:: Gone Global ::

SLow FOod NatiON

    sLoWth                                                                   

sLOw FooD mOVemeNT                                   

 SLOW FOOD usa

   slow foOD RevoLuTion

             

Terra Madre, the effective coordinator of Slow Food member countries and towns throughout the world, features projects on their website. (http://www.terramadre.info/pagine/welcome.lasso?n=en)

One story is based in an alpine town in Albania...

Situated at an altitude of 1,250 meters, Lepushe is the highest village in the Albanian Alps, hence in the country. After the emigration of its young people, its 70 remaining residents continue to produce cheese, raki (a plum distillate), sauerkraut, potatoes, and caj (infusion of wild herbs). One distinctive dairy product is mishavin, a fermented cow-milk cheese that, along with sauerkraut, pork and raki, provides sustenance during the bitter Alpine winters. Jardun is made from salted sheep milk, thickened by slow cooking, and eaten primarily by children. Raki, a ritual drink par excellence, is made using red plums harvested in October, left to ferment for a month, then distilled. The infusion herbs, dried in the dark, include oregano and St. John’s Wort (Hypericum maculatum)

UGaNda

 Slow Food Mukono, led by Mukiibi Edward, aims to enhance nutrition and promote clean, fair food for children in Uganda, and hopes to adjust the social attitudes towards cultivation for school children in the future. (2006)

http://multimedia.slowfood.com/index.php?lng=2&method=gallery&action=zoom&id=4097

Fast Life Food

FAST FOOD NATION

Is this part of our cultural identity as Americans?

Can something mass produced, processed, prepared, packaged, marketed, and shipped really be a unique and defining characteristic of our culture? Does it have soul?

Today, convenience foods have reached unprecedented heights globally, with fast food chains popping up in developing countries across the world.

        

In his book, Fast Food Nation, investigative journalist Eric Schlosser delves into the world of fast food, from its ethical failings to its negative social and environmental impacts. What he discovers is that patrons of fast food institutions often do not pay the real price for their meal. Behind the made-to-order meal is a complex system of economical reasoning and calculations, much more convoluted than one would like to consider while eating. 

To prevent consumers from asking the question, "where did this come from?," fast food companies jump the gun to give out answers to the question, "what's in this?" to which they can provide ambiguous and yet somehow satisfactory answers. Using, for example, words like "fresh" and "high quality," and emphasizing the taste and crunchiness of the vegetables, exclaiming that the grapes are "hand twisted off the bunch" and the apple slices are "spritzed" with chemicals. (http://cep.mcdonalds.com/qualityfood/)

By real costs, perhaps Schlosser is referring to the unfair compensation of restaurant employees, whose income is lowest in the country (second only to migrant farm workers,) and whose corporate disposability leave them without benefits or a steady job. Or perhaps he is referring to the costs of corporate agriculture. 

These giant agricultural operations push for monoculture and bioengineering of crops, which produce water-efficient or higher yield produce, but rapidly degrade soil and decrease the diversity of species within a certain genus. This last is especially hazardous because a crop’s resilience to disease varies from specie to specie, and diversity is key to preventing the total devastation of an entire harvest in the instance of an outbreak. There is also recent evidence that crop biodiversity reduces dissolved nitrogen levels in water sheds, which leads to the development of algae and watershed “dead zones.” (sciencedaily.com) Biopiracy of indigenous crop varieties is practiced by corporate monopolies with the financial ability to obtain patents on certain types of crops.  

This, in addition to the international trade agreements and government subsidies they receive, makes the agri-business industry a foreboding adversary of independent farms. In Washington, lobbyists are much more likely to push legislation that favors these corporations, putting small-scale operations at a disadvantage, especially in developing countries. (coc.org) 

Gone Local...

Slow Food has a chapter on Long Island, and is affiliated with several restaurants on the east end, and has working projects with the Hayground School in Bridgehampton.

Specific to eastern Long Island, a slow menu in late June could look something like this...

