Food Trend: The Rise of the Slow Food Movement

Whether one chooses to dine in or out, it doesn’t take a tortoise to be a slow foodie.

This post comes from our guest blogger from Foodee, Sam Hawkins!

Do you remember the story of the tortoise and the hare? It begins with everyone believing that because he was quicker, the hare would win the race. As most of us know, things don’t quite work out for the favorite contender, with the slower of the two participants taking the title.

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When it comes to the culinary world, there is a similar competition. Since 1986, the slow food movement is on a mission to educate against the rise of fast food, believing in high quality, sustainable, and local food options.

Whether you’ve yet to hear of the slow food movement, here are five considerations to think about when planning your next dinner out, delivery in, or upcoming grocery list.

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Slow Food is Anything but Slow

Unlike the tortoise, slow food is not something that takes up too much of one’s time. After considering all that goes into it its production, the experience is relatively fast and easy.

With a variety of services available to us today, there’s no excuse as to why one should feel obligated into ordering fast food on a consistent schedule or at all.

Foodee, a premium corporate catering company, partners with renowned local restaurants to deliver delicious, quality food to company lunchrooms. These partnerships, which reflect slow food practice, prioritize fresh high-quality food, local business, and a sustainable corporate value system.

Advocates Local and Regional Cuisines and Methods

Believe it or not, but the idea behind slow food originated in Rome, at the Piazza di Spagna (the Spanish Steps), after a multi-national fast food chain invaded the space and alerted the movement’s founder of a potentially complex problem. Concerned with the long-term consequences of such an affront, Carlo Petrini assembled an activist group that has since expanded to include over 150 countries.

Petrini’s worry was that by allowing for the expansion of major conglomerates, the blow taken by traditional cuisines would be irreparable and the means at which to access them would be lost. By supporting local business and local suppliers, we can ensure that regional culinary tradition and quality will never fade.

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The Use of Locally Sourced Ingredients

Unlike chain restaurants that usually source their food products from an industrialized food provider, slow food gives support to local suppliers, farmers, regional food providers and more. Concerned with the inclusion of fresh, local ingredients, slow food advocates the use of seasonal products. And as a result of such inclusivity, slow food-practicing restaurants tailor menus seasonally. By ensuring that ingredients are at their finest, you can be certain that the food will be at its best.

Encourage Local Economy

Every dollar you spend locally has an increased effect throughout your community and stimulates the local economy. By supporting local business, the velocity of money is nearly doubled, recirculating back into businesses you know and benefiting at least twice the amount of people.

Additionally, as little as a 1% increase in local consumer spending will create thousands of jobs and continue to circulate more wages.

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Reduced Ecological Footprint

Apart from these promises, slow food practices pledge to uphold a certain environmental and ecological standard. Many businesses advocate for humane agricultural practices and the ethical treatment of animals. Likewise, the movement concerns itself with sustaining seed banks to preserve heirloom varieties in cooperation with local food systems.

Moreover, slow food practices reduce the transportation impact associated with global supply chains when they work with local producers, manufacturers and distributors.

+What have you made in your slow cooker?

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Rae
8 years ago

I am totally in love with the idea of slow food and think it allows us to enjoy food we are eating more as well as the company we are with while having our meals.

Rae of Love from Berlin

8 years ago

In Chinese Medicine, it is always recommended to cook your food for longer periods of time, because this allows the food to retain more warmth and heat, and makes the food more digestible. In the winter time, this is how we keep our bodies warm; from the inside. This time of year I love slow roasting veggies such as sweet potatoes, butternut squash, zucchini, and bell peppers. I feel such a difference in my internal temperature from making the switch to cooking my food longer. I used to always feel so freezing. Great post. : )
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