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Health & Fitness

Sustainable Tarpon Springs - The Slow Food Movement

An invitation to be part of a 'Conversation and Action Network' of friendly folks with a vision to see a 'greener' and more Sustainable Tarpon Springs.

Just a few questions to whet your appetite...

Do you like to eat?  Do you like to eat ‘consciously’ using the best local, organic ingredients?  Do you want to live healthier and enjoy the process of ‘farm-to-table’ food preparation?  If so,

the Slow Food Movement is for you!  

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What is Slow Food?  Well, just think of the complete antithesis of fast food.  Fast food is  substandard quality, highly-processed, low-vitality, junk food ‘filler’ for many Americans.  It is cheaply produced to assure the highest profit margins for shareholders.  The priority is not health or sustainability, only profits.  It is definitely not anything like Slow Food, in fact, it’s questionable whether it is food at all.  

Slow Food recognizes we are all stakeholders in the food source chain.  Slow Food is truly about taking time to enjoy the process of ‘gathering’ our food from farmers we know or markets that represent local farmers.  It is about preserving our regional food heritage, including heirloom varieties so that biodiversity of fruits and vegetables is not lost to mainstream varieties.  

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Slow Food is also about knowing how sustainably livestock has been raised, the quality of their lives, how their handling impacts the environment, how they were cared for when they were sick, and how humanely they were treated at the end of their lives.  

Slow Food is a movement that literally embraces the old adage, you are what you eat!  Food ethics do matter to our health; food ethics matter to the sustainability of our planet and to our local economies.  Food ethics matter to our entire society because how we treat farmers, laborers, and animals is a reflection of who we are and what our priorities are as a culture.

Slow Food is part of an international sustainability movement expressing itself through many different programs that include children’s food education, all farming considerations from seed saving to food preparation, protection of plant and animal species that are at risk of extinction, preserving food heritage including community life and economies gathering around rich and diverse food traditions.

You may have discovered the new magazine Edible Tampa Bay has joined the many ‘edible communities’ around the country now - eighty and counting!  You may find the first issue is in restaurants and health food stores all around Tampa Bay.   l personally dropped issues off at the Eco-Bean and Currents here in Tarpon Springs.  The magazine celebrates the fresh food revolution sweeping across our nation.

Please pick a copy up.  They are beautifully designed, sustainably printed, and the content is inspirational.  I’d also recommend watching the 2009 documentary Fresh when you get a chance.  It will explain everything I am attempting to describe, and it will inspire you to think differently about the food you buy and the food you eat.

Next, host your own locally grown food community potluck!  We do this on a weekly basis, using as much from the garden as possible.  The more of us who are growing food, the greater the diversity of selection will become.  In a way, it is coming together for Thanksgiving each week - celebrating our network of connections with one another, the gift of our stewardship on this planet, and the treasure we have in locally grown foods.  

Please, take time to explore Slow Food USA’s website: http://www.slowfoodusa.org  If you are inspired to support the work of this organization, become a member and seek out a Slow Food meet-up group.  Membership supports all of the healthy and sustainable programs Slow Foods brings to the table!  

The Slow Food Movement is definitely another healthy facet of the sustainability movement, and is another way of broadening our appreciation and awareness of one of life’s simplest pleasures - eating!   

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