Slow Food Uw

Everyone eats, and what we eat affects not only our well being and health, but also the environment, economy and society. Agriculture is one of the primary uses of land and water resources. Our food choices affect how these resources are used as well as the livelihoods of farmers and agricultural and food service workers. In the terms of Slow Food’s founder, Carlo Petrini, our food choices make us all “co-producers.” Slow Food on Campus is an extension of the international Slow Food network and of Slow Food USA. Slow Food has been expanding over the past decade from dealing with issues of quality in cooking to include environmental and sustainable agriculture, social justice, and food sovereignty, among others. They began by engaging cooks, and then food communities, farmers, cheese, wine, other food producers, and most recently academics doing research on Slow Food issues. Today, Slow Food is reaching out to incorporate students and other young people who are interested in “good, clean, and fair food.” UW Madison is one of the first universities in the nation to begin a Slow Food organization on campus. Working with Slow Food Madison, as well as with the Slow Food groups in our sister cities of Montova, Italy and Freiburg, Germany, we can bring the rich traditions of slow, sustainable, local eating to campus. Through Slow Food, we can use food as an entry point for linking seemingly disparate issues such as environmental justice, agricultural pollution, biodiversity loss, obesity, urban sprawl, and even global climate change in understanding and in action. We have the chance to influence the direction of Slow Food. We are the future of the movement. Eaters of the World Unite!