Slow Food

Slow Food is a subsection of the Slow Movement which encourages local eating. It started in 1989 in Italy as a reaction to the opening of the first international fast food chains, including McDonalds, in Italy.

1 Why Slow Food?
2 What Slow Food is
3 Further Reading

Why Slow Food?

To understand the appeal of Slow Food, you have to look at the current state of the food industry. After World War II, dozens of bomb-making facilities across America were suddenly forced to either find a peaceable use for themselves, or go out of business. Chemical fertilizers, the creation of which had been enabled some 30 years earlier with the discovery of a process to "fix" phosphorus to be usable by plants, was seen as a acceptable product. The problem: farmers didn't need it!

The modern conception of a "farm" is mostly mono-culture: a farm grows one crop; corn, soybeans, or something like that. This has not always been the case. Farmers used to raise animals as much for their meat as for their poop, which is a natural plant fertilizer. A farm was a poly-culture, raising a number of crops in yearly rotations, as well as raising a number of animals: horses to pull plows, cows for their milk, meat, and shit, chickens for eggs and meat, and so on.

With the advent of chemical fertilizer, farmers were sold the idea that they could replace all those animals with bags from a factory. And they could-- for a few years. But there is a world of difference between the simple three-chemical fertilizer that farmers were sold, and the complex soil nutrition and enrichment that natural fertilizers brought to the party.

The Farm Bill, or, how to help big business by "helping" farmers

It used to be that the government aid to farms was in loans: if farmers couldn't get a decent price for their crops, the government would loan them the difference, as well as buy up the crop for long-term storage. This method encouraged both crop diversity and reduced dependence that farmers had on the government to "bail them out" if a crop failed.

In the 60's, however, the government changed its policies. The policy of the US government became, quite frankly, "go big or go home." Farm support changed from loans to checks. Initially, it was hard to see why this was a bad idea: guaranteeing a certain price for every crop. However, farmers began gravitating towards the crops that the government could guarantee them the best price on: corn. And lots of it. Soon, the Midwest's verdant diversity of crops and farmers died off in favor of corn grown by conglomerate owners.

And then the government started dropping the price of corn. Food manufactures loved it, because they had all the corn they could use for pennies on the dollar. The government loved it, because they could tax the big guys more effectively (and they could lobby better). Farmers, however, were getting shafted.

The failure of "Organic"

The big luxury these days is the idea of "organic" food. One of the most visible national chains that sells the organic lifestyle is Whole Foods. I would say that, while this form of food is not as bad for the environment as the stuff from Safeway, it still falls far short of the organic ideal.

Whole Food sells what can be termed "Industrial Organic," food that is grown to the U.S. Government's regulations on organic food using industrial methods, often by immigrant or migrant labor, being paid, at most, minimum wage.

It's still not a great system. Consumers still want their baby greens in the middle of winter, so the whole system uses oil. And, while pesticide pollution may be mitigated, there's all that traveling that bag of organic baby carrots has to do.

And, I might add, the U.S. Government's definition of organic is far from perfect. It is quite possible that some enterprising company may create a certifiably "organic" Twinkie!

Seasons matter

In America, we've lost our connection to what we eat. It takes an effort of imagination to connect the food that we get from the supermarket to the idea that it was grown in the ground. Tell someone that the lettuce in their salad was grown in the ground, and they'll more than likely look at you in disgust!

The benefits of eating seasonally are twofold:

It forces you to eat locally. If it's not in season where you live, don't buy it! Don't try and buy watermelon in the dead of winter.
It begins to recreate something resembling food culture. What's "American Cuisine" these days? Most people think McDonald's, or other forms of fast food. This lack of connection with our food makes us susceptible to fad diets, and chips away at our health.

What Slow Food is

Ideally, Slow Food means that you know exactly where everything you eat at all times came from, how it was raised, and who raised it. This is, quite obviously, going slightly too far. It's a good ideal to keep in mind, however, should you try and begin to make ethical choices about your food.

What slow food should be depends largely on where you are. If you live in a place with abundant natural resources, or nearby farms, you should try and buy as locally as you can, or even try growing food yourself. If you live somewhere where greenery is scarcer, it's a fact of life that you'll have to import some of your foodstuffs. This is OK -- in moderation. Still try and seek out local growers and sources for your meals. In Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, the Kingsolver family defined "local" as within about 50 miles of their home, and grew much of what they ate for the year, buying meat from other farmers in the area.

Farmer's Markets now exist in just about every major metropolitan area in the United States. Here is a handy tool for finding some near you. Googling your city + "farmer's market" is also quite productive. See what's out there.

Contents

Why Slow Food?

The Farm Bill, or, how to help big business by "helping" farmers

The failure of "Organic"

Seasons matter

What Slow Food is

Further Reading