Uneasy Rhetoric

An AP article by J. M. Hirsch I read in September 3rd’s Ashaland Daily Tidings said “Slow Food needs to ease off gourmet.”  The article, about the recent Slow Food Nation festival in San Francisco, took the movement to task for its focus on high-brow cuisine and expensive foods. The writer said, I think rightly, that the movement needs to focus on the people for whom a trip to McDonalds is a splurge.  However, I also think the article did not go far enough in its criticism of Slow Food USA.

The Slow Food movement in America suffers from the same drawback that much of the “eco” or “green” movement in general suffers from: the focus is far more defined by what you can buy than what you can do.

And therein lies the rub — the whole concept of “Slow” seems to have been lost within the locally grown, organic haystack. Don’t get me wrong, I wholeheartedly support buying locally grown and produced foods, and buying organic, when it is practical. But what do those have to do with “slow”?  

As I understand it, the “Slow” in the slow food movement should be about getting us out of the fast food rut and get us cooking and entertaining at home again. It’s centered on the idea that meals are not just for face stuffing, but are events for catching up with family and friends. Meals aren’t something we do before or after going to the movies or a game or sitting in front of the TV; meals are the entertainment.

The focus on locally-grown and organic foods is a spin-off from the idea that we should be cooking our meals from scratch, using fresh ingredients.  It has become the focus of the movement, at least here in the US, when I would argue it is merely one of the tools to slowing down, and not a necessary one.

For families struggling to make ends meet, it might not make sense to buy organic or locally grown items. It certainly does not make sense to burn gas driving around to three or four different markets to maintain your status as a localvore (locovore?).  Imagine in Sacramento, visiting the farmer’s market under the freeway near Southside Park, driving to Whole Foods out in the ‘burbs, then driving to your local Safeway, in order to get what you need for dinner (for me, that is a 20+ mile round trip).  Why be driving when you could be cooking? In one trip to the closest supermarket, you should still be able to buy enough fresh produce, meat, eggs, dairy, and dry goods to cook affordable, healthy meals at home. You should still be able to gather with friends and family without breaking the bank. You might even be able to buy a few organic items.

In true Bobo, or perhaps San Franciscan, fashion, the “Slow Food Nation” event did include discussion of farmworkers’ rights (it isn’t enough to think about where and how your food is grown, but who is picking it) and the Slow Food leaders are sensitive to the yuppification of their movement. But it was a sideshow to what the AP writer described as “another wine and cheese party.”

Finally, while I respect mightily what Alice Waters is doing at Chez Panisse, there’s something a little bit wrong about a restauranteuse being such a central part of a movement focused on getting people to ditch the convenience of eating out.  Even at Chez Panisse, where a meal can last several hours and necessitate lots of conversation, someone else, to whom you never or barely speak, is doing the planning, preparation, and cooking of your meal. It may blast a hole in your wallet (a cannonball sized one), but eating at Chez Panisse is still a convenience, of a sort.

I’m a big fan of the concept of “Slow Food,” but I think its cooptation by the “yuppie” crowds looking for more instructions on what to buy to feel good cheapens what should be a simple and clear message: cook more, with friends, buy healthy foods, and don’t go too far to get what you need.