Slow Food

Slow Food is an international movement founded by Carlo Petrini in 1986. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourages farming of plants, seeds and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem. It was the first established part of the broaderSlow movement. The movement has since expanded globally to over 100,000 members in 132 countries. Its goals of sustainable foods and promotion of local small businesses are paralleled by a political agenda directed against globalization of agricultural products.

Slow Food organization

Slow Food began in Italy with the founding of its forerunner organization, Arcigola, in 1986 to resist the opening of a McDonald's near the Spanish Stepsin Rome.^[1] In 1989, the founding Manifesto of the international Slow Food movement was signed in Paris, France by delegates from 15 countries.^[2] This was done not so much a protest against the restaurant chain as a protest against big international business interests.

The Slow Food organization spawned by the movement has expanded to include over 100,000 members with chapters in over 132 countries. All totaled, 800 local convivia chapters exist. 360 convivia in Italy — to which the name condotta (singular) / condotte (plural) applies — are composed of 35,000 members, along with 450 other regional chapters around the world. The organizational structure is decentralized: each convivium has a leader who is responsible for promoting local artisans, local farmers, and local flavors through regional events such as Taste Workshops, wine tastings, and farmers' markets.

Offices have been opened in Switzerland (1995), Germany (1998), New York City (2000), France (2003), Japan (2005), and most recently in the United Kingdom and Chile. The head offices are located in Bra, near the famous city of Turin, northern Italy. Numerous publications are put out by the organization, in several languages. In the US, the Snail is the quarterly of choice, while Slow Food puts out literature in several other European nations. Recent efforts at publicity include the world's largest food and wine fair, the Salone del Gusto in Turin, a biennial cheese fair in Bra called Cheese, theGenoan fish festival called SlowFish, and Turin's Terra Madre ("Mother Earth") world meeting of food communities.

In 2004, Slow Food opened a University of Gastronomic Sciences^[3] at Pollenzo, in Piedmont, and Colorno, in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Carlo Petrini and Massimo Montanari are the leading figures in the creation of the University, whose goal is to promote awareness of good food and nutrition.

[edit]Objectives

The Slow Food movement incorporates a series of objectives within its mission, including:

• forming and sustaining seed banks to preserve heirloom varieties in cooperation with local food systems
• developing an "Ark of Taste" for each ecoregion, where local culinary traditions and foods are celebrated
• preserving and promoting local and traditional food products, along with their lore and preparation
• organizing small-scale processing (including facilities for slaughtering and short run products)
• organizing celebrations of local cuisine within regions (for example, the Feast of Fields held in some cities in Canada)
• promoting "taste education"
• educating consumers about the risks of fast food
• educating citizens about the drawbacks of commercial agribusiness and factory farms
• educating citizens about the risks of monoculture and reliance on too few genomes or varieties
• developing various political programs to preserve family farms
• lobbying for the inclusion of organic farming concerns within agricultural policy
• lobbying against government funding of genetic engineering
• lobbying against the use of pesticides
• teaching gardening skills to students and prisoners
• encouraging ethical buying in local marketplaces

From time to time, Slow Food intervenes directly in market transactions; for example, Slow Food was able to preserve four varieties of native American turkey by ordering 4,000 of their eggs and commissioning their raising and slaughtering and delivery to market^{[citation needed]}.

[edit]Impact

It is difficult to gauge the extent of the success of the Slow Food movement, considering that the organization itself is still very young. The current grassroots nature of Slow Food is such that few people in Europe and especially the United States are aware of it.

Statistics show that Europe, and Germany in particular, is a much bigger consumer of organics than the US.^[4] Slow Food has contributed to the growing awareness of health concerns in Europe, as evidenced by this fact, but on society as a whole, Slow Food has had little effect. An example of this is the fact that tourists visit Slow Food restaurants more than locals, but Slow Food and its sister movements are still young. In an effort to spread the ideals of anti-fast food, Slow Food has targeted the youth of the nations in primary and secondary schools. Volunteers help build structural frameworks for school gardens and put on workshops to introduce the new generation to the art of farming.

what is food

Food is any substance ^[1] consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ingested by an organism and assimilated by the organism's cells in an effort to produce energy, maintain life, and/or stimulate growth.

Historically, people secured food through two methods: hunting and gathering, and agriculture. Today, most of the food energyconsumed by the world population is supplied by the food industry, which is operated by multinational corporations that use intensive farming and industrial agriculture to maximize system output.

Food safety and food security are monitored by agencies like the International Association for Food Protection, World Resources Institute, World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organization, and International Food Information Council. They address issues such as sustainability, biological diversity, climate change, nutritional economics, population growth, water supply, and access to food.

The right to food is a human right derived from the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), recognizing the "right to an adequate standard of living, including adequate food", as well as the "fundamental right to be free from hunger".

