Slow food movement

Quiz night! Slow Food is:


A) What happens when your diet is deficient of fiber



B) French for "escargot"

C) The result of pissing off your waiter

D) What obese lions eat

E) A non-profit, eco-gastronomic member-supported organization that was founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.


I've heard about Slow Food for years but have never once researched it or sought it out. Some locavore I am, right? I've just known that I'm a Slow Food type of person. I make a majority of our food from scratch and enjoying doing so. I once took some homemade lasagna, which contained homemade pasta, to a friend. He asked "why would anyone made their own pasta".

My first answer was that we have 9 chickens and making pasta is a great way to use up 9 eggs at once. The second answer was "because I can".

I still kind of struggle with a clean, easy answer. I lean toward smartass remarks when cornered, so being flippant is easy. Sometimes being earnest is far more difficult.

Why do I make pasta (or yogurt, or bread, tomato sauce, or whatever) from scratch?

Because it's about as fresh as it can be.

Because I can pronounce all 4 ingredients: semolina flour, eggs, salt, water.

Because the eggs were raised humanely in my own back yard from hens who have names.

Because making things from scratch is a way for me to do something special for you that few others would bother doing.

Because I consider it a form of cheap entertainment.

Because you can't eat World of Warcraft.

Because I was avoiding laundry.

----------

The Slow Food philosophy

We believe that everyone has a fundamental right to pleasure and consequently the responsibility to protect the heritage of food, tradition and culture that make this pleasure possible. Our movement is founded upon this concept of eco-gastronomy – a recognition of the strong connections between plate and planet.

Slow Food is good, clean and fair food. We believe that the food we eat should taste good; that it should be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; and that food producers should receive fair compensation for their work.

We consider ourselves co-producers, not consumers, because by being informed about how our food is produced and actively supporting those who produce it, we become a part of and a partner in the production process.

----------

Why do you "slow food"?