A rift in slow food reveals big growing pains.

The foodiverse was all atwitter over this article from Chow last week. A rift has been forming between two factions within Slow Food USA, a non-profit organization that promotes the pleasures of the table, artisanal food production methods, sustainable agriculture, and direct connections between producers and consumers.

On one side is what we’ll call the Alice Waters faction that thinks food is too cheap to keep farmers who are doing the right thing in business and that people should prioritize food over consumer goods – and pay more for it. On the other side is some of the newer leadership of Slow Food that seeks to counter the charges of elitism that have continued to dog the organization, and to broaden its appeal to a younger, broker, and less well-connected demographic.

Think $20 pasture-raised chickens compared to Slow Food’s Recent $5 meal challenge. In some ways, switching its focus to value, rather than preciousness has helped Slow Food. Membership is up. But, according to the Chow article, donations are down from well-heeled donors who are unhappy with the organization’s new direction.

Critics insist that Slow Food must reach more people or risk being irrelevant to most of the population. Anna Smith Clark, The San Francisco Bay Area Governor of Slow Food agrees, but also thinks the laser-like focus in the media on higher profile elements around Slow Food do the organization a disservice. She points out that ordinary members within the organization are continually finding ways to disseminate the ideals behind Slow Food to different groups.  “There’s nothing written about the people who volunteer hours of their time planting the seeds of change in their communities among their friends and family members, or working with like-minded organizations,” says Smith Clark.

Discussions about Slow Food tend to focus on the need of reaching two specific groups: low income people and well-off foodies. For low income people the message is that it doesn’t have to be expensive or time-consuming to cook local, organic, real food, while the message for foodies is that when they fetishize taste, no matter the cost, they leave out a huge proportion of the population, for whom their message is useless.

As Slow Food grows up and the focus shifts away from its famous founders, there’s a third group that it will be crucial to reach: The enormous swath of the population with plenty of money to pay for good food, but who simply doesn’t care. This group doesn’t care about farmers, doesn’t care where food comes from, doesn’t care if it has additives, doesn’t care if it has too much packaging. Some probably doubt that organic is even healthier. Let’s call them the honey badgers of the consumer food market.  They really don’t give a sh*t.

If you’re a foodie living in a foodie bubble, you might forget these people exist. To remind yourself of the reality, go to a high-end conventional grocery store in any town in America, look at the cars in the parking lot, and watch what people put in their carts. It’s not a rarity to spot someone walking to a late model Mercedes or $70,000 Escalade with a grocery cart full of hundreds of dollars’ worth of processed, packaged food. Stacks of hot pockets, multiple giant boxes of Froot Loops, cases of Coca-Cola, jars of cheese dip, enormous bags of chips, and nary a fresh (or even frozen) vegetable in sight. Now go hang out around the parking lot of a fast food outlet in any well-off suburb, and notice how busy the drive-thru is.

So how does Slow Food reach those people? Smith Clark says people gravitate to the ideas of Slow Food around any number of issues, from concern for farm workers to childhood obesity. They get little tidbits of knowledge from community, news, friends, and family members, and at some point, the flashbulb lights up: “What are you going to do with the money in your pocket?” I ask if there isn’t some way to reach these people more quickly than these myriad individual conversations.

“I think that’s why it’s called Slow Food,” replies Smith Clark.

The honey badgers of the consumer food market vote. Changing the food system so that it is fair for both farmers and eaters is going to mean breaking the stranglehold the food industry has on food policy. Good food advocates need to reach the honey badgers and convince them that organic, sustainable food is not only better, but it’s also worth paying for, spending time cooking, and going to the polls for. Until then, you can pay all you want for chicken and heirloom vegetables at the farmers’ market, but the fast majority of food will still be processed, a lot of family farmers will still be impoverished, and those $20 chickens will continue to reach only a niche market. It’s going to take time. That’s why it’s a movement, not a revolution.

ALSO CHECK OUT:

Be Still my Beeping Crackberry: In Defense of Slow

Slow Fashion Alchemy

Slow, Meet Furniture. Furniture, Meet Your Maker.

