I’m almost a bit ashamed to admit that I had not heard about Slow Food until a few weeks back. The movement was started in Italy in 1986 as a counterbalance to what the founding members saw as the degradation of their food culture by fast-food and prepackaged supermarkets. Though, like every group, they’ve got some oddities… I found Slow Food to be quite interesting; here is a bit about them and their upcoming festival.

The movement notes their philosophy in saying, “We believe that everyone has a fundamental right to pleasure and consequently the responsibility to protect the heritage of food, tradition and culture that make this pleasure possible. Our movement is founded upon this concept of eco-gastronomy – a recognition of the strong connections between plate and planet.”

Slow Food is having their ‘woodstock’ this Labor Day in San Francisco and it looks to be quite an event.

“The inaugural edition of Slow Food Nation will celebrate, explore, and educate about food that is delicious, ecologically sustainable and socially just.” Held over Labor Day weekend, the event is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors with exhibits to include tastings, forums, workshops, films, exhibits, music and talks, as well as hundreds of farmers and food artisans from across the country.

For further information: www.slowfoodnation.org

— Bryan