It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small.

—Neil Armstrong

I grew up the youngest of three boys in Arlington, Virginia. As a family we exercised, helped support the area's first co-op, and even gardened under the tutelage of my grandmother in her garden only four houses down the road. I recall never being privy to sugar cereals or bowls of candy in my home as a child. Instead, my parents worked hard to keep healthy food in the house as they did to keep a roof over our heads. It was at this time in my life where I learned that good health is not guaranteed by a huge income. In fact, at times, the opposite is true.

Call it good eating habits, or love and support, either way I recall my family being in good health most of the time, even now. After college, I treated myself by traveling to Europe where I learned an important lesson in Florence Italy. As I was filling my backpack for a week of traveling an older woman inquired why I was purchasing so much food. I responded that I would need this volume of food while traveling through the next handful of cities over the next two weeks. Why would you eat old food? she asked. Yeah ... why would I eat old food? Why not eat what is locally grown when possible? Why not eat with the seasons? Isn't fresh, delicious food worth waiting for? I believe it is.

Regardless of where I live, I support local farmer's markets and learn from the people who grow my food. I have learned how to shop for, store, and ultimately prepare food the best way possible. Even while living in the mountains of Colorado, shopping for fresh produce was a little easier knowing what was in season in the rest of the US. The knowledge gathered from schools and farmers has unknowingly prepared me for this show concept, A Lyon in the Kitchen, for which I am thankful.

Our decisions affect more than just ourselves. Everyone shares the water, the air, and the dirt. The earth is not so large after all. In fact it's very, very small.

Nathan Lyon