The vision of the Slow Food Movement is to:
“Envision a world in which all people can access and enjoy food that is good for them, good for those who grow it and good for the planet” [1].
The movement was started in 1986 by food activist Carol Petrini in the northern Italian town of Bra [2]. Petrini began the movement to raise awareness about the adverse nature of fast food and to promote the idea that we need to preserve traditional foods and cuisines and use cooking and farming methods that are suited to localised ecological systems. The event that helped to ignite the movement was the opening of a MacDonald’s near the Spanish Steps in Rome. Petrini felt that people had lost interest in food and had become complacent about the choices surrounding what they ate and the wider consequences of this [1].
One of the main achievements of the Slow Food Movement is to connect consumers with food producers [1]. The movement organises events all over the world including Salone del Gusto and Slow Fish. Events such as these demonstrate to people that the choices they make about food have far wider consequences for the environment and for the people who produce the food. They draw attention to the needs and benefits of sustainable food production and artisan food production [1]. Ultimately, the Slow Food Movement endeavours to connect the world’s small producers with global consumers, thereby helping to raise awareness of such producers and to preserve their skills and methods of production [1].
The term ‘co-producer’ was coined by the Slow Food Movement to illustrate the importance of consumer interest. A co-producer is a consumer who takes a greater, wider and active interest in the choices they make about their food consumption and strives to be aware of the impacts that are made upon the environment; they are seen as active not passive [1]. Hopefully by being more aware of the choices we make and their impacts, we will be more inclined to choose sustainable methods of food production.
Slow Food Week 2011, UK
Slow Food Week will be held from 20th-26th June 2011 and is one of the biggest collective events in the UK, helping to promote the Slow Food Movement. Hundreds of people from the food industry including community groups, food producers and chefs come together to celebrate the Slow Food ethos of good, clean food for all [2]. It is an opportunity for the work of those who support sustainable agriculture to have their work highlighted and further promoted.
To find out more about Slow Food events visit: http://www.slowfood.org.uk/Cms/Page/events
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References
[1] Slow Food (2010) [Online]. Available from http://www.slowfood.com
[2] Slow Food UK (2010) [Online]. Available from http://www.slowfood.org.uk/Cms/Page/history
