It's important to me to emphasize, pursuant to my earlier posting about the Greater Grand Rapids Food Systems Council, that the potential members of the Slow Food convivium are also working on EXACTLY those issues through the GGR FSC (with the exception of the artisanal industries piece, which we will probably get to later on). None of those initiatives is easy or likely to come to a fast resolution, but we are committed to all of them. So it seems unfair to assume that just because someone is involved with Slow Food they aren't doing anything else of that nature. The community gardens piece is a VERY strong component, which is why I got on this listserve.
By the way, I think "Slow Food" is a genius name for the movement. Everyone I've said it to grasps it immediately, including the media. The idea isn't necessarily that the food be slow to prepare (though it should be if it has to be), but that one's approach to food be slow and appreciative and reflect its importance and sacredness -- in fact, that one's approach to life. Cynthia Price -----Original Message----- From: Honigman, Adam [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2002 6:02 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Cc: 'Sharon Gordon' Subject: RE: [cg] Slow Food OK - Sounds like a nice hobby, this movement. When "Slow Food" becomes a movement to actually save family farms by doing the work to support them politically through zoning for the preservation of farm land, by supporting real farmers markets by advocacy and their food dollars, when it works to create good jobs in artesanal industries with medical benefits ( like in Europe), when it works to promote organic and healthful food for our poor and provides the wherewithal to do it, when the members of "Slow Food" decide to reach out, join and even start community gardens, then I'll take more of an interest in what they're doing. Of course, any time a "Slow Foodie" wants to come to my apartment as a public service and cook a nice artesanal meal for me and my wife when we come home, dead tired from work ( or any other poor wage slave, for that matter) then, I might eat my words ;=) Best wishes, Adam Honigman -----Original Message----- From: Sharon Gordon [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Tuesday, November 05, 2002 5:29 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: Re: [cg] Slow Food I would characterize this movement as varied rather than elitist. Meals range from potlucks to $100+ fundraiser dinners. Activities vary from country to country and state to state and include things like: Visiting an apple orchard and tasting heirloom apples Local Cider tastings Visiting a bakery and learning about slow stone flour grinding to produce better bread Fighting to preserve heirloom cheese making techniques (This has been a big problem with the new EU rules. There was an attempt to prevent the making of certain cheeses that had been made for centuries in the same way. Suddenly they were "dangerous" methods. The reaction to this was similar to what you would get if you told community gardens that from now on they were only allowed to eat winter chain grocery store tomatoes.) Seeing how salami is made from start to finish Tastings of local wine and cheeses Olive oil tastings from the new fall harvest Range Hamper Picnics (a variation on Stone Soup from local foods combined with a chef style box test) Producing/Using Local Food directories Dinners with local farmers that produce quality food Encouraging the production and use of heirloom foods Meetings with farmers whose crops have been contaminated with GMOs Learning about the traditional recipes of an area Learning about an area's traditonal preserving methods and recipes--with tastings! Each local group does different activities, so it seems to me that inviting them to tour some local community gardens, especially if you could focus on some plots that have interesting heirloom varieties or lesser known ethnic vegetables would be appealing to the group. If your group gives part of its food to a Soup Kitchen or Kid's Cafe, you might throw in some info about the sort of things they do with it to combat the problems that some soup kitchens deal with of having too much processed starch and too little whole foods to feed their diners. And who knows what sort of bridge might form from that. It might be helpful to have a handout with info on ACGA, local community gardens, Soup Kitchens/Cafes, and Seed Savers Exchange to go with the tour. In some ways I think the name Slow Food is unfortunate, but I think it was chosen to be in direct opposition to Fast Food. I think a better name might be Savory Food or Savored Food. A gardener-cook can make a delicious pasta sauce with fresh foods from the garden in the time it takes pasta to cook. This is often faster than going out to a drive through, so although it's not Slow, it can be quite Savory. Sharon [EMAIL PROTECTED] ______________________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden ______________________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden ______________________________________________________ The American Community Gardening Association listserve is only one of ACGA's services to community gardeners. To learn more about the ACGA and to find out how to join, please go to http://www.communitygarden.org To post an e-mail to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your subscription: https://secure.mallorn.com/mailman/listinfo/community_garden
