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Report 4 (of 6): Slow Food
- Italy
Introduction
The sale and consumption of 'fast'
convenience food has escalated dramatically over the
last 20 years, undermining national and local traditions.
Lovers of good food have created a worldwide network
of producers and consumers who extol the virtues of
traditional food and are dedicated to preserving the
food diversity of all countries.
Slow Food is a not-for-profit association
with the aim of protecting the right to eat good food
in the traditional way. What began as a small local
network has grown to an international organisation
with 77,000 members in 48 countries. The association
was founded in Italy in 1986 and the international
movement was founded in Paris in 1989.
Many traditional methods of making
regional foods are under threat not only from the
fast food industry, but also from economic, regulatory
and environmental pressures. Slow Food defines itself
as 'a movement for the protection of the right to
taste'. It is a philosophy which recognises that food
is fundamental to human culture. Food should be wholesome,
prepared using traditional methods, and its
unique flavours should be savoured and enjoyed during
eating.
In its manifesto the association recognises
the need for "sustainable agriculture based on principles
of diversity, synergy and recycling" if the traditions
of enjoying well-prepared foods are to be preserved.
It is seeking a "transition to more decentralised,
democratic and cooperative, non-corporate, small-scale
organic farming".
Slow Food is a decentralised organisation,
with the main office in Italy acting as the hub for
a network for local grassroots offices all over the
world. Members are organised into 700 local
'convivias', or food appreciation bases, and the head
of the convivium or condotta (in Italian) acts
as leader who, through the members and the central
office, organises food and wine events and initiatives
such as tastings and education projects. These
raise the profile of products which might otherwise
be overlooked, re-educate people about local specialities,
and promote local artisans and wine cellars.
Examples of Slow Food
Reasons to purchase local
food
Freshness: Several
studies have shown that the average distance
food travels from farm to table is 1500 miles.
In the delay, sugars turn to starches, plant
cells shrink and produce loses its vitality.
Local food is most likely picked within the
past day or two.
Health: Fresh produce loses nutrients
quickly. Food that is frozen or canned soon
after harvest may be more nutritious than
some 'fresh' produce that has been on the
truck or supermarket shelf for a week.
No genetic modification: This is among
a number of technologies which slow food proponents
believe will diminish food safety and present
unacceptable threats to public health with
irreversible environmental impacts.
Preservation: The landscape of crop
fields, wildflower meadows and picturesque
barns will survive only as long as farms are
financially viable. When you buy locally grown
food, you support the agricultural landscape.
Supporting farmers: The farmer is a
vanishing breed. Local farmers who sell direct
to consumers cut out the middleman and get
full retail value for their products.
Building community: When you buy from
the farmer, you re-establish a time-honoured
connection between the eater and the grower.
Preserving genetic diversity: In the
modern industrial agricultural system, hybrid
varieties are chosen for their ability to
ripen simultaneously, withstand harvesting
equipment and have a long shelf life. Only
a handful of hybrid varieties meet these demands.
Local farms, in contrast, may grow a large
number of varieties. Many are heirlooms -
old varieties containing genetic material
from hundreds and even thousands of years
of human selection. These heirlooms may some
day provide the genes needed to create varieties
that will thrive in a changing climate.
The future: By supporting local farmers,
you help ensure that there will be local farms
tomorrow.
(Source: USA
Today) |
Bitto cheese
Producers of Bitto cheese, a fat,
middle-hard cheese originating in the European Alps,
are typical of slow food producers. With just 16 traditional
producers left, they are under threat from factory-produced
Bitto cheese at half the price. By joining the Slow
Food movement they are trying to protect the market
for their distinctive cheese, and ensure they can
continue their way of life.
Bitto cheese descends from an ancient
tradition of high mountain cheese-making in the alpine
area of Valli del Bitto di Albaredo and Gerola. Made
at an altitude of between 1400 and 2000 metres, Bitto
is recognised by a brand which is awarded only to
herdsmen who make cheese in the following way.
- Using cattle and a number of orobic
goats (who are at risk of extinction) whose milk
will be added to cows': 10-20 per cent goats' milk
is used.
- The cattle have to be fed exclusively
with natural grass. A different kind of feeding
is allowed only for ill animals.
- Cattle are milked by hand.
- Pastures are arranged in rotation:
during their threemonths of grazing, the cattle
are led from the lowest to the highest halts through
different stages.
- Calecc (ancient stone huts) act
as mountain dairies. They can be moved from one
place to another and within them it is possible
to process the milk while still warm.
- Additives, preservatives and enzymes
are explicitly forbidden.
- The cheese is inspected by Valli
del Bitto association to ensure that is made following
terms of agreement of the brand.
The production process lasts from
June to the end of September. Cows' milk is immediately
added to goats' and then poured into the traditional
coppers whose form is that of an overturned bell.
Here the milk is warmed by wood fire to a temperature
of 35-37°C. Calfs' curd is added to it and the mixture
obtained is then warmed gradually over two hours to
its final temperature of 50-52°C.
Once removed from the copper, this
mixture is placed into wooden containers. Wood containers
are used to allow the cheese to breathe and dry during
the stage of resting and dry salting. The micro flora
characterising each pasture create a barrier against
micro-organisms which might damage the product. Cheese
starts to ripen in the Calecc not far from the pasture,
and finishes in the factories down in the valley.
This process lasts for at least 70 days but the cheese
can ripen for several years.
Chestnuts
Also from Italy are chestnuts that
have been dried in teccis. These are small stone huts
with pine roofs, once common but now survive only
in the Val Bormida area in Italy. Chestnuts are collected
and put into the ceiling space above fires for about
two months Teccis are only two or three metres high
which allows the heat and smoke to reach the chestnuts.
These are turned and then beaten by hand to remove
the skin. The final product can be eaten or dried
further for used as ingredients for biscuits, preserves
and ice creams. At Christmas, it is traditional to
eat 'vietter' - dried chestnuts boiled in water for
five hours.
Other Activities
A project known as 'Ark of Taste'
is under way to identify and catalogue products, dishes
and animals that are in danger of disappearing. A
Slow Food award was created in 2000 to recognise research,
production, marketing, promotion and documentation
activities which benefit biodiversity in the agro-industrial
field. An international jury judges entries from all
over the world which exemplify how individuals and
small scale producers are integral to preserving traditional
foods and production methods within their region.
If you wish to join the Slow Food association or just
find out where you can eat and drink slow food in
your area, contact the Slow Food office in Italy (see
Further Information).
Slow Food has grown into a significant
movement, preserving traditional agro-processing methods
and indigenous foods that are in danger of dying out
in favour of modern, mass-produced food all over the
world. While the association is saving endangered
foods it is actively helping small farmers succeed
economically, protecting land, maintaining biodiversity,
and preserving traditional ways of life.
Further Information
Slow Food International office:
Via Mendicità 8
12042 Bra (CN)
Italy
Tel: +39 (0)172 419 611
Fax: +39 0172 414498
E-mail: international@slowfood.com
or info@slowfood.it
http://www.slowfood.com/
See website for country contact details.
All you want to know about slow food, including where
you can eat and drink slow food products and hosts
many links to good food websites.
Association of Producers Valli
del Bitto
Morbegno (SO) - via Stelvio, 23
Italy
A - tel. 0342 635665
info@formaggiobitto.com
http://www.formaggiobitto.com/
The Atlantic
Interview
with the founder of Slow Food Carlo Petrini
There are many publications on slow food, including
cookbooks: try searching under http://www.google.com/ and go to
http://www.amazon.com/
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