Slow Food in the City
What is slow food anyway? The concept of “slow food” and its principles have been making the rounds among food intellectuals, food elitists, gardeners, vegans, vegetarians and the green movement for several years now. However, it’s taken time to hit the mainstream and popular culture.
I had to go to the references for the best explanation, but here’s the simplified version. The Slow Food Movement was created in 1989 out of protest against the construction of fast food restaurants in historical districts of Europe. In general, people thought it was a travesty that food commercialism had reached a new low, and they protested against it. Thus the slow food movement was born.
The slow food movement encourages taste education and the purchase of more fruit, vegetables, fresh meats and other produce. The goal is for consumers to cook at home and by extension, live a healthier existence. However, it extends beyond health concerns to encourage the production of healthy and great tasting meals that causes the consumer to actually want to continue with slow food, and not be tempted to pick up fast food meals or take out on the way home from work. The slow food movement encourages gardening and education about planting and growing your own food or the development of community gardens. It encourages food and friends and community by eating over at each other’s houses. Who knew the movement could be so much fun?
With all this in mind, it’s interesting to note that a lot of us are already in the slow food movement, whether we realize it or not! In fact, it seems like the poor starving graduate students of the U.S. and the world have cornered the market on this. Food bloggers talk about the amazing potlucks they attend once per month with an array of dishes, cooked lovingly by supporters of the movement. But check out the activity calendar of a graduate student every week: a potluck is bound to be on the books.
(Undergrads have yet to lay claim since most have the money buy food, meal plans are readily available and they seem to have less opportunity to prepare food in dorm rooms.) In fact, it has been reported that S. Ann Dunham, President Obama’s mother, learned to cook while she was researching her doctoral thesis.
Not only are many grad students arbitrarily in the movement, but stay-at-home moms indulge without knowing as well, even when they hastily prepare a stir fry using frozen vegetables. Without knowing it, most everybody is doing a part of it. If the word got out that they were making a good start toward changing their food practices for the better, they may be encouraged to continue.
Remember those food bloggers I mentioned earlier? Well, they are the ones who document the progress that the movement itself is making. The vested interest in food and food education on their part keeps us most updated on the little clusters of slow food hope. The bloggers all over the world share ideas and feedback to encourage he movement. With all the recent White House food initiative, the word is fast spreading to a nation, which closely watches the actions of the first family. Even first lady Michelle Obama is sending the seeding and planting message out via “Sesame Street.” It is only a matter of time before the media and the entertainment industry (or even the food industry) finds a way to make slow food become the “in thing,” and make fast food, at last, fall in line.
