(This article was originally published by What the Food!, on 05/27/2013. Click here to go to the website)
Knowing the real importance of the food for an Italian can be a hard task. Here in Italy, eating well is not a simple treat, but one of the most basic assumptions of a respectable life.
Walking on the streets, at anytime of the day, and listening to people (of all ages, either in casual conversations between old ladies, or between young guys sat at bar tables) exchanging recipes, tips and details of the last night dinner is one of the most beautiful things of this place.
Therefore, it is not surprising to know that here was born one of the most important “gastronomic trends” of the past years: the slow food.
Bugged with what he foresaw as a trend that would lead to the standardization of flavors and gastronomic cultures around the world, the Italian Carlo Petrini created in 1986 a movement (later, in 1989, formalized as an international association) for the rescue of the deepest layers of the relationship between men, nature and food.
More precisely, he based himself on the belief that the food we eat has to be “good, clean and fair”. That is, has to be a source of pleasure – not only sensorial, but also “affective” (recalling reminiscences of enjoyable moments) – and should also be produced and commercialized in the fairest and more respectful ways towards the environment and to the ideals of social justice.
Today, the Slow Food Association has more than 100,000 members in over 150 countries, reverberating its values through events and publications that foster the educational side of the gastronomy.
Here in Italy, where the movement was created, apart from innumerous stickers with the symbol of the association (an unhurried snail) attached to the doors of many restaurants that share their philosophy, there are also several interesting initiatives, such as the “Earth Markets” spread by cities such as Bologna, Turin and Milan. There, local producers – that alternate from week to week – offer vegetables, fruits, cheese, meet, bread, beverages and etc., produced locally or cultivated according to the principles of the Slow Food.
In Bologna for instance, the market opens its doors every Saturday morning – or Monday evening during summer – and since along with the local producers’ stands there is a profusion of tables and benches, what is bought there can be consumed in loco – and the place turns into a lively and colorful meeting point.
Thus, it’s possible to say that “Slow Food” is much more than a mere slogan; it is, at the end, a global call for people (more and more everyday) to to appreciate food in all its dimensions, with pleasure, respect and admiration – in other words, “all’italiana”.
FloCiBO 