This is the latest installment in Vanessa Barrington’s weekly column, The Green Plate,  on the environmental, social, and political issues related to what and how we eat.

Image: Lifesupercharger

A weekly roundup of EcoSalon’s top stories.

Anything But Shorts, Please is a fun look at a summer trend we simply cannot embrace unless hiking, biking or post surf: shorts. Instead, we give you a nice round-up of some great skirts that will love you for who you are and add a little more style when cruising about town.

EcoSalon Editor-in-Chief Sara Ost writes that DailyWorth is a “fuss-free, no-nonsense, wouldn’t-even-think-about-patronizing financial tips, guides and advice for women. From growing your savings, making your money work for you (instead of the credit card company), and ensuring you negotiate a pay raise on par with the guys, DailyWorth takes women and money seriously. Because we’ve come a long way, baby, and so have our bank accounts.” Don’t you owe it to yourself to know more about what your money can do? Read the article here to find out more.

Fast furniture retailers show no sign of slowing down, but the essence of slow furniture is something we can settle into. In Slow, Meet Furniture. Furniture, Meet Your Maker, Shelter Editor K. Emily Bond writes: “Like the slow food movement, the slow furniture movement is sweeping cities from Los Angeles to Toronto and is a reaction against mass-produced, cataloged, assemble-it-yourself, “disposable” furniture. Slower also denotes organic, as in the fabrication process is completed with human hands using sustainable materials. Slow food advocates seek a connection to the origin of each meal; slow furniture makers identify with their raw materials.”

You might have seen the headline, All We Are Saying Is Give Peas A Chance, and thought columnist Susan Goldberg was really into The Beatles – but no, she’s really into not tricking kids into eating veggies. Goldberg writes: “Besides the inherent ethical issues of deceiving one’s offspring, the problem with tricking children into eating vegetables is that they will grow up completely unaware that they have ever eaten or enjoyed a vegetable. If you steam, strain and puree spinach only to hide it in brownies, your kid will have no idea that he likes spinach – he will only know that he likes brownies. With childhood obesity at epidemic levels, do we really want to push more desserts on impressionable young people?”

In this week’s Sex By Numbers: Taking You For Granted, writer Abigail Wick encourages us to stop wasting time being so self-conscious and instead, live life to the fullest. She writes: “It’s this disproportionate focus on perceived lack that has really started to rub me the wrong way. Rather than celebrating their abundant gifts, there is a systematic zeroing-in on self-doubt. It frustrates me to see lovely, lovable female friends mired in such petty preoccupations. ‘Wake up!’ I want to scream. ‘Stop taking it for granted, stop thinking about yourself so much, stop this self-indulgence. Don’t wake up 30 years hence and rue the potential and pleasure you frittered away in a misery of your own making.’”

How the crockpot resurgence contributes to the American slow down.

My crockpot - the SUV space hog of the kitchen counter – is my new enabler in the quest to take time to smell the roses, not to mention the aromatic free-range bird melding with organic onions and homegrown herbs in a lethargic, six-hour simmer. Toss them in the pot, come back for the gold six hours later. A meal that drove itself home. It’s what’s for dinner.

The process of slow-cooking tasty comfort food without constantly stirring the pot helps me and countless others to heed Michael Pollan’s directive to focus on “real food” and connect with life – especially during a time when spare minutes to hover is chronically elusive.

“It opens up a space to do other things and this is huge when it comes to reducing stress,” observes Thea Singer, Ph.D. – author of Stress Less: The New Science That Shows Women How to Rejuvenate The Body and The Mind. “We know the benefits of mindful eating, and you could say that another synonym of the slow food movement is mindful cooking.”

Yes, time is what fuels the resurgence, at least on the ceramic surface. Like a lover who gives generously without demanding constant hugs and feedback, the plug-in grub tub frees us up to do our thing – only to come together in the evening and share what we bring to the table as a unit.

