Ryan ChartrandWe live in the midst of a fast food phenomenon – McDonald’s can be found on every block and in the most obscure corners of the world. Now, government campaigns have to warn parents that french fries do not suffice as adequate vegetable intake for their toddlers, and obesity has become an all-out epidemic in the United States.
Concerns over the growing popularity of fast food across the world, among other things, prompted the formation of the Slow Food Movement, which promotes good, clean, fair food through sustainable farming.
Cal Poly’s Sustainable Agriculture Resource Consortium (SARC) and the San Luis Obispo Slow Food Convivium are hosting an artisan food tasting on Sunday where students can try sustainably-farmed foods from around the world. There will also be two San Luis Obispo representatives who attended the Terra Madre International Slow Food Convention in Turin, Italy in 2006.
Terra Madre brought 8,000 food producers, educators and chefs from 150 countries together to talk about the importance of food heritage and tradition in sustainable farming.
“Sustainable farming is essentially a way of approaching or organizing agriculture, ensuring that future generations will have the resources they need in order to continue agricultural production. It’s trying to use your resources in a responsible way by not depleting them, by protecting the environment and helping to protect communities,” said SARC program assistant Hunter Francis. Francis was a representative at the Terra Madre convention.
The local Slow Food Convivium has gathered quality, artisan foods from all over the world, as well as from the San Luis Obispo area for this weekend’s event. Cheese, salami and fruit spreads are among the foods that will be tasted.
The Slow Food Movement determines quality foods as those which taste good, don’t harm the environment, peoples’ health or animal welfare. Also workers on all levels of food production must receive fair compensation and there can be no child labor.
“The thing I love about the Slow Food Movement is that it’s about the goodness of the food, not just about politicizing or condemning uniqueness. It’s about focusing on the good and embracing cultures,” said Maegen Loring, Park Restaurant owner and chef who attended the Terra Madre conference.
Because San Luis Obispo is still a fairly rural town with many of its agricultural resources localized, farmers here have a special opportunity to preserve the local heritage. Heavily urbanized areas like Los Angeles have lost such opportunities.
“We’re particularly pertinent in Slow Food issues because part of the Slow Food mission and Terra Madre is to help people develop more of an appreciation for our own food heritage,” Francis said. “When we purchase local products, we’re literally financially supporting farmers and making it possible for us to have our agricultural heritage preserved into the future.”
One way SARC has promoted sustainable farming is by helping local farmers establish an organic market through the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program. The CSA program allows farmers to directly sell produce to a customer who has bought a share of the farm and in turn receives a box of produce once a week.
This weekend’s event will take place at Cal Poly’s Crop Unit on the corner of Highland Drive and Mount Bishop Road from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 4. A donation of $10 is suggested ($15 for non-Slow Food members and $5 for students) to help cover food costs and free parking is available.