Slow Food Nation: Are you ready for the "Woodstock for Foodies".
Are you ready for Slow Food Nation '08? This weekend, in San Francisco, will be the largest celebration of food in America. Come celebrate at the Taste Pavillions; not a double cheeseburger in sight!. A "Woodstock for Foodies" say some. I'm not sure I can handle so much euphoria. We had the Olympics; then the Waipio Little League winning the Little League World Series; the Democratic National Convention in Denver and now this. An estimate of over 40,000 locavores are about to arrive in San Francisco to attend Slow Food Nation. The Slow Food Movement is trying to overcome its perception of being elitists. The goal of this event is to overcome the snobbish perception as a movement who care more for grass fed beef, organic blueberries and artisanal breads than real issues of food security. How ironic, when our parents and grandparents were young, almost all food was locally produced. We relied upon local farmers to stock our stores or local butchers to fill our meat cases. Yet in a one or perhaps, two generations, we've gone from a society closely tied to our rural roots, where freshness was tied to the season; and if we ate processed foods, quite a bit of it was processed through canning, pickling, or freezing in our own kitchen to a time when our children have the perception that "What good are farmers, when we have Safeway?" How times have changed. Perhaps times are changing back. Experts, and advocates of a new food revolution will be speaking in a series of "Food for Thought" presentations, among them Wendell Berry, Vandana Shiva, Michael Pollan, Marion Nestle and Eric Schlosser are all on the agenda. The final is the launch of the petition drive for the Food Bill Declaration. Slow Food Nation is calling for a New Vision for the 21st Century Food, Farm and Agriculture Policy. In addition, Slow Food USA will be featuring "RAFT," the Renewing of America's Food Traditions Alliance. RAFT's initiatives are three-fold - "Creating Regional Food Communities;" "Restoring At-Risk Plants and Animals:" and "Celebrating America's Food Traditions."