Unless you’re a Top Chef contender or former professional stuck at home with too much time on your hands,  neediness in food prep can be a major turn off, especially during hectic week days when a lofty goal might be schlepping to the taco stand to get burritos on the table before seven.

“Braising is what I would usually do on a Saturday or Sunday if it’s raining and I can walk over to the stove and stir every half hour, and the slow cooker lets you do that on a week day before you go to work,” says Jill Santopietro (above), the senior food editor of Chow.com, who vlogs recipes.  “But you have to choose the right recipes that need eight hours of cooking. A lot f them, like a veggie stew I made in our test kitchen, cooks in three hours. You still have to be there, so it’s not full proof.”

Still, it’s a step in the right direction, agrees Santopietro. But the consummate foodie adds that true mindful cooking results from mindful planning, something our society greatly lacks.

“As a kid, my grandmother would plan in the morning for dinner, and that is what is missing from our culture,” says the chef and writer. “People  in this country don’t think about what they are going to cook for dinner.  If you don’t think and go to the store and plan, you will end up going to a fast food joint to get dinner when you are starving.”

Despite the clever advertising, the fast food we reach for when starving contributes to obesity, diabetes, breakouts and other undesirable side effects, while slow cooked turkey chili, veggie stew and lentil soup sans the corn syrup and trans fats is typically the antithesis to all of that. Of course, you have to eat it slow, too, to reverse the national epidemics rushing us to early deaths.

Researchers on the cutting edge of linking cooler jets to happier cells find listening to our bodies is the key to thriving, according to UCSF Dept. of  Psychiatry professor, Elissa Epel, who specializes in identifying mind-body behavior that promotes stress resilience.

Five steps Epel cites in achieving well being: Breathing and awareness, staying present and minimizing time traveling, expressing gratitude and savoring, carving out a time allowance and daily exercise (the big E). Add the antioxidants and vitamins, handfuls of pistachio nuts, blueberries and purified Omega -3, and you might add years to your life. Of course, eliminating the stinking thinking goes a long way, too.

“Our brains are set up to focus on the negative,” says Epel, “But we can choose to reinterpret any negative experience and restore cells that deteriorate when we age or experience stress.” Take the example of not getting an ideal parking space at the store. When you tell yourself you are doing something great for cell regeneration by walking further, you create a positive spin that boosts your health.

Health science has witnessed a greater emphasis on cellular aging and the telomere maintenance system, an area led by Epel and several colleagues who form the Psychoneuroendocrinology Laboratory Group – which runs studies on issues such as stress – induced cortisol and overeating.

“Cortisol kicks off dopamine, and the reward system stimulates wanting to get what we need,” Epel explains. “We go in search of fatty and sweet food because we think we are exerting ourselves and this leads to a cycle similar to addiction,” she has found.

Which leads me back to the crockpot, and the question, could this help break that cycle of addiction and other bad behavior which shortens our lives?

Santopietro, who doesn’t own a crockpot, says it can help you relax, but isn’t a cure-all.

“A slow cooker won’t cure people of not going for that quick fat option,” she finds. “A better method is thinking more about food in advance. I’m an anomaly because I think of food more than the average person – I’m obsessed with it. There are great recipes you can make in 30 minutes without a cooker.”

Guess it boils down to the old adage: failing to plan is planning to fail. Can thinking ahead help us carve out that time to hover on a rainy Sunday or even sunny Monday the way foodies do to feed their souls along with those they love?

Maybe so. Until then, I’m sticking to my crockpot. As I said, it’s my enabler.

Images: Christine Leiser, Busbeytheelder, Chow, Amazon

Toxic. Carcinogenic. Mutagenic. Non-biodegradable. Just a few of the unexpected ways to describe that organic fiber t-shirt you’re so proudly wearing. Say what? According to Sasha Duerr, founder of Permacouture Institute and author of the Handbook of Natural Plant Dyes, the sad irony is “you can have an organic fiber T-shirt, but if the dyes used to color it were toxic, they can be absorbed by the skin and can also prevent the T-shirt from biodegrading.”

