09/03/08 Slow Food Movement

The Slow Food Movement is working hard to gain enthusiastic fans and followers across the nation. This past weekend was dedicated to "Slow Food Nation" in San Francisco, a four day celebration of food which was hoping for over 30,000 attendants. The Slow Food Movement has expanded from its original efforts of trying to persuade people to return to their roots by embracing organic and locally supplied agricultural products and connecting with their own kitchens again, to an advocate which supports fair trade, sustainable farming, and is lobbying for remaking the federal farm bill. But one of the hardest obstacles The Slow Food Movement has to hurdle is their own self image; one which seems to cater more to the wine and cheese set. Families who find themselves juggling several different schedules and the harried details of everyday life find it very difficult to create and maintain a slow food existence. As one fan of the Slow Food Movement stated, "The movement has a chance to go mainstream, so long as its advocates keep things simple, no elitism cooking where it gets so complicated."