Slow Food Movement Analysis

The slow food movement implies a mindset of living to eat rather than eating to live. The slow food movement began in 1989 as a protest against McDonald's and stands for the same. This movement signifies a push against fast food and strives to reconnect people to what they are eating. Michael Pollan writes about the slow food movement in The Omnivore's Dilemma. Pollan wishes to reform the lost connection that humans once had with their food in the aspect of farmers, crops, plants, and animals. The slow food movement opposes any convenient means of eating, which includes, fast food, processed foods and pre-made meals. Overall, the slow food movement offers an alternative to the conventional food system that our society so closely relies on, …show more content…
The slow food movement acts to revive the relationship we once had with our food. By promoting home cooking, the slow food movement reconnects american to their stovetop rather than their microwave. The slow food movement offers the ability to actively be aware of the life your food had before it is consumed and being able to feel proud of what you're eating. With great assertion, Pollan summarizes the slow food movement as, “Doing the right thing is the most pleasurable thing, and the act of consumption might be an act of addition rather than subtraction”(Omnivore’s Dilemma, 260). Deliberately being apart of the creation of your food offers greater value than the pre-made meals. A family that may choose to purchase a cooked chicken dinner is not consciously aware of the what they are consuming. The pre-made meals make eating animals easy with an out of mind, out of sight mentality. The slow food movements idea of intentionality causes for a reconnection to food. However, the most prominent ideal of the slow food movement is also its biggest downfall.
An issue with the slow food movement could be found solely in the movement's name. Slow. The concept of slowly producing, cooking and consuming food is not something practical for the average person. Pollan exhibits this as he explains the excessive time and effort that went into his …show more content…
The convenience that pre-made meals offer to the consumer distances the connection between the origin of the food and its place on the table. The slow food movement wishes to move from the idea of convenient foods and back to the idea of putting time into what you're eating. The act of consuming food in a social environment is something the slow food movement offers Pollan blames the diminishing conventional family dinner to the creation of meals as such (Pollan, 302-303). The opposing side of the slow food movement, which includes fast food, and pre-made meals appeals to customers because of its accessibility and