Yowsers! I try to eat organic and I’ve finally surrendered my hopeful – read desperate – belief in high-tech sounding face cream ingredients, in favor of the motto, “if you can’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin.” But, I’m guessing most of us have never considered the connection between our clothes and our personal health.

So when I heard Duerr was leading a workshop on how to create a saturated array of colors straight from our very own garden, kitchen, or urban sidewalk, I immediately signed up.

Walking into the Mission district’s 18 Reasons, I join a group of 10 fellow fabric enthusiasts that include sewers, knitters, wool spinners, and – who knew? – a lone accountant. I sit next to Nicole Markoff, owner/designer of the Nicacelly Collection, a line of responsibly-produced street wear made from dead stock she found in Thailand. She’s attending because, “I wanted to move beyond the curry, turmeric, and tea that I had been dyeing with last year.” I start to reconsider the amount of time I spend holed-up with my face in Harper Bazaar.

Duerr is a big draw in these circles. Markkoff enthuses, “Sasha’s an incredible wealth of knowledge and her closed-loop approach is what I’d like to replicate in my work and business.”

As we start preparing our fabric samples, Duerr tells us about the astonishing amount of dye-producing plants available right here in urban San Francisco. “Once you begin learning and can identify plants which are harmful, those that are useful, as well as those that are common, local, edible and in season, ” she says, “Your view of your environment changes.”

While knowing that, in an emergency, the maple-like leaves of the Sweet gum tree can be used to treat fevers and wounds can gain you Bear Gryll’s-type kudos, learning how to create a color palette from foraged plants comes from spending time outside and building a relationship with nature. Duerr promotes the need for our culture’s increased ecoliteracy – “Much of what has become problematic in our modern lives is related to our having forgotten how to connect with simple rhythms of nature.” When you are working with the natural world, you’re constantly aware that you are often working on nature’s schedule, not just your own.”

As we chop up stalks and leaves and toss them into the bubbling pots of hot water on the kitchen stove, I’m reminded of the tenets of the slow food movement. Foraging for local edible plants and mushrooms, syncing production with true natural seasons, and how we’re beginning to understand what our actual limitations are in creation and consumption. Not to mention, how it has inspired people’s connection to where their food really comes from. We’ve embraced these concepts with our food, but with our clothes? It feels like a whole new idea. Or, maybe because so much of it is about sustainability, it’s simply a really old idea that seems new again.

Just like any of San Francisco’s renowned chef’s who wants to work with the freshest most local ingredients, Duerr, in her search for the best natural dye color for her line Adie + George, has discovered that sometimes the natural rhythms of nature and those of the artificial fashion industry don’t sync, “You’ve got to make sure a plant you’re dyeing samples with for New York Fashion Week will actually be in season when you want to dye the garments, she says, adding, “Personally, I love that concept of being immediately connected and having to think about your clothing that way – truly seasonal rather than just the fashion world seasonal that we’re used to.”

Aside from ensuring you are a steward of the land, it’s important to remember just because its natural doesn’t mean it’s always good for you. Among the many leaves that can be toxic are those from peach and plum trees, which contain cyanide, and rhubarb leaves, which contain oxalic acid. Durer recommends that if you come across a plant you want to experiment with, study up on it before. But then, she says, “creating color from botanical sources can be as easy as making your favorite tea.”

As we sink our tiny pieces of wool into the homemade batches of dye, we learn about natural dye practices on the verge of use on an industrial level. Clearly this is a huge topic, but if this is how your organic t-shirt delivers upon its true promise, then the beautifully-colored, one-of-a-kind fabric treasures we take home that evening are clearly a metaphor for what is possible if we just pay attention to our environment.

I love fish. Poached salmon. Bouillabaisse. Absolutely sublime sushi. How can I say no to seafood? And why would I?

Sylvia Earle, an awe-inspiring scientist and oceanographer who has studied the ocean for over 50 years, helped change my perspective in her most recent book, The World is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean’s Are One. She covers a lot of ocean ground, but one particular bit stuck in my craw with regard to over-fishing.

