Slow Food

Caught an interesting documentary featuring the Slow Food movement on the Discovery Travel and Living channel recently.

If you're guessing what Slow Food is, it is in a nutshell everything that Fast Food isn't.

Slow Food is an international non-profit movement founded in 1986 to counteract fast food and the fast paced lifestyles we lead these days. It strives to protect local food traditions, people's dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world - people, communities, animals, plans and the environment.

Slow Food began when Carlo Petrini opposed the opening of a McDonald's near the Spanish Steps in Rome. The Slow Food organization now has over 100,000 members over 132 countries.

Anyway, the documentary was specifically on the movement in Melbourne, Australia. It featured a freerange black pig breeder, a lady who grows her own organic vegetables and a boutique vineyard owner - the work they do and their beliefs. All three share the same mission, which is to champion food that is good, clean and fair.

I really like the whole concept.

A part of it reminds me of what Jamie Oliver has pushed for through his Feed Me Better and Food Revolution programmes - to cut down on junk food and cook your own meals. I love my KFC and McDonald's (and i realise my previous post's on Fast Food too!) but I agree that our meals are too rushed these days whether in terms of preparation or consumption, no thanks to our busy lifestyles. We should all slow down and savour life, savour food.

Through the net, I found out that Singapore has its own Slow Food Convivium Society and members meet for lunch every last Saturday of the month.

There's no impetus for me to join the society (spending 4-5 hours on a lunch every month is a bit too much for me!) but I do want to, in my own little way, pledge my support for this movement.

I will start by cooking my own meals (once i get my own kitchen), going organic when I can and trying to preserve my family's Teochew and Hakka food traditions by learning to cook the signature dishes, from my parents. And of course, enjoy my food, every single bit, slowly with gratification :)

If you're keen to know more about Slow Food, you can read more about it here.