“Soul Food?” “No, Dad, Slow Food!” This is usually how the conversation goes when I talk to may father about Slow Food, the international organization whose Columbus chapter I lead and helped to found earlier this year.  And he is very perplexed by the fact that I, like the rest of the leaders of chapters in the country, am a volunteer.  “You don’t get paid?” he asks.  And I hear a lot of jokes about slow cookers.

Many people just do not get Slow Food.  I have met a French man who said, “I am French; I already live like that, why do I need to join a club?” An Indian friend thought it strange that it was out of the ordinary to suggest eating locally or seasonally because growing up, that is what she and her family did out of necessity and did not question it. Another misconception about Slow Food is that it is an organization composed only of gourmets and gourmands. Is it soul food, is it about braising, is it redundant, is it only for tree huggers or gourmets?  What is Slow Food, anyway?

In 1986, Carlo Petrini, a journalist and leftist, was protesting against a McDonald’s opening at the Spanish steps in Rome.  While chanting, “we don’t want fast food, we want slow food,” they threw penne pasta at one of the most recognizable symbols of American fast food. A movement was born.  In essence, Slow Food intends to reverse what fast food culture has done to the American diet, life and waistline. 

For food to be slow, it needs to be good, clean and fair.  In my opinion, this is a poor translation from the original text in Italian, but I think that the Slow Food USA website explains it well:

Good:  The word good can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. For Slow Food, the idea of good means enjoying delicious food created with care from healthy plants and animals. The pleasures of good food can also help to build community and celebrate culture and regional diversity.

Clean:  When we talk about clean food, we are talking about nutritious food that is as good for the planet as it is for our bodies. It is grown and harvested with methods that have a positive impact on our local ecosystems and promotes biodiversity.

Fair:  We believe that food is a universal right.  Food that is fair should be accessible to all, regardless of income, and produced by people who are treated with dignity and justly compensated for their labor.

I am not a strict locavore.  (I love the fact that the word “locavore” was the 2007 Oxford University Press word of the year.) I eat avocados with glee.  I prefer not to give up French salt or Belgian Chocolate or lemons from California.  If you tried to take away my husband’s coffee, I could not be held responsible for what would happen.  However, eating locally is a big part of Slow Food.  There is nothing like the first asparagus or morel mushrooms at the farmers’ markets.  One can buy meat raised on a local farm and investigate its methods of animal husbandry.  Not only does the food taste better because it is fresher, you know where it came from and how it was treated.  In addition, it is pleasurable to enjoy unique regional specialties, for example, pawpaws or heirloom apples.  You are supporting your local farmers and producers and keeping dollars in your community.  Besides, extra fuel does not have to be used to truck in pre-ripe-picked fruit and vegetables or frozen meat.

Seasonal eating can be tricky in Ohio and is another facet of Slow Food.  Certainly, my August tomato is heaven compared to the mealy orb that is the February offering at the grocery store.  When you can do it, it is delicious and satisfying.  There are newer year–round farmers’ markets starting to become available and some farmers lengthening the season with cold frame crops and greenhouses.  One could also have one’s own garden or pots or participate in a community garden.

The physical health problems in our “fast food nation” are undeniable: obesity, heart disease and diabetes are all on the rise.  Americans are filling themselves with empty calories instead of real food.  In The Defense of Food, Michael Pollan created an “Eater’s Manifesto,” a succinct, eloquent, thought-provoking, and clever guide of how to make choices today when it comes to food.  One may argue that is it is full of common sense.  He offers suggestions like, “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants” and “Don’t eat anything that your great grandmother would not recognize as food.”

In his Manifesto, Mr. Pollan also alludes to emotional health when he suggests that we “Try Not to Eat Alone.” Slow Food certainly subscribes to the importance of sharing a meal and making connections with people while cooking or dining. Slow Food’s Italian roots celebrate conviviality.  In early Roman times, feasts called convivia brought together people from all different strata of society to savor a delicious meal.  Originally, chapters of Slow Food were called convivia.  As part of the translation of Slow Food into the American idiom, one can now use the words “convivium” and “chapter” interchangeably. 

One of the basic cornerstones of the movement is to slow down.  In fact, the snail is our mascot.  In Barbara Kingsolver’s book, Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, she shares an enlightening anecdote.  Her daughter is telling relatives that she shaved thirty-seven minutes off of her commute home from college by taking a different route.  Her grandfather asked now that she spent fifteen minutes telling the story, how was she going to use the other twenty-two minutes?  What is the hurry?  (I am still trying learn this part.)

To answer my French acquaintance, why join such an organization?  To spread the Slow Food word, to meet like-minded individuals, to make those connections, to show a child what garlic looks like, that its natural state is not chopped in jar.  To enjoy meals together, to meet farmers, to meet cheese makers, and to shake the hand that feeds you.  To spread the love of good, clean and fair food.  And maybe, just maybe, to work with like-minded people to start to repair the American food system so that more of that food will be more available to more of us. 

To learn more about the international movement, please visit slowfood.com.  To learn more and to join Slow Food USA go to slowfoodusa.org.  To learn more about what we do here in central Ohio and to be added to the Slow Food Columbus mailing list, go to slowfoodcolumbus.org.