Healthy diet

A healthy diet is one that helps maintain or improve health. It is important for lowering many chronic health risks, such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes,hypertension and cancer.^[1] A healthy diet involves consuming appropriate amounts of all essential nutrients and an adequate amount of water. Nutrients can be obtained from many different foods, so there are numerous diets that may be considered healthy. A healthy diet needs to have a balance of macronutrients (fats, proteins, and carbohydrates), calories to support energy needs, and micronutrients to meet the needs for human nutrition without inducing toxicity or excessive weight gain from consuming excessive amounts.

Type Of Food

In order to understand how we can enjoy greater health and wellbeing, we need to understand something about food. There are four essential groups of food. For health and wellbeing we require food from all the groups.

The purpose of this page is to stress that ALL four groups of food are essential to health and wellbeing. Even though we may be encouraged to eat less fat, this page stresses that the body requires at least some food from each of the groups every day.

Many foods contain more than one group of food, and milk contains all groups of food.

Food is often classified as:

1. Carbohydrate, including Fibre
2. Protein
3. Fat
4. Vitamins and Minerals

Carbohydrates are substances that contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. They are used in the body to produce energy. They include sugars and starches. Carbohydrates are usually obtained from plant sources. They are broken down in the body to form glucose, and any that is not immediately required in stored in the liver and muscles as glycogen. Plants use carbohydrates to build structures and store any excess as starch, whereas, animals use protein.to build structures and store any excess as fat.

Plants make carbohydrates from sunlight, water, chlorophyll, and carbon dioxide. We obtain them from plants, for example:

• cereals
• starchy roots
• legumes (pulses)
• vegetables and Fruits
• sugars, preserves and syrups

Carbohydrates are mainly used by the body to produce energy. Where there is a lack of energy, we might think of carbohydrates. The energy in the body is used for:

• External activities (behaviour), such as work, sport, leisure - that is any movement of the body.
• Internal activities including breathing, pumping blood, digestion and the activities of the immune system.

None-digestible carbohydrate (Fibre)

Fibre, or roughage, refers to the non-digestible carbohydrates in vegetables and to a lesser extent in fruit. Fibre may actually be 'fibrous', as in celery, or may be a powder, or, when mixed with water in the intestines, a jelly. Fibre provides:

• Bulk
• Lubrication, and
• Nutrition for friendly bacteria in the colon.

When fibre is combined with water, it swells up and provides bulk to the digestive system. This makes it easier for food to pass through the intestines. Food also passes through the digestive system faster, so that waste products are retained for less time in the body.

Some fibre has the effect of lubricating the contents of the intestines and, therefore, makes the food pass through easily and in a timely manner. The benefits here are the same as for bulk.

In addition, friendly bacteria in the colon feed on fibre and they are therefore nourished by it. By helping these friendly bacteria, we enable them to help us to digest food. Also, by giving them support, they are more able to exclude other, less friendly bacteria, from our colons.

Fibre is, therefore, necessary for a healthy and efficient digestive system.

Proteins

Proteins are composed, like carbohydrates, of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen, but with nitrogen. They may also contain sulphur and phosphorus. They are complex molecules composed of amino acids.

Proteins are used by the body to:

• enable growth, development and repair.
• build structures such as muscles, tissues and organs, including the heart, lungs, digestive organs.
• enzymes, such as those required for digestion.
• hormones, such as those for the endocrine glands.

Proteins, therefore, are needed not only for obvious body structures, such as muscles, but also for the immune and digestive systems, etc.

Complete proteins are obtained from meat, fish and dairy products including eggs. Proteins can also be obtained from certain combinations of foods, for example, cereals and beans.

Fats and oils

Fats are substances that are not soluble in water. They are composed of fatty acids and glycerol. Fats are also called lipids.

Sources of fat include animal meat, fish, and vegetable oils. Fats are used by the body:

• In every cell structure.
• Especially to build nerves and brain. The brain is 40% fat.
• To insulate the body.
• To produce sex hormones and adrenal cortex hormone
• To produce cholesterol (essential for cell membranes and bile salts, for example).
• To absorb certain vitamins (A, D, E, and K).
• To store energy.

Fats have got themselves a bad name in recent times, yet they are an essential food. That is, the body requires its intake of fat every day for health and, especially, well being. Like the other groups of food, when the body does not get the fat it needs, then illness results.

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamins are substances that are required in the diet for health and wellbeing. They are often grouped as fat-soluble or water-soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins are vitamins A, D, E and K. Water-soluble vitamins include vitamins C and B.

Minerals are non-organic substances that are required in the diet. While only small amounts of minerals are required in our diet, they are critical in building bones and teeth, regulating heartbeat and transporting oxygen from the lungs to the tissues.

Vitamins and minerals occur in a variety of foods. That is, by eating a variety of foods, you can get the necessary vitamins and minerals you need for health.

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Deficiencies and excesses in any of these groups of foods produce illness and lowered wellbeing.

Western diets are especially deficient in the minerals calcium and iron and in the Omega 3 fatty acids.

Calcium is obtained from, for example, milk and from eating canned salmon including the bones (salmon also contains Omega 3 fatty acids). Iron is often obtained from meat, especially liver.