“Ninety percent of many fish common [in the past half century] are now gone, consumed by eager diners unaware that in their lifetime they might witness the disappearance of some of their favorite wild-caught fare, from tuna and swordfish to lobsters and crabs.”

Slow Food in San Francisco has instituted Meatless Mondays. I began to wonder what we could do for fish. I thought of Fishless Fridays, but that suggests we’re eating fish all the other days of the week. Fish Friday comes to mind, but I believe that’s a Catholic tradition. Maybe it could be more like one day a month, a celebratory day called First Fish Friday, the only day of the month we allow ourselves a special treat from the sea.

It may seem extreme. But what’s more extreme? Reducing personal intake of an endangered food source, or gobbling it down as fast as you can while you watch it disappear? As Earle quoted John C. Sawhill: “In the end, our society will be defined not only by what we create, but by what we refuse to destroy.”

Image: Nicola Zingarelli

Although many of us love good food, we don’t always take the time to honor it. As a society we’re pressed for time, and instead of sitting down to a fresh prepared meal in good company, we often opt for the quick and processed foods which we can eat on the go. And because we want fast and easy, we certainly don’t share the experience with our friends. We’ve seen the difficulty that even Jamie Oliver has had in getting people to simply cook one meal and eat together. Although we’re fully aware that these things have a negative effect on us, both physically and emotionally, we find excuses, like, “I don’t have the time.”

The Slow Food movement was started to change all of this – not only people’s attitudes towards food – but also towards how they were eating it. Eating in good company is just as crucial as what you’re putting in your body.

In the UK, The Big Lunch is attempting to change just that. The grassroots project is aimed at getting the whole of the UK sitting down and having lunch with their neighbor. But getting an entire country to commit to eating lunch together on one day can’t be easy, right? Last year, The Big Lunch had over one million participants. And it’s not just a couple people getting together for a quick meal; the initiative often inspires full on street parties, with some participants working with local agencies to close their streets off for the big day. All in the name of eating together.

Beyond building community, efforts like Big Lunch are forcing people to think about how their behaviors are affecting their eating habits, as well as their social lives. We all live more independent, and thanks to the internet – detached lives as well – but bringing back that sense of community and friends is key.

This year The Big Lunch will take place on July 18th, and even if you don’t live in the UK, you can still be inspired to take part. Plan your own neighborly get together, with an emphasis on good, homemade food that you enjoy together, without the interruptions of everyday life. Even if it’s just for 45 minutes, turn off the Crackberry and take the time to focus on friendship and food. We could all use a little boost in our well being.

Image: Eden Project

Are you vegetarian? Not that there’s anything wrong with that. If you are, you might have a high IQ or at least want to be perceived as smart.

A new study in the Social Psychology Quarterly March issue has linked high IQ, or measured intelligence, in adults and adolescents to “increases [in] adult liberalism,” including a tendency to be vegetarian, atheist and approving of same sex marriage.

Previous research had shown an even stronger link between high IQ teens and eventual vegetarianism.

Is this sheer snobbery and biased science? Can’t omnivores wear smartypants, too?

Stories about this study, combined with recent press appearances by and accolades for the novelist turned food writer-activist Jonathan Safran Foer and his book Eating Animals have turned up the volume on the ever raging environmental debate this week.

Safran Foer discussed his decision to make his own plate vegetarian or vegan, and to feed his infant son a vegetarian diet too on The Ellen Degeneres show. On air he quipped, “We continue to believe the meat on our plate comes from these idyllic [farms]. But on a chicken farm, an egg-laying hen farm even, more than 99% of hens live in these enclosed sheds each given about the space about the size of Mariah Carey’s engagement ring.”

A 67-square inch chunk of bling doesn’t exist, not even for the diva. But that’s the real size of living quarters for a beast in a factory farm, and about the size of two pages of a hardcover copy of Eating Animals. Safran Foer mentioned several more horrific sights he witnessed in researching food and farms for his book beyond that, on the show. Responses to his segment ranged from farmers trying to do right by their customers and livestock expressing anger at his generalizations, to kudos and support from vegan activists.

