I found it interesting how the reading portrayed the Slow Food movement versus how the movie portrayed it. The movie was much more positive in its portrayal of the Slow Food movement than the reading was.
The reading focused more on gastronomy and how it is a more modern concept. This is because for gastronomy to develop the population needed to have enough money that they could spend freely on luxury food and enough time in the day to devote to simply enjoying food as an experience. The reading also talks about how slow food is important to gastronomy, slow food is rooted in food that is grown and prepared in classical or traditional ways. The slow food movement wants to 'save the world from the excesses of modernity' and bring people back to their roots. The French Terroir Strategy was incredibly interesting to read about, I love how it is based on the idea that regional specialties are just that, special. They can not and should not be replicated anywhere else because the quality will be diminished since the ingredients will be of a lesser quality or the producer won't have knowledge of how to properly produce the product. The author discusses how the Slow Food movement can be quite artificial however, he gives the example of how Petrini basically fabricated stores and ways of production that aren't necessarily authentic or traditional, He almost forces producers and farmers into ways of production that might not be true to their origins. The author seems to have a cynical view of the Slow Food movement because of this fact, He also seems cynical towards it because the Slow Food movent doesn't seem to have a plan on how to handle world hunger. The author also states that 'Slow Food's elite is reserved for those who have already reaped the benefits of Culinary Modernism.' However, this is clearly contradicted in the movie.
As mentioned above, the movie has a much more positive view of the slow food movement. It comes at the subject from a much more humanistic point of view than the reading. It does so by telling the stories of multiple groups or individuals around the world who are doing something that is recognized by the Slow Food movement, at the end of the movie we see all of these individuals or groups receiving awards from the Slow Food movement. The movie was interesting as it bounced all around the world, giving viewers a chance to see the Slow Food movement in a very cross-cultural way. The movie focused on how bringing back or going back to traditional practices has helped encourage biodiversity (with the example of the Sanmarzano tomato in Italy) and given a boost to local economies (with the example of how Vanilla has given the people in a region of Mexico a reason to stay in their hometown and in the Mixteca region to resume farming amaranth.)
The reading and the movie both talk about the importance of biodiversity. The movie especially talks about this in Australia when we are taken to the Botanical Ark which protects species from around the world. Biodiversity is something that I am very interested in. We live in a world where corporations have patents on seeds and where those seeds have taken over, leaving the world with less and less biodiversity of incredibly important plants. The Irish famine was in part caused by a lack of biodiversity in potatoes, it should be a warning of what the consequences of a lack of biodiversity can be.
In Italy, I have been able to enjoy such a wide range of fruits and vegetables. Since Italy has areas with incredible growing potential and a fairly temperate climate for most of the year, Italian farmers are able to produce an incredible variety of vegetation. Not only that but the Italians have a clear focus on making sure what is on your table is as local as possible and as fresh as possible. I love knowing that the food I am eating is both fresh and close to home. Even in Mensa we always have many choices in vegetables and fruit every day. We usually have 3-4 different vegetables waiting for us and there are always baskets of fresh, whole fruit at the start of the line (including oranges from our own courtyard)!
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The reading focused more on gastronomy and how it is a more modern concept. This is because for gastronomy to develop the population needed to have enough money that they could spend freely on luxury food and enough time in the day to devote to simply enjoying food as an experience. The reading also talks about how slow food is important to gastronomy, slow food is rooted in food that is grown and prepared in classical or traditional ways. The slow food movement wants to 'save the world from the excesses of modernity' and bring people back to their roots. The French Terroir Strategy was incredibly interesting to read about, I love how it is based on the idea that regional specialties are just that, special. They can not and should not be replicated anywhere else because the quality will be diminished since the ingredients will be of a lesser quality or the producer won't have knowledge of how to properly produce the product. The author discusses how the Slow Food movement can be quite artificial however, he gives the example of how Petrini basically fabricated stores and ways of production that aren't necessarily authentic or traditional, He almost forces producers and farmers into ways of production that might not be true to their origins. The author seems to have a cynical view of the Slow Food movement because of this fact, He also seems cynical towards it because the Slow Food movent doesn't seem to have a plan on how to handle world hunger. The author also states that 'Slow Food's elite is reserved for those who have already reaped the benefits of Culinary Modernism.' However, this is clearly contradicted in the movie.
As mentioned above, the movie has a much more positive view of the slow food movement. It comes at the subject from a much more humanistic point of view than the reading. It does so by telling the stories of multiple groups or individuals around the world who are doing something that is recognized by the Slow Food movement, at the end of the movie we see all of these individuals or groups receiving awards from the Slow Food movement. The movie was interesting as it bounced all around the world, giving viewers a chance to see the Slow Food movement in a very cross-cultural way. The movie focused on how bringing back or going back to traditional practices has helped encourage biodiversity (with the example of the Sanmarzano tomato in Italy) and given a boost to local economies (with the example of how Vanilla has given the people in a region of Mexico a reason to stay in their hometown and in the Mixteca region to resume farming amaranth.)
The reading and the movie both talk about the importance of biodiversity. The movie especially talks about this in Australia when we are taken to the Botanical Ark which protects species from around the world. Biodiversity is something that I am very interested in. We live in a world where corporations have patents on seeds and where those seeds have taken over, leaving the world with less and less biodiversity of incredibly important plants. The Irish famine was in part caused by a lack of biodiversity in potatoes, it should be a warning of what the consequences of a lack of biodiversity can be.
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| Image Source |
In Italy, I have been able to enjoy such a wide range of fruits and vegetables. Since Italy has areas with incredible growing potential and a fairly temperate climate for most of the year, Italian farmers are able to produce an incredible variety of vegetation. Not only that but the Italians have a clear focus on making sure what is on your table is as local as possible and as fresh as possible. I love knowing that the food I am eating is both fresh and close to home. Even in Mensa we always have many choices in vegetables and fruit every day. We usually have 3-4 different vegetables waiting for us and there are always baskets of fresh, whole fruit at the start of the line (including oranges from our own courtyard)!
Ciao for now!
Veni. Vidi. Mangia.
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