Don't Get Mad, Get GLAD: Sustainable Food Movements

This is part 6 of my research on global food movements entitled
GLOBALIZATION: It's what's for dinner

Global food movements making a difference:
SUSTAINABLE FOOD MOVEMENTS

The values of the organic farming movement with its commitment to sustainability, smaller farms, and no "additive" crops are reflected in other growing food movements. Farmers' Markets, which introduce primarily local organic growers to the consuming public, grew in the US from 1,755 in 1994 to 4,685 in 2008. [28]

The popularity of the Local Food Movement has also gained attention as the term "locavore" was chosen as the 2007 word of the year by the New Oxford American Dictionary. [29] A locavore is one who purchases foodstuff from within a 100 mile radius of home, which not only supports local businesses, but also reduces pollution and the consumption of fossil fuels as food transport is kept to a minimum.

The formation of CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) also reflects this localizing trend as consumers contract with local farmers who agree to regularly deliver their products to them. From the first CSA in 1986, there are now more than 1,300. [30]

Local farming has also renewed interest in heirloom fruits and vegetables as seed and rootstock collections from the "old world" are recovered, providing beautiful and delicious alternatives to the limited selections in larger food chains. Such trends reflect a "food renaissance," as food markets of yesteryear, still common in less industrialized communities, are finding new life in the post-modern world.

In England, for example, the Borough Market, London's oldest fruit and vegetable market, dating back to 43 AD, has undergone exponential growth in the last 6 years. [31] This supports the 2004 findings of Richardson and Aguiar who, in their report on consumers and UK fast food companies, concluded that the primary attributes once guiding consumer behavior such as convenience and cost are no longer enough to represent the true desires of the consumer.

Findings indicate that in the UK there has been a shift of preferences "from satisfaction based on cheap food and speedy service to more emphasis on ingredients and taste." [32] In food choices, over 68% indicated they desire "lesser fat content," and over 41% desire "organic ingredients," along with "broader vegetarian selection," and "more use of local produce." As freshness and quality, organic and local, also become higher priorities in food selections for American consumers, such trends are expected in the US as consumers are now desiring to support local organic farmers and are becoming more interested in knowing where their food comes from and how it is grown. [33]

Another movement that embodies the value of sustainability through organic farming, but also embraces the importance of local food traditions is the Slow Food Movement. Though intentionally founded in 1986 by Carlo Petrini in Italy as a protest of the opening of a McDonalds near the Spanish steps in Rome, the movement seeks to "preserve the cultural cuisine and the associated food plants and seeds, domestic animals, and farming within an ecoregion." [34] In protecting the heritage of food, tradition, and culture from the wave of fast food, Slow Food looks for ways to defend biodiversity in the local food supply, spread taste education, and connect producers of excellent foods with co-producers through events and initiatives. [35] As US Today phrases it, "Slow Food aims to be everything that fast food is not." [36]

Based in Italy, the movement has now expanded globally to over 83,000 members in 122 countries. In the United States, the first Slow Food celebration and exposition occurred this year in San Francisco over Labor Day weekend with over 85,000 in attendance. [37] A Declaration for Healthy Food and Agriculture was also introduced to demand a healthier food policy for America. Though the Slow Food Movement is relatively new in the US, it has quickly taken root with chapters in nearly every state. As Americans are discovering that there are other choices besides fast food, they are taking responsibility, speaking out, and making choices for their health and for the environment.

Next week:
Plant-based diets

[28] "Farmers Market Growth: 1994-2008," USDA - Wholesale and Farmers, http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/farmersmarketgrowth.htm (accessed on December 16, 2008).
[29] Richard Pirog, "Local Foods: Farm fresh and environmentally friendly," World Book's 2009 Science Year (World Book Publishing, 2009), The Leopold Center, www.leopold.iastate.edu/research/marketing_files/WorldBook.pdf (accessed December 12, 2008), 135.
[30] Ibid., 138.
[31] Regine Lee, "Food Renaissance at London's Borough Market," Bay Area News Group, November 5, 2008.
[32] James Richardson and Luis Kluwe Aguiar, "Consumer Change In Fast Food Preference," International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, http://www.ifama.org/conferences/2004Conference/Papers/Richardson1004.pdf (accessed December 15, 2008).
[33] Pirog, 136
[34] "Slow Food," Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Food (accessed December 15, 2008).
[35] "Our mission," Slow Food, http://www.slowfood.com/about_us/eng/mission.lasso (accessed December 15, 2008).
[36] Cited on "What is slow food," Slow Food USA, http://www.slowfoodusa.org/index.php/slow_food/ (accessed December 17, 2008).
[37] Slow Food Nation, http://slowfoodnation.org/ (accessed December 17, 2008).