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(page 5 of 5)

The Slow Food Movement

The philosophy behind the organic movement parallels that of the Slow Food

The Slow Food Movement encourages a return to traditional recipes and more direct links between producers and consumers.

Movement, which emerged in Italy in 1986 largely out of a reaction to a hectic fast food culture. Like organics, the Slow Food Movement also opposes chemical additives to food, but goes a step further by encouraging a return to traditional recipes, the leisurely enjoyment of food, and more direct links between producers and consumers.

An international non-profit called Slow Food now has over 1,000 “Convivia,” or local chapters, and some 80,000 members globally. Educating children to their relationship with food is among their projects—like one in Switzerland where children are participating in all phases of organic potato cultivation and learning to cook dishes using what they grow.

Supporters of the movement encourage consumers to eat local delicacies and seasonal produce, to take time to prepare fresh food, and to buy food at local organic markets. In the United States, farmers’ markets are growing, but their sales are still a tiny fraction of what the U.S. public spends on produce.

According to writer and farmer Tom Philpott, small commercial farms, which make up the vast majority of farmers’ market vendors, have been operating at average profit margins of negative 24.5 percent. The economics are such that many small family farms have been replaced by large commercial ones. Philpott concludes, however, by noting that increased consumer demand can make a difference for these small suppliers and that they remain an important institution for connecting people with the land.

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