We asked Sandra McLean, a Slow Food New York City chapter leader, committee chair and all around food expert if adopting a vegetarian diet is the only (or the smartest) way to go green. Noting that Slow Food doesn’t take a pro-vegetarian, vegan or omnivore stance, she says: “Any animal that is raised humanely in the manner which is natural to its species is environmentally sensible.”

For omnivores, McLean advises buying and eating beef that comes from grass-fed, grass-finished steers that are raised as “the ruminants that they are,” meaning they should be able to graze for their food, and chickens that are raised in portable henhouses, which she called “a nice example of agricultural synergy.” A portable henhouse is moved about once a week around a field that will be planted with some crops. The birds’ manure fertilizes the field, and the chickens eat grubs and insects that populate it. McLean also suggests limiting meat intake to a 4 oz. portion daily, at most, to decrease the environmental impact of an omnivorous diet.

Above all, McLean says, “A person has a right to choose to eat the types of food that support his or her lifestlye and belief system.” Slow Food’s belief is that food choices should be based upon the credo of “good, clean and fair,” she says meaning good for the eater and the environment (and good tasting), clean as in grown and raised without pesticides, hormones or antibiotics, while being fair to the farmer, the farmworker and the animals.

Basic Reading:

“This study…advances a new theory to explain why people form particular preferences and values. The theory suggests that more intelligent people are more likely than less intelligent people to adopt evolutionarily novel preferences and values, but intelligence does not correlate with preferences and values that are old enough to have been shaped by evolution over millions of years.” – A Science Daily news feature on Kanazawa’s constroversial study of liberal vs. conservative IQ

“[A new] study found that young adults who said they were “˜very conservative’ had an average adolescent IQ of 95, whereas those who said they were “˜very liberal’ averaged 106. Vegetarianism”¦was shown to be related to intelligence in previous research, [the study's author] Kanazawa said. None of this means that the human species is evolving toward a future where these traits are the default. Kanazawa said, “˜More intelligent people don’t have more children, so moving away from the trajectory is not going to happen.’” – A CNN Health story by Elizabeth Landau

“Jonathan Safran Foer, a smart Jewish boy from the American east coast has now written a book about what’s wrong with the modern way in which most of the animals we eat are produced. Which is to say, everything: the genetic manipulation of the breeding stock to produce maximum feed-to-meat conversion, regardless of the suffering it causes; the appalling circumstances in which these creatures are then raised, crammed together, the stench of their own shit in their nostrils; the barbarity of the slaughter process, which can result in cattle literally being flayed alive.”-A book review of Jonathan Safran Foer’s Eating Animals in The Guardian Observer

“Adult intelligence predicts adult espousal of liberalism, atheism, and sexual exclusivity for men (but not for women). Childhood intelligence at age 10 significantly increases the probability that individuals become vegetarian as adults.” – A blog post and discussion that asks if the new study is unfair, via Overcoming Bias, by Robin Hanson

Further Resources:

Why It Matters if Liberals Are Much Smarter, a ScienceBlogs post by Razib Kahn

Critical views on Kanazawa’s research and his limited sample of American young adults via BeliefNet

Village Voice blog post by Chantal Martineau talking about the book Eating Animals and its reception outside of the U.S.

PETA’s press release announcing an award for Jonathan Safran Foer, his pro-vegetarian views and his book

Image: Ha-Wee

Morning coffee to get you up and running by 6:30am, a quick scan of the news, a rapid fire session of midday email, a “break” for lunch eaten in front of your computer while you hit Facebook, an afternoon of back to back meetings, a race home to change and grab your mat for a yoga session, an evening dinner date, and all the while, checking your Blackberry for work emails.

Sound familiar? If your average day looks a little like this, you’re not alone. Technology has helped in a lot of aspects of our lives, from paying bills online to keeping in touch with old friends, but sometimes it all gets overwhelming and it’s easy to ask, “do our lives ever slow down?”

