The new food movements: Organic Slow Food and local food movements are changing the way we eat
Organic agriculture raises awareness of food and food-growing systems. When people choose organic, they are concerned about what they eat, how it is grown and often where it is raised. Slow Food and Local Food are relatively recent social movements that also raise food awareness. Consumers play a huge market role through food purchases, whether it is organic, “slow” or local, as well as in food growing, consumption and environmental philosophy.
Slow Food began in 1986 with a meeting of individuals in Italy “to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.” Today, Slow Food is an international 85,000 member-supported organization that has over 1,000 “convivia”—or local chapters—worldwide.
According to their Web site, Slow Food “works to defend biodiversity in our food supply, spread taste education and connect producers of excellent foods with co-producers through events and initiatives.” The Slow Food philosophy states they believe that “everyone has a fundamental right to pleasure and consequently the responsibility to protect the heritage of food, tradition and culture that make this pleasure possible.” Their movement is founded upon a concept of “eco-gastronomy—a recognition of the strong connections between plate and planet.”
Slow Food advocates believe that food should “taste good; that it should be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; and that food producers should receive fair compensation for their work.” Slow Food members consider themselves coproducers, not consumers, because “by being informed about how our food is produced and actively supporting those who produce it, we become a part of and a partner in the production process.” For more information, go to www.slowfood.com.
Local food is a less centrally organized movement, but it is growing in numbers, awareness and popularity among those concerned with food miles and their local economy. Also, with today’s food-safety issues and rising energy costs, knowing your farmer and how your food has been produced has become as important as knowing your banker or doctor. Because of industrialization and consolidation of food production, processing and transportation, today’s food averages some 1,500 miles from field to table in the U.S. Local food systems can not only reduce carbon emissions from production, packaging and transportation, they can also provide greater connections between rural and urban people at a time when people are all but disconnected from their food sources. Also, the various local food production operations can provide educational and employment opportunities. To help connect producers with consumers, Local Harvest is a U.S. local and organic Web site that maintains a public nationwide directory of about 9,000 small farms, markets and other food sources at www.localharvest.org.
The local food movement includes
*Farmer’s markets, selling fresh and locally produced food products directly to consumers, are popular and thriving in cities, some for centuries, throughout the world. In some areas, these markets are restricted to foods in season; in others, local and imported goods are sold year-round.
*CSA, or community-supported agriculture, is a subscription garden service where consumers pay growers for vegetable produce and other locally grown food products delivered weekly during the growing season. In a CSA, consumers share the bounty and the risks of local vegetable growers by paying for shares at the beginning of the season.
*Pick-your-own operations, roadside stands and on-farm sales are often used by small fruit growers, orchards, wineries and small dairies. In some areas, these operations are part of an agri-tourism business, sometimes combining the farming with a bed-and-breakfast and/or scheduled tours.
*Food cooperatives have the benefit of providing consumers with healthy food from local (and nonlocal) food systems in a retail store or through online Internet sales. By being a member of the co-op, the producer can pay a fee to market their food products and perhaps increase the quantity of sales.
*Farm-to-school programs connect young people to fresh food at school and teach them where food comes from on the farm. Organic farmers could benefit from making connections with their local school district to provide marketing and educational field-trip opportunities. Providing future generations with such knowledge will also improve awareness of local-food systems and the environmental and economic benefits they provide to the community.
This article was originally published in the Summer 2008 “OCIA Communicator” newsletter.
Delicious
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Yahoo
Very good post, thanks a lot.
Post new comment