite here, http://bit.ly/K0aDgV.