Enter the slow movement, a cultural shift towards making time to slow down. The movement’s proponents are convinced that our speedy lives are destroying our health, families and communities. But slowing down isn’t just about turning your iPhone off during dinner, it’s about a holistic approach to your whole lifestyle, from how you travel to what you eat.

Slow Travel

One of the main components of slow travel is taking the time to be a part of local culture and connect with the people. Instead of racking up as many passports stamps as possible during a 5-day stint, slow travel advocates spending time in one place, often in rental villas where travelers can easily fall into pace with everyday life of the local culture.

A common way to experience the local surroundings and culture is through WWOOFing. The program, which stands for “Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms,” allows travelers to spend time working on an organic farm, giving back to the local community and being part of a culturally authentic environment. Here are some tips for getting the most out of your WWOOFing experience.

Although not essential to slow travel, doing something to help the community you’re traveling in has become an integral part of the movement and voluntourism has made its way onto the list of socially conscious slow travelers. Combining travel with volunteer projects, voluntourism has become popular with travelers that want more than cocktails by the pool at an all-inclusive resort. Hands-on experiences include everything from trail building to helping with scientific research to constructing houses. If you’re interested in this kind of traveling, Voluntourism.org is an excellent place to start.

Slow Food

Aiming to preserve cultural cuisine, the slow food movement isn’t just focused on eating better, it’s about preserving plants, seeds and agriculture and ensuring that we respect earth’s resources. The movement has so much momentum that several official organizations have been launched.

Slow Food USA aims to link “the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment.” That means less time spent gorging on fast food and more time thinking about making connections between how our food is grown and what it really tastes like. People around the country are attaching to that idea, from urban foragers taking time to harvest fruit in urban environments that might otherwise go to waste to building communities through street carts.

On the more scientific side of things, there’s the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, whose mission includes not only defending biodiversity, but also endorsing sustainable agriculture and protect small producers and their communities. Even the USDA launched a public awareness campaign focused on local food called Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food that we recently covered here.

Ultimately, what the slow food movement comes down to is being more conscious about where our food comes from and appreciating what we put in our bodies. What are the easiest ways to start bringing the slow food movement into your everyday life? Cook at home instead of opting for fast food; if you have your own garden, share the wealth with your neighbors; seek out restaurants that are committed to using local, sustainable ingredients.

Slow Fashion

With quickly changing seasons, cheap yet fashionable knock-offs of the latest trends used to sell like wildfire, but just as with food and travel, even fashionistas have taken a turn down a slower path. Slow fashion has put the focus on not only what clothes are made out of but what they’re made for, and whether or not they’re going to last.

Consumers are trending towards slow fashion, making the new top items ones that are made to last (read: “trans-seasonal”) as well as designed and produced with the environment and humanity in mind. How do you incorporate slow fashion ideals into your everyday lifestyle? Invest in a small wardrobe of well-made pieces that work together, made by manufacturers with integrity.

Slow Cities

It’s not just individuals taking steps to slow down – cities are doing their part as well. Cittaslow is an international network of more than 120 cities that have adopted a common set of goals to improve residents’ way of life. The slow cities movement started in Italy in 1999, when Mayor Paolo Saturnini chose to keep his town of Chianti, in Tuscany, small and protect local business, and it has spread from there.

Now a worldwide success, Cittaslow towns all commit to working towards over 50 goals and principles that will improve local life, evident in the movement’s official slogan, “International Network of Cities where living is easy.” Taking ideals of the slow food movement, slow cities put a focus on sustainable agricultural practices, conservation of and support for traditional artisan products, hospitality programs, historic preservation, and educational programs for all ages. Even in the high speed US, Cittaslow has taken hold, with Sonoma, Calif. being the first US town to be honored for its slower pace.

What three things would you slow down, if you could?

Images: Only Sequel, Anna Brones, Anna Brones, helgasm, Steve Parker

You gonna eat that? Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that once planted in the wild, genetically modified organisms, such as bio-engineered fruit, grain or vegetables can change native, wild plant neighbors’ DNA. In the future, food activists worry, you might not even have a dietary choice.

