The Slow Food Movement

The Slow Food Movement

In 1987 Carlo Petrini started a coalition dedicated to the politics and pleasures of slowness and the opposition of fast food. (Leitch 439) He describes one of his goals by saying:

I'm for virtuous globalization, where there's a just and true commerce to help small farmers. It's important to have a commerce that's organic and sane and against genetically modified organisms and processes that poison the land with chemicals. For example, there is coffee in Chiappas, amaranth in Argentina. Slow Food is able to provide them with more money and better offers than big business would be able to. (Leitch 430)

The efforts of the Slow Food Movement are essential to the survival of an aesthetic world of authentic food and respect for the people who produce, grow, and prepare it.

Slow Food is a deliberate name that is meant to be defined as the opposite of quick, unauthentic meals. (Pietrykowski 310) When developing his organization, Petrini thought that the snail would be the most adequate symbol for his cause because of the slowness of the animal. (Leitch 439)

I believe that in order to preserve the authenticity of regional cuisine the people preparing the foods need to possess knowledge about their culture, an understanding of the ingredients they are using, and the ingredients they select must be from their region and no other. In their essay Miele and Murdoch state in their essay *Slow Food in Tuscany,* "Slow Food believes that a combination of skill, know how, and the use of natural resources is essential to the quality of authentic regional cuisine" (324). Slow Food plays a very important role in conserving regional cuisines and in order for these foods to flourish they need to make an impact with the people of specific regions and make it apparent that there is a great need for them to embrace the cuisines of their respected areas. It is essential that people embrace their regional dishes in order to maintain dishes' importance to a specific region. To emphasize my point, in *Slow Food in Tuscany,* Miele and Murdoch say, "In order for cultural heritage to be preserved, regional foods need to be protected because of their important representation of their respective cultures" (318).

In her journal *Italian Food and European Identity,* Alison Leitch says, " Slow Food protects endangered or neglected foods from extinction. They lobby for the use of foods such as the red onion in Calabria. The movement believes that endangered foods need to be used in dishes in order to maintain their tradition (446). I have to totally agree with her thoughts on endangered foods. It is essential for all foods of a specific region to be used in cooking to preserve the authenticity of specific dishes. If instead of using a red onion someone decides to use an imported onion the taste might now be affected but the dish itself is no authentic. If one ingredient isn't used and the taste does not differ then people are going to start thinking that substituting other ingredients is accepted and soon all regional cuisine will be tainted. While the use of regional ingredients is very important, the way you eat food is of equal importance.

For me personally, it is very important to share a meal with friends and family in order to have a delightful eating experience. Sitting at a dinner table surrounded by your loved ones with a homemade dish in front of you makes the eating every meal time worthwhile. Going through a drive-through or grabbing a quick meal by yourself doesn't allow someone to enjoy their food or share any thoughts about the food. Bruce Pietrykowski states in his journal *You Are What You Eat,* "Slow Food tries to instill the value of the table. This means that instead of going to a fast food restaurant or eating just to eat, we must take time everyday to eat a well prepared meal and share it with the people we love" (314). In order to have the proper outlook on meals and give the meals their well deserved respect it is very important for people to be educated about the food they are eating.

Slow Food uses many festivals to educate people about slow food and teach them about the history and ingredients in regional cuisine. In his book *The Pleasures of Slow Food,* Corby Kummer talks about one of the largest festivals in Europe called the Salone de Gusta. "The Salon de Gusta in Jurin showcases the cuisine of hundreds of food producers, growers, and chefs. The festivals help dramatically in the efforts to keep interest in regional foods" (46). In my town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania there are several fests that showcase foods particular to our region and our culture. The largest festival is the Johnstown Folk Fest which features thousands of venders, musical entertainment, and activities for people of all ages. The fest incorporates fun and a sense of community while showcasing some of the best regional cuisine in Pennsylvania. There are no fast food items or outrages dishes from other cultures. Every item is specific to my area and the ethnic and cultural background of my area. I get a real sense of the hard work and dedication that goes into the preparation of authentic meals. Also, Folk Fest adds a sense of entertainment when it comes to enjoying a meal with the use of local bands and music suited for our area.

Adding entertainment to meals can have an upside and a downside. The use of entertainment while eating a meal definitely varies by the situation and culture. Even though one of the missions of Slow Food is to prevent the 'Americanization' of the world I would have to say that living in America has made me partial to the idea of entertainment in eating. If I want to enjoy an authentic Italian meal in America I probably need some Italian music or a very Italian setting in the restaurant in order to thoroughly