THE ORIGIN OF SLOWFOOD

Slow Food is an International Organization founded in 1989 by Carlo Petrini

The goal of Slow Food is to oppose fast life, a state brought of thousands of unique local culinary traditions and varieties of food, because industrialized food is easy to package and sell. Fast life has also led to extreme environmental depredation, and Slow Food aims to counteract fast life, starting with the table, but ultimately moving into other fields of play as well.

These are several primary missions for Slow Food

The first is to produce food which is good, clean, and fair, meaning that is has superb taste, is managed in a sustainable and healthy way, and is harvested in good working conditions.

Biodiversity is also an important mission of Slow Food, which has established the Ark of Taste in an attempt to save unique varieties of foods ranging from heritage apples to unique breeds of pig.

Finally, Slow Food works to connect producers and reproducers. The term “co-producer” is an invention of Slow Food; if people inform themselves about the source of their food, are active their communities, and connect with their food producers, they become co-producers, actively contributing to the process rather than being passive consumers.

To accomplish its goals, Slow Food has hundreds of local chapters,or convivia, worldwide. Regular meetings are held to talk about issue ranging from raw milk cheese t deforestation, and Slow Food also holds a number of tasting parties to fulfill another aim of the organization: taste education. At Slow Food tasting, guests can taste the flavors that Slow Food is working hard to save, and can experience the different between conventionally produced foods from artisan producers.

Naturally, fast food is in opposition to Slow Food values, which include protecting unique culinary heritage and the environment.

Slow Food hopes to educate consumers, get them thinking about where their food comes from, and ultimately reform the way we live, not only at the table, but in all of our actions.

    

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