The Slow Food USA Blog

Slow Food on Campus takes on Food and Climate Change

Print this Page Send to a Friend

by intern Heather Teige

The first of Slow Food on Campus’ three-part event series focusing on ‘good, clean, and fair’ kicked off October 24th.  Slow Food on Campus (SFOC) chapters participated in, and coordinated on-campus events to help raise awareness of the “clean” part of Slow Food USA’s mission.  Our SFOC chapters supported 350.org’s International Day of Climate Action and were a part of the lively patchwork of creative and thoughtful events that advocated for better climate change policy (one that caps CO2 emissions at 350 parts per million).

Slow Food on Campus chapter efforts were part of more than 5,200 registered events around the globe; from these events, over 19,000 photos have been submitted and uploaded to 350.org.  The incredible breadth of diversity found in these photos, whether it be where the photo was taken, or the personal thoughts on climate change that the photos express, is inspiring.  The sheer number of people involved is a testament to the societal shift that has occurred in recent years and stands as proof of the commitment people are ready to make to help encourage better climate change policy.

To contribute, SFOC chapters stressed the link between food and climate change by hosting a variety of events.  Meals with entire menu’s from a 100-mile radius were prepared on October 24.  350 people pledged to eat locally and/or vegetarian on October 24.  Bake sales were held on October 24 with all the proceeds being donated to the Georgia Farmers Flood Relief efforts.  And, cooking demonstrations were held on October 24 that only used locally grown ingredients.  SFOC chapters also participated in bike rallies and parades through city centers.  Student tables at many events distributed facts about 350 to their local communities.  All of these events proved that only a well-knit global community will change the food system and effectively make a healthy climate change policy happen.

A big thank you to all of our participating chapters!

And, now it’s November and the focus has shifted to yet another part of the Slow Food USA mission.  Fair.  SFOC has partnered with Student/Farmworker Alliance to bring awareness to the concept of fair food.  To help students organize events around a fair food system, new resources have been developed and are available on the SFOC page.  Again, we will be telling the stories about how our SFOC chapters take action here and on the SFOC page later this month so check back for an update.  And, as always, feel free to get in touch (.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) with questions or if you want to get involved.