Slow Food
The slow food movement is fighting back against the global fast food companies.
Slow Food is a grassroots organisation founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986. He first came to prominence in the 1980s for taking part in a campaign against the fast food chain McDonald's in Rome.
The Slow Food movement aims to promote local foods, traditional gastronomy and sustainable food production. Slow Food is against fast food, industrial food production and globalisation.
Somewhat ironically, the Slow Food movement has become a global organisation that has over 100,000 members in over 150 countries - including Hong Kong.
Slow Food has broad appeal. It incorporates farmers' markets, fair-trade, organic food, shows concern for food miles and promotes artisan producers. Slow Food is also concerned with animal welfare on farms.
Slow Food claims to be a democratic, grassroots, movement providing food for the people by the people. However, critics of Slow Food argue that it is an elitist movement that has a snobbish food culture.
Slow Food is a grassroots organisation founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986. He first came to prominence in the 1980s for taking part in a campaign against the fast food chain McDonald's in Rome.
The Slow Food movement aims to promote local foods, traditional gastronomy and sustainable food production. Slow Food is against fast food, industrial food production and globalisation.
Somewhat ironically, the Slow Food movement has become a global organisation that has over 100,000 members in over 150 countries - including Hong Kong.
Slow Food has broad appeal. It incorporates farmers' markets, fair-trade, organic food, shows concern for food miles and promotes artisan producers. Slow Food is also concerned with animal welfare on farms.
Slow Food claims to be a democratic, grassroots, movement providing food for the people by the people. However, critics of Slow Food argue that it is an elitist movement that has a snobbish food culture.
What does the Slow Food movement do?
Slow Food incorporates a series of objectives within its mission, including:
- Local culinary traditions and foods are celebrated
- forming and sustaining seed banks to preserve heirloom varieties in cooperation with local food systems
- preserving and promoting local and traditional food products
- organising small-scale processing (including facilities for slaughtering)
- organising celebrations of local cuisine within regions
- educating consumers about the risks of fast food
- educating citizens about the drawbacks of commercial agribusiness and factory farms
- educating citizens about the risks of monoculture and reliance on too few genomes or varieties
- developing various political programmes to preserve family farms
- lobbying for the inclusion of organic farming concerns within agricultural policy
- lobbying against government funding of genetic engineering
- lobbying against the use of pesticides
- encouraging ethical buying in local marketplaces and farmers' markets.
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Food Inc.To understand the Slow Food movement, there is a need to appreciate the impact of the TNCs that dominate the food industry. To find out about the unpalatable side of the food industry, Numpty Nerd recommends the award winning documentary Food Inc.
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