The Principles of Slow Food [ by Michael T] [Culture Clash]
October 30, 2006The sheer waste and destructiveness of modern agriculture and food production is massive, as anyone who does a bit of digging quickly learns. Thankfully, there is an organization called Slow Food started by Italians 20 years ago to support biodiversity and artisanal food producers around the world. This past weekend, Slow Food held a food convention and conference in Turin, Italy. It attracted over 150,000 people.
The focus of the show was artisanal, small producers from around the world. 160 countries were represented, either in the tasting or at the conference. At the conference, the emphasis was often on practical things that are being done - converting agricultural waste to fuel for example, modernizing the idea of the greenhouse to capture more energy, how we can preserve animal species and enjoy the taste of wild meats at the same time. This is heady stuff even for people in the food industry. And it’s not the esoteric nonsense that we Americans sometimes fall into with our numerous causes. Practical, progressive steps are being taken around the world as we speak.
Another buzzword was sustainability. Basically, this means fishing but not overfishing, respecting the land and limiting pesticides, using only the electricity necessary, etc. It is a simple principle on which the entire world was based on prior to industrialization. A lot of non-industrial areas of the world (the majority of landmass actually) only survive by being smart about growing and capturing practices. If they catch all the fish, how will they spawn new ones for next year? If all the water is diverted to a factory farm, the small farmers are out of luck. It’s a delicate balance we only have a vague understanding of in the U.S.
A few special examples:
In Norway, they have saved a rare breed of wild sheep by creating a market for products of the sheep. Yes, you can save animals by eating them. Why do you think we have so many cows? I will say that if you have never tasted unprocessed, wild meats, you are missing out on a whole level of taste.
The Imraguen women of Mauritania make bottarga, pressed fish roe, from mullet they catch in the national park on the coast called Arguin Bank. Only Imraguen fishermen can go into this area because their boats have no sails and no motors. They can only catch mullet from the end of October until January. This ensures generations access to the fish. Unfortunately, a middleman buys from them for very little money and keeps hefty profits. An organization like Slow Food aims to put the women together with a new distributor so they can earn a decent wage.
Kamal Mouzawak is the leader of the Lebanese delegation. He founded Souk El Tayeb, the first true farmer’s market in Beirut in 2004 - as opposed to their medinahs which are mainly full of cheap foreign goods - and he works to preserve the traditions of artisanal foods. One amazing product is a cheese that is wrapped in goatskin and fermented for 6 months. Some producers there have even gone organic - one might say gone back to organic. Kamal works through the market and also in schools to promote local producers and give them the proper recognition.
A lot of inspirational people went to Italy to share the culture of food. Because in the end, we are more similar than different and through food we can actually get along. It’s not a fantasy, at least it wasn’t during the conference. It just makes sense.
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