Slow Food: The Case for Taste

If you didn't know anything about the slow food movement, this book will give you a comprehensive view. The description of the movement's principles and strategies to change our eating habits, gastronomic knowledge, and to change, in fact, our fast-life western culture, convinced me that slow food has gone beyond their pseudo-elitist confinement, into a whole new category, that of being a plausible alternative for a real and sustainable cultural revolution. One of the best features in the book is Carlo Petrini, its author and the founder of the movement. His enthusiastic spirit is dressed with a no-nonsense attitude; his delivery of the information is effective and to the point. No word is wasted ... just the way I like it!

This book offers concise information about the history and various activities of the Slow Food Movement. The book is divided into four chapters. After an outline of the origins of the movement, the second chapter on cultivating diversity argues for the need to preserve food localities, such as the Italian Osteria. The third chapter describes Slow Food's educational goals with regards to nutrition, agriculture, and taste, followed by a final section on genetically modified organisms (GMO) and ways to promote biodiversity. Carlo Petrini, the founder of Slow Food and author of this book, convincingly shows how the standardization of food and tastes leads to the loss of (bio)diversity and describes measures that Slow Food has initiated to counterbalance this tendency, such as taste education in schools and events such as the Salone del Gusto, an international exhibition where producers and distributors present their local foods. The overall tone of this book is balanced. Also, difficulties that Slow Food has encountered are addressed, such as the struggles of the movement to position itself between the political left and more conservative forces in Italy. However, in my opinion the volume could provide more information on how consumers can incorporate the philosophy of Slow Food into their daily lives. Despite the need to safeguard regional foods, the movement focuses mainly on its global structure and aims in order to achieve this goal. More information on how a more effective communication network between producers and consumers of endangered foods can be installed on a local basis would be desirable in this book.

It's rare to find a book that's informative, convivial, and inspiring. Carlo Petrini's Slow Food: The Case for Taste is such a book. True to his Italian character and culture, he describes the Slow Food movement with style and exuberance. He would make a convert of me if I had not already embraced his philosophy for the "good life". I share his passion for excellence in food and wine and the responsibilities that are attached to this pleasure. Petrini would make an excellent dinner guest, bringing gusto and reverence for the meal served and adding intelligent, sometimes jovial chatter throughout each course. Back in the 70s, E.F. Schumacher wrote Small is Beautiful, creating a movement that eventually became a cliche. In smallness we find our human scale and through smallness it is possible to express our uniqueness. The Slow Food movement has taken this concept and added a few additional ingredients which make life pleasurable. I think Petrini's book can have as strong of an impact on the new millennium as Schumacher's book had in the 70s.Much credit should be given to the translators for maintaining the integrity of Petrini's literary style.

In 1989, author, cook and visionary Carlo Petrini founded the International Slow Food Movement as response to our fast-food lifestyle. The movement now has a magazine, a web site, and over 400,000 followers organized into local chapters. With a foreword written by Alice Waters, it's no surprise to learn that Petrini advocates the same philosophy as Chez Panisse's founder: traditional recipes, locally grown foods and wines, and eating as an event.It's a small book, only 170 pages, but it packs a wallop as a philosophy, a recipe for Life.