Fork & Bottle: Our View of Slow Food

Slow Food USA Mission

“Recognizing that the enjoyment of wholesome food is essential to the the pursuit of happiness, Slow Food USA is an educational organization dedicated to the stewardship of the land and ecologically sound found production; to the revivial of the kitchen and the table as centers of pleasure, culture, and community; to the reinvigoration and proliferation of regional, seasonal culinary traditions; and to living a slower and more harmonious rhythm of life.”

Slow Food International

From their website: “Slow Food is an international association that promotes food and wine culture, but also defends food and agricultural biodiversity worldwide. It opposes the standardization of taste, defends the need for consumer information, protects cultural identities tied to food and gastronomic traditions, safeguards foods and cultivation and processing techniques inherited from tradition and defend domestic and wild animal and vegetable species.”

Slow Food USA

This the USA website of the USA part of Slow Food. It is much more useful for someone living in the USA. It’s great for learning about local conviviums, and learning about Heritage/Heirloom foods (often with sources). If you care are diversity and sustainability, how can you not be a member?

Slow Food Forum
A place where those interested in Slow Food topics can discuss them. Now worth a visit!

Slow Food in Schools
This is a “national program of garden to table projects with children that cultivates the senses and teaches an ecological approach to food.” It looks very promising!

Raft - Renewing America's Food Traditions
RAFT is the first collaborative effort ever assembled to:
1) Make a comprehensive catalog of America's indigenous edible plants and animals;
2) Document which foods have fallen into disuse and are at risk of extinction; and
3) Determine which are capable of being restored and revitalized in ways that benefit their stewards. (From the Slow Food USA site)

This is quite an interesting and exciting project. Visit the Slow Food website for more details.

Reports from
Slow Food Events

Slow Food Russian River’s Heritage Feast: Renewing America’s Food Traditions	Oct-06
Go West Young Wattle! - Napa Valley Slow Food's Celebration of the Red Wattle Pig	Jun-06
Michael Pollan - Napa Valley Slow Food - Talk & Food notes	Apr-06
Golden Glass 2005 - Wine Tasting notes	Jun-05
Golden Glass 2005 - Food	Jun-05
Just Kidding	May-05
A Fowl Weather Feast	Nov-04
Gravenstein Apple Event	Aug-04
BarnDiva - Slow Food Healdsburg	Jul-04
Golden Glass 2004 - Wine Tasting notes	Mar-04

Slow Food Canada

Slow Food Ireland

Slow Food Deutschland

Slow Food Italy

Slow Food's The Ark USA
Probably the best, coolest thing that Slow Food USA is up to is their
The Ark USA project.

Slow Food's
International Ark of Taste

Don't forget to check out the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity's Ark of Taste Project. It catalogs endangered products globally from Argentina to Latvia to Turkey to the UK.

From their Website...
“75% of European food product diversity has been lost since 1900.”

“93% of American food product diversity has been lost in the same time period.”

“33% of livestock varieties have disappeared or are near disappearing.”

“30,000 vegetable varieties have become extinct in the last century, and one more is lost every six hours.”

Presidia

The Slow Food Presidia is"the working arm of the Ark of Taste."

The Presidia project focuses on the less economically impacting members of the ark of taste. The Ark of Taste is like a Volume of information on endangered products. The Presidium targets products which are likely to disappear without help - like the US Turkey Project to save the Heritage Turkeys which was begun in 2001.

The University of Gastronomic Sciences

Founded by Slow Food in 2003 and based in Pollenzo, Italy, The University of Gastonomic Sciences is the world’s first academy of "eno-gastronomy," with campuses in Pollenzo, near Bra, and Colorno, near Parma. The university offers a 3-year program (taught in Italian) to study food and drink in depth.

"Our aim is to create an international research and training center, working to renew farming methods, protect biodiversity and maintain an organic relationship between gastronomy and agricultural science."