Product Description

Founded in Italy in 1986 by charismatic Italian gourmand Carlo Petrini, Slow Food has grown into a phenomenally successful movement against the uniformity and compromised quality of fast food and supermarket chains. With nearly 85,000 members in 45 countries around the world, Slow Food has developed from a small, grassroots group into the most influential gastronomic movement in the world. Known as the "WWF of endangered food and wine," Slow Food not only focuses on a slower, more natural and organic lifestyle that complements nature, but also works to preserve dying culinary traditions, conserve natural biodiversity, and protect fading agricultural practices threatened in this age of mass consumerism. The book takes the reader on a gastronomic journey through the practices and traditions of the world's ethnic cuisines, from the artisanal cheeses of Italy to the oysters of Cape May and the native American turkey. It includes testimonies from Slow Food representatives—such as Alice Waters of Chez Panisse—illustrating exactly what they are doing—and what still needs to be done—to preserve them.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #219180 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-17
• Released on: 2006-10-17
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 312 pages

About the Author
Carlo Petrini is the founder and driving force of Slow Food, and was recently acclaimed as a great innovator in Time magazine's list of "European Heroes." Gigi Padovani is a journalist for La Stampa and the author of Nutella: An Italian Myth.

Customer Reviews

to much words
Very nice edition, great information, but to many words spoiled, to many useless anectdotes.

Slow - Slower - Slowest
The Slow Food Movement is a response to Fast Food and the homogenization of food. The movement seeks to rediscover the conviviality of food, aims to preserve regional cuisines, and addresses agricultural issues. This book offers a good account of the development and the complex structure of Slow Food. The authors clearly lay out the philosophy and objectives of the movement and discuss a variety of food-related topics such as biodiversity, genetically modified food and food in relation to socio-economics. The book is augmented by a well selected bibliography, a glossary and a chronology of the movement. A personal interview with Carlo Petrini, the founder of the Slow Food Movement reveals more about Petrini's own relationship to food and raises controversial issues such as the contribution of Slow Food to the battle against hunger in the world.
However, quotations are sometimes too long and the first two chapters of the book that describe the roots of the movement contain a lot of detailed and excessive information. From chapter 3 onwards, the material gets much richer in content. Terms such as biodiversity and genetically modified food could be explained in more detail. The overall tone sometimes lacks objectivity and the title "Slow Food Revolution" doesn't seem quite adequate for a movement which is growing, but is probably not going to "revolutionize" eating habits. A more detailed discussion of how the philosophy of Slow Food can be integrated into daily life would be useful in this book.
I can recommend the book to anyone who is interested in discovering more about alternative approaches to food. For me it has been an inspiration to reflect upon my personal eating patterns and I've gained some knowledge about nutrition and agriculture. The authors invite their readers to re-think conventional eating habits while highlighting food as a way to experience conviviality and pleasure.