The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Consumption and Consumer Studies

Slow Food Movement

KOEN VAN BOMMEL

Vrije Universiteit, Netherlands

ANDRE SPICER

City University London, UK

DOI: 10.1002/9781118989463.wbeccs213

Legend has it that the Slow Food movement began in 1986 with a demonstration against the opening of a branch of McDonald's near the Spanish Steps in Rome, organized by Italian food journalist and political activist Carlo Petrini. Petrini formed the action group Arcigola, out of which Slow Food emerged in 1989. Slow Food's actual history may be slightly more complex (see e.g., Chrzan 2004). This not-for-profit, member-supported association has firmly taken root, with a strong local and decentralized presence. It is organized around 1,500 local chapters (known as convivia) and has over 100,000 members across more than 150 countries. These branch organizations organize events such as markets, discussions, tastings, and protests. In addition, as a formal movement with defined aims, Slow Food International coordinates a range of activities from its offices in Bra, Italy, including the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, Salone del Gusto (food fair), Terra Madre (meeting of food producers), and the University of Gastronomic Sciences.

Slow Food is part of “a much broader backlash against the high-speed, high-turnover culture of the global food industry” (Honoré 2004, 57). It has managed to transform itself from a somewhat snobbish middle-class gastronomic movement into one that appeals to a broad constituency of environmentalists and people ...