By Slow Food USA Staff
Meat has never been more plentiful than it is right now. We raise an astounding number of food animals in the United States – more than 10 billion every year. While the price of meat at the grocery store has plummeted, are we paying for this bounty in other ways? Have we exchanged quality and taste for cheap and tasty enough? Do the costly environmental and public health impacts of factory farming outweigh the demand for low-cost meat products? Have we turned a blind eye to our human compact with animals to look after their welfare and treat them with dignity and respect? What can we do to ensure all meat in the 21st Century is Good, Clean and Fair? Those are the questions we hope to begin to answer this summer in Denver, Colorado at Slow Meat 2014.
Slow Food USA is looking for 100 delegates from across the country to take part in our first Slow Meat symposium. In keeping with Slow Food’s celebration of good, clean and fair food, the three-day event will involve unique tasting, learning, and networking opportunities: ranch tours, bison fabrication, tastings and pairings, and informal time to spend with new friends. However, the primary purpose of Slow Meat is to search for solutions and develop a menu of recommendations for local communities to adopt and act upon. We will address challenges, responses and translate promising practices into practical action. One year later, in 2015 we will reconvene Slow Meat as a larger gathering to report on impacts form our network.
The Slow Meat 2014 symposium starts on Friday, June 20 and runs through Sunday, June 22 at the Auraria Higher Education Center in Denver Colorado. We are calling on leaders from all over the country to be a part of the discussion.
To submit your application click here. The deadline to apply is April 4, 2014. To read more about Slow Meat 2014 click here.