MENU

TO START
Early Summer Salad
Marinated homemade fromage blanc, local baby greens,
toasted hazelnuts, shaved spring onions and beets
WÖLFFER ESTATE “BIG APPLE”

FIRST COURSE
Black Sea Bass Crudo
Local green tomato, tomato water
PAUMANOK “FESTIVAL” CHARDONNAY

SECOND COURSE

Braised Duck leg
Plum-stuffed gnocchi, kohlrabi, turnips and carrots
BEDELL “FIRST CRUSH”

DESSERT

Vanilla Poached Apricots and Cherries
Housemade ricotta, Mexican cocoa
MARTHA CLARA, “CIELE”

It is important to note that though the foods are locally sourced, they are not limited to a single farm, and the wines served are not restricted to a particular winery. Specialization of fare is not against the principles of the movement, and in fact enriches the menu. One of the main goals of the Slow Food Movement is to encourage people to gauge the speed of their lifestyle and appreciate nature's bounty with deep understanding.

USA Mission Statement

"Slow Food USA envisions a future food system that is based on the principles of high quality and taste, environmental sustainability, and social justice—in essence, a food system that is good, clean and fair. We seek to catalyze a broad cultural shift away from the destructive effects of an industrial food system and fast life; toward the regenerative cultural, social and economic benefits of a sustainable food system, regional food traditions, the pleasures of the table, and a slower and more harmonious rhythm of life.”

The AgriBusiness Goliath

A looming anathema to small scale, sustainable operations, giant capitalistic agriculture corporations dominate world markets.

 

In industries from cotton to corn to cattle, these corporations genetically modify seeds to produce a higher yield crop, make excessive use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, and operate livestock farms akin to factories.

The Green Revolution in the mid 1900's brought mass production of food to a new level to suit growing populations. 

monoculture the cultivation of a single crop (on a farm or area or country) 

The impacts of growing a single species manifest in a crop's inability to withstand disease, or the devastation of an entire harvest because the plants were all the same species, and all susceptible to a single outbreak.

Runoff from factory farms pollute local water sources

The Factory Farming Machine

The Green Revolution in the mid 1900's brought mass production of food to a new level to suit growing populations. 

Factory farms have decimated family operated and community supported agriculture since the 1940's when government subsidies were granted to companies that used new technology to increase production. The UN saw that move as a strategy to limit countries' needs to import meat and improve their food security. 

The most economical accommodations possible are adopted to increase profitability, including maximizing the number of animals possible to fit in a single farm building. This leads to filthy, inhumane conditions and disease. With the advent of antibiotics in the 1940's, factory farmers saw fit to inundate their feed stock with preventative medication. Needless to say, this last has caused uproar with consumers in an uncanny way because it has shown evidence of negative human health impacts.

A great animated movie on the nature of factory farms today:  www.themeatrix.com

Community Farming Projects are a great way to actively participate in your area's move towards sustainability. On the east end of Long Island, master farmers and gardeners have co-op projects that make responsible use of the acres of arable farmland that surround us. 

below, a plot rented at EECO (East End Community Organic) Farm in East Hampton

Learning to tend your own garden can be a tricky process, but EECO Farm is dedicated to the education of its members, and hosts an Outdoor Classroom where student groups and civic organizations can learn the basics and volunteer on the farm.

Quail Hill Farm - Amagansett, New York

"A central part of our mission at Quail Hill is to educate the public concerning such issues as soil health, our seed supply, food security, and sustainable, organic farming practices.  School groups and children of all ages visit Quail Hill to help with seeding, transplanting, and harvesting. Connecting people with land in this way builds a community that will appreciate and support the stability, integrity, and beauty of the bioregion."

Slow Terminology

gastronomy 1. The art or science of good eating. 2. A style of cooking, as of a particular region.

organic pertaining to, involving, or grown with fertilizers or pesticides of animal or vegetable origin, as distinguished from manufactured chemicals

seasonal pertaining to, dependent on, or accompanying the seasons of the year or some particular season; periodical

sustainability The ability of an ecosystem to maintain ecological processes and functions, biological diversity, and productivity over time

local Of, relating to, or characteristic of a particular place

biodiversity The variability among living organisms on the earth, including the variability within a certain area, among species and within and between ecosystems