Saturday, May 19, marks the first-ever global Food Revolution Day. Nearly 500 cities from 57 countries around the world are participating in this event to stand up against the global obesity epidemic.  Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past decade and there are over 500 million obese adults worldwide.  It is evident that we are in serious trouble and need to bring this epidemic to light.

Jamie Oliver is challenging schools, workplaces, families, and restaurants alike to organize healthy eating events.  The hope is for the world to band together to shed light on the importance of eating healthfully and teaching our children the importance of proper nutrition.  Whether you host a dinner party, prepare a healthy snack, try a new recipe, visit the farmers market, or whatever it may be, you can participate.  Food Revolution Day is about educating and inspiring people to learn more about food, where it comes from and how it affects our bodies.

Fewer schools are putting an emphasis on health and physical education courses.  Families have put home cooked meals on the back burner.  Many don’t enjoy regular meals as a family.  With each generation we are losing our ability to menu plan, grocery shop, and cook.  Whether our excuse is time, availability or ability, the art of home cooking is slowly dwindling.  Food Revolution Day is about bringing back the joy and excitement of cooking and eating together.

Celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston, Sir Elton John, Orlando Bloom and Justin Bieber are supporting Jamie Oliver and Food Revolution Day.  The British chef himself will be hosting a virtual party on Google+ at 8pm Eastern Time, taking questions from participants.

For more info, visit http://www.foodrevolutionday.com. For how to participate in Oliver’s Google+ hangout, watch his video invite here, http://bit.ly/K0aDgV.