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Defense of Biodiversity
 Renewing America’s Food Traditions (RAFT)
Managed by Slow Food USA, RAFT is an alliance of food, farming, environmental and culinary advocates who have joined together to identify, restore and celebrate America’s biologically and culturally diverse food traditions through conservation, education, promotion and regional networking.
Ark of Taste
 An international catalog of foods in danger of extinction, the Ark of Taste is a catalog of foods that have fallen into disuse. Only the tastiest of endangered foods makes it onto the Ark with the goal of cultivating consumer demand (key to agricultural conservation). Slow Food documents and promotes use of these Ark foods through publications and events.
Building Food Communities
 Terra Madre (food producers + chefs + educators)
Terra Madre is an international network of over 7,000 food producers, cooks, and university educators from 150 countries, including over 800 delegates from the U.S. united by a common goal of global sustainability in food. Across cultures and climates, the “food communities” of Terra Madre come together to share innovative solutions and time-honored traditions for keeping small-scale agriculture and sustainable food production alive and well. The next edition of Terra Madre will be October 23-27, 2008.
Convivia (consumers)
 In the U.S., our 15,000 members are organized in 170 convivia, or local chapters. Our convivia are led by committees of volunteer leaders who plan events, programs and initiatives in their communities. Our leaders are committed to education and social action as well as the celebration of taste. Our local initiatives range from film festivals and taste workshops to school garden projects and farm tours. There are currently over 800 convivia around the world in over 100 countries.
Presidia (food producers)
With just thirty plants feeding 95% of the world's population (currently 6.5 billion people), a global effort is needed to restore the earth's agricultural biodiversity. We're not going to restore our bounty tastefully, or sustainably, by applying biotechnology/molecular genetics to industrial agriculture. Just as Slow Food USA's Ark of Taste project documents and promotes our forgotten and neglected foods to create a catalog of our diversity, our presidia projects directly support the needs of these foods’ stewards. Through marketing, production, and technical assistance each of our presidia projects develop regional economies and communities.
Education
Garden-to-Table Projects
 Slow Food in Schools’ Garden-to-Table projects rest on the three building blocks of pleasure, tradition, and sustainability. Ranging from after-school cooking classes to farm tours to schoolyard gardens, our Garden to Table projects are diverse yet all involve the fundamental principles of Slow Food. All projects are hands-on and create a direct connection between children and their food source, emphasizing the pleasures of taste and the table.
Slow Food on Campus
Slow Food on Campus is a network of Campus Convivia, chapters of Slow Food USA run by college and university students across the country. These Campus Convivia are the working arm of Slow Food USA in the college community. Campus Convivia represent a passionate cross-section of youth addressing food system and food justice issues, spanning environmental and social causes. By engaging their fellow students in the pleasures of the table and the garden, Campus Convivia aim to promote good, clean and fair food on our nation's college campuses.
University of Gastronomic Sciences
Located in the Piedmont region of Italy, the University of Gastronomic Sciences was founded by Slow Food in conjunction with the regional authorities of Emilia-Romagna and Piedmont. The university is an agricultural and culinary research and training center committed to sustainable food production, protection of agricultural biodiversity and nurturance of relationships between gastronomy and agronomy. Students are admitted from all countries, for three-year undergraduate degree programs and one-year master’s degree programs. All students programs include theoretical and experiential learning experiences.
Slow Food Nation – a celebration of American Food
 Slow Food Nation, August 29-September 1, 2008, will be an unprecedented four day long exposition and celebration of food in San Francisco. Its mission is to change the way America eats by raising Americans’ consciousness of how food is produced and distributed, through debates, lectures, tastings, demonstrations, etc. Slow Food Nation will galvanize the Slow Food movement in the US – it will be a force for change and engage a new, broad inclusive demographic centered around food communities. As a homegrown alternative to America’s fast food culture, Slow Food Nation will highlight the positive, life-enhancing benefits of food that is good, clean and fair.
Salone del Gusto
In October of every even-numbered year (the next edition will be held in the fall of 2008) small-scale food producers from all over the world come to Turin, Italy to showcase their products to audiences of over 150,000. An event dedicated both to excellent international traditional foods and to the extraordinary people who produce them, visitors discover and taste presidia products and cuisines from nearly every continent and participate in dozens of the over 150 “Taste Workshops.”
Cheese
Held in Bra, Italy, Slow Food’s headquarters, this biennial event (the next edition will be held in the fall of 2007) has become the leading international festival for artisan cheese producers. The world’s most renowned artisan cheesemakers (presidium producers included), affineurs, sellers and shepherds come to present their cheeses to tens of thousands of visitors, who also have numerous opportunities to learn more about these excellent products in Taste Workshops and other educational programs.
Slow Fish
Held in the Italian port city of Genoa, this sustainable seafood exhibition was started in 2004 to bring together fishermen, processors, researchers, government agencies and consumers seeking ways to combat the depletion of our fish stocks and enjoy seafood responsibly. Visitors can attend seminars and conferences on fishing issues, visit the seafood market and sample all kinds of seafood in Taste Workshops and special dinners. The next edition of Slow Fish will be held in the spring of 2009)
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