SLOW FOOD REVOLUTION
Carlo Petrini in Conversation with Gigi Padovani
Translated by Francesca Santovetti
 
“Taste buds are neither conservative nor liberal, and, though it may be impossible to
change the world, one should at least be able to change the menu.”

Can food be political?  The question might seem frivolous, but to Carlo Petrini, the founder of Slow Food, and to the more than eighty thousand worldwide members of the movement, the question is vital, and the answer is yes, absolutely.  Defined by principles of environmental sustainability, economic equality, social justice, and, of course, high quality and taste, the Slow Food movement represents both gastronomic and political ideals, and in doing so, it addresses cultural trends of international relevance.

A sign of “progress” in post-war Europe, and most especially in America, was the encroaching industrialization of food production.  As the ability developed to ship foods efficiently from formerly unimaginable distances, and to package them for extended shelf life, we exchanged flavor, the gift of food enjoyed in its own season, and genuine nutrition for misguided convenience, and efficiency.   In Slow Food Revolution Carlo Petrini collaborates with Gigi Padovani, to trace the birth, growth, and purpose of this movement to protect and encourage all that is genuine in our culinary heritage.  Starting in the 1980s Petrini was dismayed by this reduction of integrity all the way up the food chain from farm, to vendor, to cook, to table.  He spoke and protested and rallied like-minded friends until his cause achieved enough momentum to be considered a genuine movement, with the ability to arrest and reverse this trend.  Today the Slow Food Movement is active in 50 countries and has a worldwide membership of over 80,000.

The Slow Food Movement not only focuses on a slower, more natural and organic lifestyle that complements nature, but also works to preserve endangered culinary traditions, conserve natural biodiversity, and protect agricultural practices threatened in this age of mass consumerism. The book takes the reader on a gastronomic journey through the practices and traditions of the world's ethnic cuisines, from the artisanal cheeses of Italy, to the oysters of Cape May, and the native American turkey.  Slow Food Revolution includes testimonies from members like Alice Waters, illustrating exactly what Slow Food is doing, and what still needs to be done.

Slow Food Revolution describes for the uninitiated the Movement’s determination to celebrate and protect sustainable agriculture, “real” food, and the individual cultures that gave birth to our culinary patrimony.  This attention to food is not the gourmet-driven pursuit of a culinary elite, but a grass-roots movement to save that which is most precious to us all—the unassailable pleasure of food grown with respect for the earth, and for the people who grow and eat it.

About the Authors: Carlo Petrini is the founder and driving force of Slow Food.  He was recently included in Time Magazine’s list of “European Heroes” as a great innovator.  Gigi Padovani is a regular contributor to La Stampa, one of Italy’s leading daily newspapers.  He is also the author of Nutella: An Italian Myth.

Excerpts from this book are available to accompany your coverage.  To arrange, please contact Pam Sommers at 212 387 3465 or psommers@rizzoliusa.com.

Credit for excerpts from the book must read SLOW FOOD REVOLUTION  by Carlo Petrini and Gigi Padovani, Rizzoli New York, 2006. 

SLOW FOOD REVOLUTION: A NEW CULTURE FOR EATING AND LIVING
By Carlo Petrini and Gigi Padovani, Translated by Francesca Santovetti
Hardcover 5.5” x 8.25” /  240 pages
$26.95 U.S.
Rizzoli New York
ISBN: 978-0-8478-2873-9
Release date: Fall 2006

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