Slow Food Nation

“Good, clean and fair” was the mantra emanating from the Slow Food Nation events held throughout Labor Day weekend in San Francisco. On Saturday, we enjoyed eating and sipping our way through the taste pavilion – from fish, honey and cheese to wine, coffee and tea. We sat in on a chef presentation in the Green Kitchen, and watched as visitors milled around, enjoying their food as they waited in line for their next taste sensation.
On Sunday, we headed to the Market, enjoying a wide selection of farmer’s market fare, along with an enjoyable stroll through the Victory Garden, an organic vegetable garden.
Monday evening, it was a delightful dinner held at Coffee Bar in the city, featuring a chef from Radio Africa & Kitchen, along with a discussion about two coffees, the Huehuetenango Highland Coffee Presidium and the Sierra Cafetalera Coffee Presidium.
All in all an enjoyable event, but I did wonder if the weekend hit the mark in educating the community as to the Good, Clean and Fair mantra. The Changemakers Day seminars were by invitation only, but would have been more beneficial if the general public could have participated. I was unable to make it to the Food for Thought lecture series, which required a ticket, but seemed to be filled with thought-provoking topics. However, other than the Green Kitchen and the occasional connection with someone in the Taste Pavilion who took the time to discuss their product, the event didn’t seem to inspire visitors to investigate more about products.
I guess I wanted to see more than just the masses turn out for the event. I wanted to see the masses inspired. Instead what I saw at the Taste Pavilion was simply people waiting in line to eat. While on occasion I did hear some dialogue about Slow Food, but for the most part, visitors enjoyed the food, beer and wine, and walked away with satisfied taste buds, but no more aware of Slow Food and its mission.
Our biggest disappointment of the weekend came on Sunday at the Slow on the Go booths – where vendors sold prepared foods that included Indian offerings, Mexican inspired foods and delicious sausage sandwiches, among other items. What disappointed me was not the quality of the foods, they were simply delicious. Instead, it was the price. A sausage sandwich was $8, another plate was $6, etc. The afternoon quickly became a pricey affair.
When Greg pointed out that the prices were a bit high, I was quick to paraphrase Michael Pollan, who said something to the effect of “if you eat better quality foods, you will pay more for it, but you’ll eat less of it.” But, I did have to agree with Greg on this one. At least if I am going to pay that much for a sandwich, I want a bit of education about what I’m eating – a bit of Slow Food talk – but we didn’t get any of that, and I’m not sure how many visitors did. And, at prices like these, I can see what most of America heads to McDonald’s. They can feed their entire family for the cost of getting one of those sandwiches.
On one hand, Slow Food nation seemed a success – all events were sold out, the place was jammed, and I overheard more than one exhibitor calling the farm to demand more food be delivered.
On the other hand, I guess I expected more. I expected Slow Food Nation to be more than just a place where existing ‘foodies’ could gather to enjoy great tasting foods, and discuss topics that are near and dear to us. Sure, I was in my element, so I was satisfied, but I was hoping for a place where the uninitiated could gather, learn and become inspired as well. I hope I’m wrong in my assessment, and that while I was tasting, talking and keeping the kids in line, others were becoming inspired to take action . . . Perhaps I was too wrapped up in going slow to notice others were as well.