Slow Food Movement

Good taste against fast food and fast life

Thursday 6 November 2008

1 inspired

Why did we choose this company?

Slow Food Movement is one of the most atypical and inspiring from the non-profit organizations. Despite being very young (the Slow Food International Movement officially began in 1989, when delegates from 15 countries approved a manifesto written by Falco Potinari, the founder) it has achieved noticeable results developing its activities in different fields: education, promotion and support for traditional food producers.

Main facts about the activities of the company

Main areas of work in Slow Food Movement are performed by independent, but related organizations. The Foundation for Biodiversity is in charge of projects to defend gastronomic traditions. Terra Madre is responsible for the networks established among food producers, distributors, cooks, academics and all those who work for sustainable food production. To gather all the research and to spread knowledge SF created the University of Gastronomic Sciences. Moreover, some SF national associations have commercial companies to support financially the SF association’s activities.

Ethical challenges the company is addressing and reasons to trust in it

As a general rule, the mission of the organization is to preserve biodiversity in our food supply and to spread taste education all around the world. At heart, the movement works on the appreciation of pleasure in daily life and it wants to impact worldwide. In fact, the charm of SF lies in its values.

Slow Food goes against fast food and fast life, considered the viruses of our society. Saying that an unhurried life begins with table manners, Slow Food Movement seeks to protect the heritage of food, tradition and culture. Some of its daily activities consist of organizing fairs, markets and events locally and internationally to show high-quality gastronomic products and to share ideas and feelings about our habits. It carries out projects about organic cultivation in schools; imparts lectures about Food technology or History of Agriculture; publishes books; assists groups of artisan producers through projects called `Presidia´, etc.

Equally important is its close relationship with farmers, chefs and many other professionals from different areas, which makes possible `Convivum-Local´ for emphasizing the local social interactions.

Challenges the company might face in the future and ways to improve

The uniqueness of Slow Food Movement allows it to have no competitors. As it is not lucrative, it is financed thanks to the fees paid by all its members, donations from people and contributions from different institutions. It also develops some merchandising in order to get funds. However, the right balance between non-profitability and self-sustainability is a major challenge for the company ethical values.

The association is now open to all, but its strongest chapters are situated mainly in Europe. According to the its mission the movement should strengthen its position in USA and other countries where the threat of fast-food and fast-life is the most evident.

Ideas for future business:

“The art of living is about learning how to give time to each and every thing”

Start a new discussion

2 Discussions / 2 Messages

  • Slow Food Movement 5 October 2012 at 19:23 , by elayne

    From: Elayne.Zhang
    SN: 1121209277

    After reading this article and also checking the website of slow food movement, I felt very inspired by this fascinating idea. In my point of view, slow food indicates a concept of life style. It’s salubrious for both physical and mental aspects, meanwhile, it also enhances our ethical value in business area.

    In the modern society, we’re under a stressful circumstance, we tend to accept more convenient and more faster products to satisfy our life needs. That’s the reason why we can see KFC and McDonald’s everywhere in the world. Not only the fast foods are not so healthy and nutritional, but also they are onefold in food selection. However,I believe that slow food gives us a chance to change. It could help you to diversify your food structure to be more abundant, to improve your eating manners on the table to be more etiquette, and even to change your bustling life to a better quality one.

    The slow food adopts absolute organic vegetables and meats for its related companies, supplies, institutions and individuals, which totally follow the natural progress of growth. Simultaneously, the Slow Food’s education activities help people to understand where food comes from, how it is produced and by whom, thereby creating awareness, new markets, and positive social change. Therefore, I think that the Slow Food actually integrates the business ethics value into its unique culture perfectly and aptly.

    All in all, I hope I can get a chance to involve in its activity and enjoy a tour of slow food.

  • Slow Food Movement 14 June 2015 at 21:13 , by Massimo Barison

    I knew slow food and I really admire what they are doing to change the current (fast) food industry. Their products are good quality, respect the environment and provide fair income to producers. These principles are, in my opinion, essential for ethical and sustainable businesses.

    Their efforts to educate people about understanding where our food comes from, how it was produced and by whom can really make a difference, especially for younger generations who do not enough about theses issues.

    I totally agree with their philosophy that food means pleasure, culture and conviviality. I am convinced that their efforts will improve the fast food culture which is dominating in our society.

Location: Italy

Sector: eco-gastronomy

Official website: http://www.slowfood.com

Key figures:

85,000 members and over 1 000 local chapters in125 countries

Nbr. visits: 2263

Nbr. inspires: 1