Lacto-vegeterians  can get their calcium from milk, and vegans (who do not eat any animal products) can get their calcium from fortified soy milk. To obtain your calcium requirements from non-animal sources, you would have to eat a very large amount of vegetables or fruits.

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See also Optimum Nutrition: Medicine of the Future, including Food pH List - Balancing Acid/Alkaline Foods andAn Optimum Nutrition Formula

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What is Culinary Art

Culinary art is the art of preparing and cooking foods. The word "culinary" is defined as something related to, or connected with, cooking. A culinarion is a person working in the culinary arts. A culinarian working in restaurants is commonly known as a cook or a chef. Culinary artists are responsible for skillfully preparing meals that are as pleasing to the palate as to the eye. Increasingly they are required to have a knowledge of the science of food and an understanding of diet and nutrition. They work primarily in restaurants, fast food chain store franchises, delicatessens, hospitals and other institutions. Kitchen conditions vary depending on the type of business, restaurant, nursing home, etc.The occupation outlook for chefs, restaurant managers, dietitians, and nutritionists is fairly good, with "as fast as the average" growth.^[1] Increasingly a college education with formal qualifications is required for success in this field. It has been recorded that 54% of all culinary art professionals are female.

Simple present tense

How do we make the Simple Present Tense?

subject	+	auxiliary verb	+	main verb
		do		base

There are three important exceptions:

1. For positive sentences, we do not normally use the auxiliary.
2. For the 3rd person singular (he, she, it), we add s to the main verb or es to the auxiliary.
3. For the verb to be, we do not use an auxiliary, even for questions and negatives.

Look at these examples with the main verb like:

	subject	auxiliary verb		main verb
+	I, you, we, they			like	coffee.
	He, she, it			likes	coffee.
-	I, you, we, they	do	not	like	coffee.
	He, she, it	does	not	like	coffee.
?	Do	I, you, we, they		like	coffee?
	Does	he, she, it		like	coffee?

Look at these examples with the main verb be. Notice that there is no auxiliary:

	subject	main verb
+	I	am		French.
	You, we, they	are		French.
	He, she, it	is		French.
-	I	am	not	old.
	You, we, they	are	not	old.
	He, she, it	is	not	old.
?	Am	I		late?
	Are	you, we, they		late?
	Is	he, she, it		late?

How do we use the Simple Present Tense?

We use the simple present tense when:

• the action is general
• the action happens all the time, or habitually, in the past, present and future
• the action is not only happening now
• the statement is always true

John drives a taxi.
past	present	future
It is John's job to drive a taxi. He does it every day. Past, present and future.

Look at these examples:

• I live in New York.
• The Moon goes round the Earth.
• John drives a taxi.
• He does not drive a bus.
• We meet every Thursday.
• We do not work at night.
• Do you play football?

Note that with the verb to be, we can also use the simple present tense for situations that are not general. We can use the simple present tense to talk about now. Look at these examples of the verb "to be" in the simple present tense - some of them are general, some of them are now:

Am I right? Tara is not at home. You are happy.
past	present	future
The situation is now.

 

I am not fat. Why are you so beautiful? Ram is tall.
past	present	future
The situation is general. Past, present and future.

The Simple Past Tense

How do we use the Simple Past Tense?

We use the simple past tense to talk about an action or a situation - an event - in the past. The event can be short or long.

Here are some short events with the simple past tense:

The car exploded at 9.30am yesterday. She went to the door. We did not hear the telephone. Did you see that car?
past	present	future
The action is in the past.

Here are some long events with the simple past tense:

I lived in Bangkok for 10 years. The Jurassic period lasted about 62 million years. We did not sing at the concert. Did you watch TV last night?
past	present	future
The action is in the past.

Notice that it does not matter how long ago the event is: it can be a few minutes or seconds in the past, or millions of years in the past. Also it does not matter how long the event is. It can be a few milliseconds (car explosion) or millions of years (Jurassic period). We use the simple past tense when:

• the event is in the past
• the event is completely finished
• we say (or understand) the time and/or place of the event

In general, if we say the time or place of the event, we must use the simple past tense; we cannot use the present perfect.

Here are some more examples:

• I lived in that house when I was young.
• He didn't like the movie.
• What did you eat for dinner?
• John drove to London on Monday.
• Mary did not go to work yesterday.
• Did you play tennis last week?
• I was at work yesterday.
• We were not late (for the train).
• Were you angry?

Note that when we tell a story, we usually use the simple past tense. We may use the past continuous tense to "set the scene", but we almost always use the simple past tense for the action. Look at this example of the beginning of a story:

"The wind was howling around the hotel and the rain was pouring down. It was cold. The door opened and James Bond entered. He took off his coat, which was very wet, andordered a drink at the bar. He sat down in the corner of the lounge and quietly drankhis..."

This page shows the use of the simple past tense to talk about past events. But note that there are some other uses for the simple past tense, for example in conditional or ifsentences.

N