International audience ; This paper is based on ethnographic research carried out by the author since 2006, first of all in France and then at the headquarters of in Italy. It concerns the functioning and the economic and political dynamics of Slow Food. The analysis examines the articulation between the political dimension of the movement and its "philosophy" and actions in the field of ecology. Slow Food was created in Italy in 1980s and in less than twenty years it has become an international movement to which nearly hundred thousand members belong worldwide. As it has evolved, its field of action and intervention has widened and new "philosophies" have been elaborated. The text follows the way the slow / fast dichotomy has, through time, been used in a variety of ways and examines different registers used by Slow Food, its political and economic connections and interactions as well as the tensions created within the movement by the relation of economy to ecology. ; En s'appuyant sur le travail ethnographique mené par l'auteur depuis 2006 sur le fonctionnement et les dynamiques politiques et économiques de Slow Food (en France d'abord et dans le quartier général en Italie ensuite), l'analyse porte sur l'articulation entre la dimension politique du mouvement, sa philosophie et ses actions dans le champ de l'écologie. Créé en Italie au milieu des années 1980, Slow Food est devenu en moins de vingt ans un mouvement international qui regroupe près de cent mille membres dans divers pays du monde. Au fil de son évolution, ses champs d'action et d'intervention se sont élargis et des nouvelles philosophies ont été élaborées. À partir de la dichotomie slow / fast, et en suivant ses transformations au fil du temps, le texte analyse les différents registres du temps mobilisés par Slow Food, leurs connexions avec le plan politique et économique ainsi que les imbrications et les tensions qui existent entre économie et écologie à l'intérieur du mouvement.
" Terroir" fait penser à vin : chacun sait que le même cépage cultivé et vinifié de la même façon, donne deux vins différents sur deux terroirs différents. Nous sommes déjà moins familiarisés avec la notion de terroir quand il s'agit de pommes de terre ou de navets, de fromages ou de charcuterie. Pourtant c'est au niveau de très petites zones géographiques que se trouve encore un fabuleux réservoir de diversité, valorisant des ressources biologiques, des territoires, des savoir-faire collectifs : un patrimoine alimentaire, dont les composantes physique, biologique, sociale sont inséparablement liées et même dans les pays pauvres, les consommateurs reconnaissent une valeur, attribuent une réputation au riz de tel village ou à l'huile de palme de telle région. Ce patrimoine a souffert du productivisme des soixante dernières années, mais il peut aujourd'hui bénéficier de nouvelles conditions, à des degrés divers selon les pays : recherche de la qualité par les consommateurs, impasse économique où se trouvent certaines productions, recherche de racines, décentralisation politique. Mouvement international réunissant 80 000 membres présents dans de très nombreux pays, Slow Food a fait de la promotion de la biodiversité alimentaire son cheval de bataille. Il s'agit de " sauver le meilleur du monde " en mettant en oeuvre quelques principes et méthodes.
This discussion of the slow food-fast food revolution in Mexico focuses on the tortilla, a staple of the country's peasant cuisine, an occasional part of the diet of most Mexicans, & today a global food, fried as the shell for tacos, sold worldwide by Taco Bell & other fast food franchises. For centuries, rural women rose before dawn to grind the corn into flour, combine it with water, knead the dough, shape it into round flat patties, & bake the tortillas -- all before the men left for the fields. Making good tortillas was a talent required of women. The first change came with a mechanical grinder, which was denigrated at first by the peasant women, but then accepted because it gave them time to engage in other work. Then small factories developed that made tortillas but also sold ground corn to those who wanted to make their own. With industrialization came the rise of Grupo Maseca, a multinational producer of masa harina, or corn flour. Still there were those who insisted that there was no substitute for fresh hand-ground corn flour. Eventually the fast food tortillas & tacos made their way back to Mexico. At present, slow food, moderate-speed food, & fast food coexist. References. J. Stanton
