Food Journal

3 Feb 2011
Slow Food Movement

Many of us here know very well what the word Food means, but when connected with the word slow…many questions arise. What is slow? Is it positive or negative? How on earth can someone survive and be this…slow, type of character? All though in many ways the S-word seems derogatory, I believe that it may in fact…help our nation in ways that one would never imagine.
HOW?!
In order to address the meaning of slow food, we first briefly have to discuss of what thinking, acting, and BEING slow minded means and what adverse affects it can have on the mind. Thinking slow can but does not always have to imply thinking critically, but the idea is to get there. In a young country that has exploded over the past couple hundred years, it would be hard to imagine a society with less vigor. A man once said that America is like an iron clad ship that would be impossible to slow down. When we look at ourselves, our households, our schools, work place, and overall environment, I think it would be safe to say that as a people, we undoubtedly move hastily. We have no other choice, right? I mean we all have debt and need to put food on the table, and in one life time or another would ideally like to slow down and smell the roses, but there always seems to be one thing after the next.
When you cram the night before the test because you’re exhausted from work, the following week the information is hardly retained, when the restaurant is understaffed and you rush to put your plate out to meet a deadline, you find yourself lined with cuts and burns, when you slam your food down to go back to work, your stomach hurts. It’s easy to see how chaotic everything becomes when we think fast, and that’s not even including the people surrounding us who we affect. Man invented technology to make life easier, more efficient, and to aid the worker. Unfortunately what happened was that as man became increasingly mechanized, so did his mind. Despite a recession, many businesses still expect to increase production and raise profits by cutting labor costs and spreading the missing members work load amongst other employees, resulting in longer work days. When we support business’s that value quantity over quality, we indirectly hurt ourselves.
The Slow Food Movement was designed to counter the fast frenzy that seems to be going around the world. By supporting local and sustainable farmers and restaurants who share the same philosophy, we strengthen the middle class. From the way the earth is viewed, to the way the grain is harvested, and to the people who worked to place your meal in front of you, a deep level of thought has taken place. As consumers, we too, can feel as dedicated as the farmer, dishwasher, cook, grape picker, or anyone else working hard to support themselves. Think Slow, Live Healthy.


Food Nomad