Is Slow Food about promoting food that is cooked for a long time?

No, and yes.  Slow Food asks co-producers to be mindful of where their food came from, who produced it, the methods of production, the heritage and cultural stories behind the ingredients, the food’s nutritional value, and the preparation methods.  Essentially, we promote food that is good, clean and fair.

Slow Food is therefore about being aware - conscious, if you like - of the implications of what we’re eating.  So, if it is appropriate to prepare a dish by slow-braising it with complementary herbs or spices... yes, Slow Food promotes it.  If a food is best eaten just-picked from the garden and tossed with good oil, that’s Slow Food, too!

What do you mean by ‘Good, Clean and Fair”?

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.

What do you mean by ‘co-producer’?

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.

What is an Eat-In?

An Eat-In is a protest against food that is fast, cheap and easy.  Slow Food Nation held last August in San Francisco saw the debut of a unique initiative of the Youth Food Movement: the Eat-In.  The first Eat-In was held in San Francisco’s Dolores Park and saw 250 students and young farmers, cooks, artisans and activists from across the United States come to the long table that dominated park.  The huge success in San Francisco has seen the “Eat-In Manifesto” (below) circulated widely with similar events being planned across the globe.

Eat-In Manifesto

1. -An Eat-In is a protest against food that is fast, cheap and easy.
   

2. -An Eat-In is a demand for food that is good, clean and fair.
   

3. -An Eat-In is a statement that eating is our common language and a universal right.
   

4. -An Eat-In is a celebration of the people who grow, produce, sell and cook our food.
   

5. -An Eat-In is a call to action for the generation inheriting our food system to get out of their cars, turn off their computers and come to the tables.
   

 

How to Eat-In

1. -Invite old and new friends into your kitchen to cook.  Invite other friends to cook in other kitchens.  Five or fifty people can Eat-In.
   

2. -Go to Farmer’s Market and groceries. Shake the hands that feed you.
   

3. -Set your table in a park, on a farm, in front of a city hall or across the drive-thru lane of your local McDonald’s.
   

4. -Eat together
   

I don’t understand the difference between Slow Food and Terra Madre...

Slow Food was founded in Italy in 1989 to protect regional food production from the homogenisation of modern fast food and fast life. The Association promotes a wider understanding of food and sustainable choices all around the world through food education, projects to conserve agricultural biodiversity and traditional products at risk of disappearance, and events and campaigns that showcase these producers. Slow Food created the Foundation for Biodiversity in 2003, and launched the Terra Madre network in 2004. Today the Association has 100,000 members, who are active across 150 countries in more than 1,000 convivia – our local chapters.

Terra Madre is a worldwide network that gives a voice to small-scale farmers and food producers and brings them together with cooks, academics and youth to discuss how to improve the food system collaboratively. Meetings are held at the global, regional and local level and resulting projects are promoting knowledge exchange around the globe.