If it’s not been made blatantly obvious by previous posts,  I am a huge fan of the Slow Food movement.  The idea of food that is grown locally and sustainably is appealing on many levels.  First, the environmental aspects are obvious.  Second is the greater freshness of the ingredients.  Third is the better flavor and nutrient aspects of the food.  Now, of course, it’s hardly as if everyone can grow their own food and cure their own meats.  But the more everyone does to foster this type of consumption, the higher the quality of food will be for all.

From an environmental standpoint there are two major factors to consider.  Primarily the NIMBY mentality prohibits these generally smaller producers from engaging in any practices that could possible be harmful.  If you know what you are producing could end up in your childrens’ lunch at school or the meal you are served at a friends house, the chances of using any chemical or product you don’t want to consume yourself is low.  When people say, “yes, we got this cheese/tomato/chicken from (insert farmer’s name here)” that is showing confidence in the food and the farmer.  The other factor is shipping.  When food is taken from a local farm to a farmer’s market 30 miles away only enough fuel to travel that short distance is used, not the fuel to ship the food 2000 miles.

Playing off that point is the freshness.  Everyone that has raised summer tomatoes knows the difference between the perfume of a vine-ripened tomato and going to the store and sniffing tomatoes that were plucked green and spent 12 hours in a truck.  There is absolutely no comparison.  This is not as much of a factor for certain meats because of the aging process and most dairy with proper refrigeration, but for produce the difference is unmistakeable.

Lastly, the flavor and nutrient content of foods that are fresher will be higher.  At least half of the flavor of food is taken in with scent.  If you have tried to eat really good food when you can not breathe you know the difference that this makes in flavor, an onion and an apple can taste almost identical with no scent.  Of course, the older food is the more nutritional content it loses, cells simply break down or in non-citrus fruits energy from the fruit is converted to ethylene gas.

For those that want to keep good, healthy, flavorful food around for future generations the thing to do is embrace the Slow Food movement.  A worldwide movement that is gaining support steadily and has branches in most countries, and yes, it was started by an Italian.

http://www.slow-food.info/

http://www.slowfood.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Food

http://www.slowfoodusa.org/