The Slow Food Movement

The slow food movement started in 1986. In the city of Rome, Italy, a new restaurant was opening. But some people were not happy about it. The restaurant was a McDonalds. This American restaurant is famous for fast food – American style food served quickly, for very little money. It was opening in Piazza di Spagna, close to the world famous Spanish Steps. It is one of the many important historical places in the city. Some people did not want a McDonalds restaurant in such a beautiful historic place. People stood outside the McDonalds and shouted "We do not want fast food, we want slow food!"

But this event was not the only thing that started the Slow Food Movement. Carlo Petrini was in that crowd at the Spanish Steps. He lives in Italy. One day, he went to a restaurant to eat a traditional meal called peperonata. But when he ate the food this time, it did not have the same taste he remembered. He asked the owner of the restaurant why the food tasted different. The owner said that it was the pepper vegetables he used. These peppers were grown in the Netherlands. They were grown using modern scientific methods. They shipped the peppers in boxes to Italy. The prices were low. So many local farmers in Italy stopped growing the peppers. They could not compete with the price of the peppers from the Netherlands. But these peppers from the Netherlands did not have the same good taste as local peppers.

Carlo believed that this way of getting food was damaging local culture and food. Carlo wanted people to care about where their food came from. He wanted people to care about foods that made their culture special. These were "slow foods" - the opposite of fast food! So Carlo started a group to encourage this idea. It became the Slow Food movement.

The Slow Food movement says that their goal is to have Good, Clean, Fair food for all people. Let's look at these three things:

First, what is Good food? The Slow Food Movement believes good food is fresh. You should eat the vegetables close to the place that people grow them. The fish shouldn’t sit for days before you eat it. It should be in season - grown at the best time of the year for that food. Good food satisfies the senses. It should look good, smell good and taste good. And finally, good food is part of a local culture. Good food is cultural food!

Second, food should be clean. Today, there are great concerns about the way people grow and produce food. For example, by using large amounts of chemicals on fruits and vegetables. Farmers use these chemicals to kill insects, and feed plants. But the chemicals can also harm the natural environment around farms. Over time, they can cause health problems in people too. Clean food means food that does not harm our bodies or the environment.

And third, food should be fair. Food should not cost too much money. All people should be able to buy healthy food. The people who grow and make food should be paid fairly for their work. They should work in safe, healthy conditions.

The idea of Slow Food may sound easy in places like Italy. Italy has a history of strongly caring about their traditional foods and culture. But the Slow Food Movement expanded out of Italy.