My Sunday With Paul Newman
Cynthia McFadden on spending a day with the legendary actor and philanthropist.
May 24, 2007 — -- None of us likes to work on a Sunday. Especially if it is a beautiful spring day -- especially if you've got an 8-year-old who wants to cash in on a little of the overdue quality "mommy-time" in the park.
But last Sunday I made an exception. Paul Newman had agreed to meet me at a farm in Wilton, Conn., to show me the way he believes more of us should consider eating -- locally and organically.
Newman had confessed to me a day or two earlier, when we'd sat down for the interview, that he'd come to organic eating reluctantly. His daughter Nell, he said, persuaded him 15 years ago it was something he should consider. He did. And Nell now heads Newman's Own Organics -- an organic line of products that he said is now growing faster than the original dressing and popcorn business.
Anyway, Sunday morning Newman and his friend, the chef Michel Nischan -- with whom he has started a delightful nearby restaurant, Dressing Room: A Homegrown Restaurant -- were offering to meet me at one of the local farms from which they buy produce. They wanted me to see why they are so passionate about not only what they eat, but how it is grown.
At 11 a.m., I arrive at the Millstone Farm. Waiting for me is my ABC News producer Sarah Rosenberg (whose idea it was to talk to Newman in the first place), our camera crew and Annie Farrell. Annie is a legend in the organic farming world. She was hired by Jesse and Betsy Fink -- who saved Millstone Farm from developers two years earlier -- to help the farm become a sustainable, organic farming enterprise.
Our first stop is the chicken coop -- the "Coop de Ville," as they've dubbed it. It is indeed the Cadillac of coops. (There is an old Caddy legend on top of the coop to prove it!) There are about 40 hens and two very happy roosters here. I got the chance to hold my first egg, fresh from the nest. … It was actually a moving experience. I know that sounds odd, but I couldn't be more sincere. Standing there holding a warm egg was a powerful reminder for me that eggs don't come from the refrigerator … they come from a chicken.
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