If you haven’t already seen it, check out Kim Severson’s article about Slow Food and Slow Food Nation in yesterday’s Dining Section of the NY Times. It’s well worth reading all of comments on their site as well. In particular, thanks to Mike in Chicago for explaining things so well:
I think different aspects of Slow Food appeal to different people. Not everyone wants to trek out to a local honey farm and meet with the owner to talk about sustainable bee keeping. Some people just want to sweeten their tea. But if you are interested in the political aspects of how we produce food, the activism aspect of the Slow Food movement has the potential to positively affect everyone’s environment, health, and overall well-being.
Likewise, if you simply love cooking and enjoying food that tastes good, then the Slow Food Movement validates taking time out of our busy schedules for these pursuits. It celebrates food and its central place in our, and almost every, culture.
At some point, eating “slow” will have to become the default again, as our current means of production are environmentally and economically unsustainable, not to mention unhealthy.
By the way, nobody in the Slow Food Movement thinks they own the idea of enjoying food, eating locally, staying healthy, etc. It’’s simply an organization for people who particularly like these things and don’t want to see them lost.
Also a nice blurb about Slow Food Nation by Brian Halweil on the Edible blog. We like his characterization of Slow Food USA: “the American brand of Slow Food has always been more eco than gastronome,” since it acknowledges all of the incredible biodiversity work that we, our partner orgs and our local chapters are doing around the country.
