The Slow Food Movement

What is the Slow Food Movement?

The Slow Food Movement was founded by Carlo Petrini in 1986. It was born out of a direct oppostion to "fast food". Its aim is to help preserve traditional and regional foods, whilst striving to promote sustainable foods and small local businesses.

With now over 100,000 members in over 150 countries the movement is gaining momentum, all beit, slowly, in the over undustrialised society we now live. You only have to watch a very recent report of how chickens are processed in the large poultry farms here in the UK to realise that its un sustainable farming on a massive scale.

So where are they?

The movement now has offices in:

Switzerland

Germany

New York City

France

Japan

Chile

UK

What happening here in the UK?

The Slow Food Movement UK is providing support to local groups throughout the UK, who are led by slow food members. Slow Food London is the leader within the UK pioneering action against the UK government in relation to foods, farming and gaining legal support from leading solictors firms.

What effect is the movement having?

It appears that movements like this are having a direct effect on what is happening in our schools, universities, restaurants and cafes. By running education programmes, such as Slow Food Kids, Slow Food Campus, The Chefs Alliance and The Forgotten Food Programmes. They are helping to make changes at government level and bring about further awareness to the public through the programmes.

Our local Rag, The Leamington Courier, recently reported that there will be free school meals for children starting school. The foods will be locally sourced when possible, freshly cooked using fresh healthy ingredients. Bread For Life has been approached by Warwick University to provide freshly baked breads, as have numerous new business cafes locally in Leamington. Demand for fresh, wholesome foods are on the up. Movements like this are changing the way that people see their food, what they eat and the produce that business's want to associate themselves with.

Of course we can't forget the gruelling job that Jaimie Oliver took on and the commitment he has shown towards getting healthier meals into schools. His passion for good, healthy, freshly cooked dinners has provided a stepping stone towards the governments £150million universal infants free schools meals initiative.

Here at Bread For Life we endorse the philosophy of the Slow Food Movement! We aim to give all of our fresh bread lovers a healthier alternative to the over processed, over commercialised breads on the shelves in the supermarkets. Our flour is sourced from Local Mills, Charlecote Mill and Shipton Mill. We support these local heritage sites by using their flour, whilst also promoting the eating of long leavened, freshly baked realbread.

If you would like to know more about the Slow Food UK Movement and its local and international projects check out their website here : http://www.slowfood.org.uk/

References sourced from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Food

http://www.slowfood.org.uk/

http://www.slowfood.com/

http://www.leamingtoncourier.co.uk/news/local-news/free-school-meals-for-warwickshire-infants-from-september-1-6206734