Definition: slow food

Slow Food was born in response to fast food, the celebration of speed and the standardisation of taste. The opening of a McDonald's on Rome's famous Piazza di Spagna in 1989 kicked off the movement, which now has around 80,000 members in some 50 countries across five continents. National associations have also been set up, notably in the United States and Switzerland. Spearheading a new philosophy of taste, Slow Food has quickly established itself as a defender of gastronomic traditions and a promoter of agriculture that respects the land and its rhythms.

In its manifesto, Slow Food states: "Against those, and they are legion, who confuse efficiency with frenzy, we propose this vaccine: to enjoy the pleasures of the senses securely, slowly, fully and without excess.To combat the degradation of fast food, let's start at the table with Slow Food and rediscover the richness and flavours of traditional cuisine. Slow Food offers a cutting-edge solution to the problem posed by fast life, which, in the name of productivity, has profoundly changed our way of life and threatens the environment and the landscape."

In 1990, Slow Food founded a publishing house that now has more than 70 titles. Regional cookbooks, travel guides, taste education manuals—all of the books celebrate the food and wine traditions of Italy and other countries. Since 1996, Slow Food Publishing has also been publishing a magazine in five languages that covers gastronomy, wine, biodiversity and sustainable development.

In 1999, Slow Food launched the Ark of Taste, which aims to save products and foods threatened with extinction by offering a support and promotion structure to producers. To date, the movement has saved several hundred products from oblivion.