I Crave Slow Food

My dearest mother mentioned a new movement she heard about on the radio called Slow Food. It's based out of Italy but it's becoming an international movement with a continually growing chapter here in the US. The movement is all about quality products crafted with time, care and expertise... no big manufactures cranking out machine-made, chemical-injected, processed junk... instead, hand-made, labor-intensive, resource-rich goods. It's not just about food, it's about lifestyle... the very lifestyle I LOVE in Europe. That lifestyle is nearly extinct in America and it is certainly endangered in the rest of the world.

Here's how the movement describes itself:

We believe that everyone has a fundamental right to pleasure and consequently the responsibility to protect the heritage of food, tradition and culture that make this pleasure possible. Our movement is founded upon this concept of eco-gastronomy – a recognition of the strong connections between plate and planet.

Slow Food is good, clean and fair food. We believe that the food we eat should taste good; that it should be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; and that food producers should receive fair compensation for their work.

We consider ourselves co-producers, not consumers, because by being informed about how our food is produced and actively supporting those who produce it, we become a part of and a partner in the production process.