A flurry of news stories, blog posts and Tweets have “cropped up” in recent weeks around this study and related events. Even teenagers are dialed into the debate over the merits and dangers of GMOs, says Jenny Kessler, who founded and directs the Garden Program at The Automotive High School in Brooklyn, New York.

Kessler teaches English, ESL and a class called “Food, Land and You.” Through this coursework or participation in the Garden Program, Automotive students learn about farming and industrial agriculture and gain hands-on experience cultivating and cooking food.

“Some of my students agree with economist Jeffrey Sachs that genetically modified crops should be used to alleviate world hunger now, since they can grow on depleted land in bad conditions,” Kessler says, “but most are concerned that GMOs aren’t tested enough before they enter our mainstream food supply. Or they worry that modified seeds and cross-pollination will make natural products scarce and expensive, or even extinct.”

The Garden Program group (as seen on Flickr.com/autogarden) wishes for – after a personal visit from Anna Lappe or Michael Pollan – better information about the effect of modified crops on human and plant health, and to inspire Americans to buy more locally produced food.

Basic reading:

“A report by a team from the United States and China appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, [where] researchers point out that gene flow between crops and their wild relatives is common and difficult to contain. They note concerns that wild plants could, as a result, gain genetically engineered resistances. And these could affect the natural balance in their environment.” -US News And World Report feature

“Bayer CropScience AG is responsible for financial damage sustained by Missouri farmers when their rice crops were contaminated by genetically modified seeds, the growers’ lawyer told a federal court jury in St. Louis”¦Testing of one of the “˜LibertyLink’ [rice] strains at Louisiana State University was completed in 2001. While there has never been a specifically identified contamination event”¦studies suggest an event of cross-pollination with ordinary rice or a mixing of regular and genetically modified seed occurred then.” -BoingBoing.net opinion, discussion

“The debate over genetically modified crops has flared up in India, where critics have stalled the commercial release of insect-resistant eggplant, despite recent approval from the country’s biotechnology regulatory committee.” -

Economist Jeffrey Sachs’ official bio, including recent news by and about him

EcoMeme, a column featuring eco news, tech and business highlights by new EcoSalon writer and columnist Lora Kolodny.

Image: liangjinjian

Slow down and take time to smell the rosés.

That’s our highly recommended approach to the eco-sensual pairing of artisanal food and terroir-expressive wines at this Sunday’s Golden Glass Wine Event at San Francisco’s Fort Mason Pavilion.

It’s also the prevailing philosophy of sponsor Slow Food USA, an organization dedicated to advocating the importance of sustainable farming practices that respect traditional knowledge and taste.

Complementing more than 100 no-pesticide wines from around the globe will be exclusive sampling from some of the Bay Area’s top restaurants and artisanal producers, including: A16, Absinthe, Aquarelle, Heaven’s Dog, La Poggio Trattoria, SF Baking Institute, Slow Club, Stella Cadente and Trattoria Corso.

Whew! And you thought this coming Sunday was for popping the top off a Bud Light for dad as he basted ribs on the BBQ in celebration of Father’s Day. How “Ëœbout a radical departure? Treat him to a brave new world of pure, delicious food and fruity no-nonsense wines fast by the San Francisco Bay.

The best news about the Slow Food Movement – as on display in this event – is that it combines high-minded principles with unsurpassed gourmet pleasures.

A few bites and sips later, your dad just might be more than happy to trade in his brewski and back rib for a Bordeaux and brioche.

When: Sunday, June 21, 2009
General admission: 2:00 – 6:00 p.m.

Entrance fee: Advance purchase: $60 (Slow Food members: $55); at the door $70; Food only and under 21: $20 (all entry tickets include 5 food tasting tickets. Additional food tickets can be purchased in groups of 5 for $20).

Where: Fort Mason Center, San Francisco
The Festival Pavilion

Images: Joe Budd Photography