Nell'ambito dei movimenti nati in risposta alla globalizzazione, Slow Food ha costruito, in circa trent'anni di attività, un esempio peculiare e di successo, incentrando la propria azione sulla difesa della biodiversità e dell'agricoltura familiare e, nel contempo, sulla formazione di un consumatore (co-produttore) maggiormente consapevole delle conseguenze delle proprie scelte. Il presente lavoro mira a fornire un contributo conoscitivo sul fenomeno Slow Food, approfondendolo sotto tre diversi aspetti: 1. Il profilo del Movimento e il suo impatto, sulla base dei riscontri della letteratura scientifica; 2. La caratterizzazione del socio Slow Food in Italia; 3. La giusta remunerazione (prezzo giusto) per gli agricoltori impegnati nella salvaguardia della biodiversità, attraverso il progetto dei Presìdi Slow Food. Il dibattito, ormai piuttosto ampio, attorno a Slow Food (capp. 1-4) ha messo in luce un movimento in crescita e in costante evoluzione, in grado di assumere un ruolo di rilievo anche a livello internazionale. Infatti, è ampiamente riconosciuto come Slow Food abbia spesso dettato tendenze che hanno finito per influenzare i consumatori, altri movimenti, ma anche ispirato iniziative a carattere imprenditoriale e, in alcuni casi, i decisori politici. Il successo di Slow Food è testimoniato anche dal fatto che questa influenza si è estesa in settori diversi da quello agroalimentare, dal turismo, all'architettura, fino all'ambito scientifico-tecnologico. Contestualmente, sono andate sviluppandosi diverse critiche al Movimento, le più importanti delle quali sono da ritenersi quelle di elitarismo, mercantilismo ma anche i rilievi relativi ai limiti organizzativi. L'indagine sul socio di Slow Food Italia (cap. 5), svolta mediante un questionario online, ha evidenziato un profilo con un'età media piuttosto avanzata, un livello di istruzione molto elevato e un'origine prevalentemente Settentrionale. Nel rapporto col cibo è emersa una forte condivisione dei valori associativi, la propensione ad informarsi attentamente sui prodotti acquistati ed a privilegiare i prodotti locali, mentre, in merito ai Presìdi Slow Food si è osservato un buon apprezzamento ma una conoscenza non sempre approfondita del progetto. Il socio Slow Food ha mostrato un orientamento aperto e progressista, attento alle esigenze degli altri, ma anche alla tradizione, mentre la propensione all'edonismo è risultata contenuta. Inoltre, è apparso evidente un atteggiamento di forte preoccupazione per il futuro della Terra e di critica al modello di produzione agroindustriale. Tutto ciò sembrerebbe sottolineare come il passaggio da movimento gastronomico ad ecogastronomico risulti pienamente realizzato, nella base associativa italiana. Lo studio sul prezzo giusto nei Presìdi Slow Food (capp. 6-9) è stato sviluppato a partire da un'indagine di campo che ha riguardato dieci casi studio italiani ed uno brasiliano. In entrambi i contesti, i risultati hanno mostrato come il percorso di valorizzazione innescato dal progetto Presìdi, anche se non sempre compiuto, abbia portato ad una più equa remunerazione del lavoro degli agricoltori familiari. Ciò, soprattutto, a fronte di una palese incapacità dei mercati convenzionali di garantire prezzi giusti per questa agricoltura. (EN) Among movements against the globalisation, Slow Food represent an unique and successful example. During approximately thirty years, it focused on the protection of biodiversity, family farming, on the training of consumers (co-producer) raising awareness about their choices. The present study work aims to improve the knowledge about Slow Food looking further into: 1. The Movement's profile and its impact on the base of scientific literature; 2. The characterization of the Slow Food members in Italy; 3. The fair remuneration (just price) for farmers involved in the protection of biodiversity, through the Slow Food Presidia project. The debate about Slow Food (chapters 1-4) highlights a growing and changing Movement able to take a major international role. In fact, it is widely recognized that Slow Food has often determined trends that influenced consumers, other movements, but also inspired entrepreneurial initiatives and, in some cases, policy makers. The success of Slow Food is also proved by its influence in other sectors out of the agri-food, such as tourism, architecture and scientific technological fields. At the same time, several critics grew up, in particular those about elitism, mercantilism, but also some related to organizational limits. The Slow Food Italy member survey (chapter 5), carried out through an online questionnaire, highlighted a profile with an advanced average age, a quite high level of education and a predominantly Northern origin. A strong sharing of the associative values, the propensity to seek carefully information about products purchased and the preference to local food was observed in relationship with food. As regard to Slow Food Presidia, a good appreciation but not always a thorough knowledge of the project was observed. The Slow Food member showed an open and progressive orientation, attentive to others, but also to tradition, while the propensity to hedonism was limited. Furthermore, an attitude of strong concern for the future of the Earth and criticism of the model of agro-industrial production was evident. All seems to underline how the transition from gastronomic to ecogastronomic movement is fully realized, in the Italian associative base. The study about the just price in the Slow Food Presidia (chapters 6-9) was carried out from a field survey that involved ten Italian and one Brazilian case studies. In both contexts, results showed that the Presidia project represent an added value resulting in a fairer remuneration for the work of family farmers. This particularly, in the face of an evident inability of the conventional markets to guarantee just prices for this agriculture.