Slow Food Nation

Today was Campus Sustainability Day at Chico State. Keeping in the spirit of sustainability, I rode my bike the the three or so miles to campus to check out the festivities. It was a low-key event, with campus groups such as Net Impact, Adventure Outings, and Associated Students Recycling Program handing out information at tables on sustainability. Several tables held displays from various universities across the United States that showcased what they were doing to make their campuses greener. There was also a tall pile of garbage bags stuffed with empty water bottles to give students an example of how much trash per person can be generated over a year's time. Thank goodness I've been drinking my water straight from the tap (filtered through a Brita filter, of course).

After picking up my complimentary compact fluorescent lightbulb from the Pacific Gas and Electric table, I happened to talk to a student who was starting up a group on campus I had never heard of: Slow Food. Their logo is a snail, so I naturally assumed that this must be a group that enjoyed eating escargot. As I was about to creep away in disgust, the student explained to me what his group was all about. His chapter of Slow Food is part of Slow Food USA movement, which, according to their brochure, seeks to "catalyze a broad cultural shift away from the destructive effects of an industrial food system and fast life; toward the regenerative cultural, social, social, ecological and economic benefits of a sustainable food system, regional food traditions, the pleasures of the table, and a slower and more harmonious rhythm of life." Or put simply, Slow Food encourages people to buy food locally at farmers markets and get together with others to enjoy it.

The Slow Food movement started in Italy in 1986 in response to the opening of a McDonald's in Piazza Spagna in Rome. Since then, it has spread to over 50 countries and includes more than 83,000 members. In the United States, there are 14,000 members organized into 160 chapters, also known as conviva. To learn more about Slow Food, visit their website at www.slowfoodusa.org.