I recently read an article in the New York Times about a farmer from Main who has carried on his family tradition of farming. Unlike his great - great grand parents Jason has dedicated his life to growing organic fruits and vegetables. Jason much like the slow food movement is supporting an organic way of life that promotes Slow Food as one would call it. Slow food is defined as “Slow Food is an idea, a way of living and a way of eating. It is a global, grassroots movement with thousands of members around the world that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment” (Slow).
Slow foods movement is a movement that has arisen over the last 30 years in efforts to combat corporate farming and genetically modified foods. Genetically modified food has exploded into American food markets in efforts to monopolize on profits and decrease waste. In the midst of this transition we have essentially lost the value of food and its benefits as well as the impacts that our food system can have on the environment. Hence this answers the question on what social problem evoked this movement that attempts to fight corporate farming and genetically modified food.
Slow foods main goal is to protect the heritage of our food, as well as to protect the tradition and culture. Culture and tradition are interconnected with food threw cooking. Seeing cooking food is something that is passed down generation to generation. Culture is tied into this because it is something that varies from country to country and even family to family. Slow foods fundamental beliefs are biased upon good, clean, fair food. When they talk about good food they are talking directly about food that is full of nutrients that are good for you. Clean obviously means food that has not been produced with chemicals that may harm you. Finally when they talk about fairness they are talking about food that is good for you and the environment as well as at a cheap fair price. People who promote slow food are your everyday people; they are farmers who care about you and your well being. They have a love for what they do and they care about the quality of goods they produce. Farms aren't like your average supermarket. There people, care it means something to them. It’s not just producing foods it’s a way of life. Now these are the people I would want to invest my money in and trust.
Slow food supports regional biodiversity meaning the diversity of food based on regions. Super markets now don’t have seasons they don’t have regional differences in food. They are superficially uniform. Thusly providing convince to consumers that hides the importance of having a relationship with food. This basic attribute that super markets provide is essentially what Slow Food attempts to combat. Negative result of having no seasonality in our super markets results in having no relationship with food. Slow food focuses on creating relationships between consumers and their food. Also it is essential in the slow food movement to establish a relationship with the farmer and the consumer. In doing so it helps to show people how important the land and soil is in producing their food.
Slow food helps to promote tradition and culture by promoting regional difference in food. It also promotes the tradition and culture of cooking. By creating relationships with the food we eat we begin to understand not only more about our food by understand ways to cook it and prepare it. When you by a cheese burger form McDonalds you are not only losing the relationship between the consumer you are not acknowledging the tradition and culture of the food you are eating, mainly because a cheese burger form McDonald lacks all of this traits. If we look at the preparation of food and traditionally how it was done we can see major differences in what is eaten here in Massachusetts and what is eaten in Mexico or Canada because the food that is available is different during different times of year. Eighty years ago you could not find apple pie in New Mexico because apples did not grow there. You could not find organs in Main or pumpkins in Florida.
It is because of our industrialization of food we see the migration of food over far distances and with the migration of food we see the dissipation of tradition, culture, and relationships in concerns to food. Hence slow food to promote the tradition, culture and value we need in food.
Here are two videos related to slow food
Here is the News article on the farmer form Main.
Work Cited
Slow Food International - Good, Clean and Fair Food. Web. 01 Nov. 2011. <http://slowfood.com/>.
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