The international Slow Food Movement started in 1986 as a protest against the opening of a McDonalds’ restaurant near the Spanish Steps in Rome.
The restaurant became a physical representation of the erosion of the local, sustainable, and healthy food culture in Italy. Since then, Slow Food as become a global organization with chapters, or convivia, in 132 countries, and with more than 100,000 members. They work to promote “good, clean and fair food”, thereby transforming cultures via food, This is done through a wide range of activities t
hat both educate and inspire. Slow Food aims to reconnect producers and consumers (or co-producers, as they prefer to call the educated consumer who supports slow food) and promote culinary diversity and healthy, tasty food on a local scale, while also seeing the “bigger picture”, promoting biodiversity as well as international networking among artisanal producers, and enhancing traditional production in order to make it economically viable. Throughout the movement’s activities, the emphasis is on making gastronomic pleasure and ecological responsibility inseparable. The movement works to educate the public through a variety of initiatives. Many books now teach the art of “slow cooking”. Lectures, articles and web sites describe the grim realities of agrobusiness and fast food, as well as the benefits of buying local and Fair Trade products. The movement also uses events to educate and mobilize people. During one such event, Slow Fish 2009 in Genoa, Italy, 55,000 local and international guests learned about sustainable fish harvesting, met artesanal fishermen, and got gastronomic education through food and wine tasting. The Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity -a division of Slow Food – works to “defend local traditions, protect local biodiversity and promote small-scale qualty products”. Small artisan producers around the world are organized in 300 Presidia that focus on improving production techniques while preserving traditional products and methods and finding new markets for these. The Foundation also has an Ark of Taste that is a register of food products they hope to reintroduce in the marketplace but that are in danger of being forgotten because traditional production methods are no longer in use or certain ingredients are scarce. Communities are also setting up Earth Markets and Slow Food cafés and restaurants – both of which help food producers and co-producers interact while promoting local food and helping customers. Earth Markets and cafés are now located in Dehli, Tel Aviv, Beirut and Bucharest, among other cities. Slow Food members also do a lot of lobbying on behalf of their causes, particularly on issues regarding agricultural and trade policy in the European Union. Recently, a Time for Lunch campaign was organized by Slow Food USA; it encouraged Congress to improve the Child Nutrition Act, which sets standards for school meals in the United States. The whole Slow Food movement -through its role in promoting good, clean and fair food – is playing an important role in facilitating a shift to sustainable cultures.
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