Q.How do Slow Food and organizations like it that call for a return to simpler times reconcile their goals with the need for human progress?

A.Well, there are a couple of answers to that question.  The narrow answer is that we’re not trying to turn back the hands of time.  We’re just trying to prevent people from becoming alienated from the food that sustains them.  Progress doesn’t require that we lose interest in our food, in where it comes from, and in what it tastes like... but it has made us lose touch with these things, and they are very important for our health and everyday happiness.

The broader answer is in the form of a question:  What do you mean by “progress”?  If you just mean producing ever greater quantities of meat and vegetables at lower and lower prices, that may or may not represent genuine progress: it really depends on what happens to the quality of the food.  If quantity increases while quality suffers, you end up with worse food.  How is that progress?

Q.That seems more than a little bit elitist, doesn’t it?  It’s all well and good to preach about quality food when you can afford it.

A.Maybe.  But frankly, we can all afford to spend a fair bit more on food than we do.  According to most estimates the average American family spends something like 10% of its income on food, while those in France and Germany spend more like 16% of theirs.  And the inexpensive food that we do buy isn’t doing us any favors.  Fast food, trans-fats, and high-fructose corn syrup have helped to produce a health care epidemic in the United States, as a result of which American health care costs are about 16% of its GDP.  Health care costs in France, home of the Hollandaise sauce, run—you guessed it—just over 10% of GDP.  So you might think you’re saving money when you crank open a can of Chef-Boy-oh-Boy and throw it in the microwave, but it’ll get you in the long run.  And besides, that stuff is nasty.  Wouldn’t you rather have fresh pasta?

Q.See, now, that really sounded elitist.

A.Well, okay, point taken.  Sometimes we do come across as food snobs.  That’s a risk you run when you really love something and like to talk about it.  But just because you love to linger over a Sauternes and foie gras doesn’t mean that, on a different night, you wouldn’t be found at a local bar with a burger and a beer.  Personally, I’m partial to one—I won’t say which—that serves its burgers with a fried egg on top.

Q.Hmm.  Those both sound sinfully good.  But that raises a different question:  Is Slow Food really just a way of promoting culinary hedonism?

A.(Laughs) I like that!  But more seriously, it’s a bit off the mark.  Hedonism implies the pursuit of unlimited pleasure as the supreme goal, above all else.  We’re not gluttons or drunkards, and we think that it’s very reasonable to seek pleasure as much as possible within the realm of socially responsible food—that is, food that’s good, clean, and fair.

That said, there is a more limited sense in which your question resonates, and that is this one:  We do advocate taking pleasure in food, and we’re not ashamed of that.  Americans tend to have a very well-developed sense of guilt—so much so that almost any pleasure becomes a guilty pleasure.  And we don’t do nuance very well, either:  if somebody tells us that something is bad for us, we tend to avoid it altogether rather than ask, “Well, is it okay in moderation?”  We don’t want to touch anything that has a gram of fat, a single carb, a fiber of red meat, and so on.  If someone finds a downside to leafy vegetables, a good percentage of the population will be reduced to eating steamed twigs.

As a result, our relationship with what’s on our plates is one of fear, not pleasure.  We look at our dinner and worry about all the ways in which it might kill us.  How ludicrous is that?  Food sustains us and nourishes us.  A sensible, balanced diet made up of good food should not only inspire no fear, it should give you deep, genuine pleasure at every meal.

Q.Fair enough.  So why do you call yourselves a “convivium”?

A.Well, we didn’t invent the name—that’s what Slow Food calls all of its chapters.  In our case it happens to fit because we’re such a convivial bunch of people.  Actually, there’s a historical answer as well:  Slow Food started in Italy, and the early Romans used the term convivium to describe the relaxing and reclining of friends at feasts.  Convivia brought together people from all different strata of society to savor a delicious meal.

Q.You’re starting to make me hungry.  So what happens at your events?

A.The short answer is, we have a lot of fun, and we eat delicious food, and we learn something about the food that we’re eating.  ...  Actually, come to think of it, that’s pretty much the long answer, too.  Usually there’s some aspect of the food that’s either sustainable or local or both, and usually that’s part of what makes it so good, and that’s generally what the educational part is about.

Q.So you draw your Slow Food salary from event fees and membership fees?

A.We wish!—Err, that is, no.  This is an all-volunteer outfit, at the convivium level at least.  Slow Food is a non-profit, which has a lot of complicated legal and financial implications.  For us, personally, the implication is simple:  We don’t make a profit.  Your membership fees go toward sustaining the national organization and funding its programs in taste education, biodiversity, and food communities, as well as its various publications and activities.  Event fees go almost entirely to the people who run the events; usually there’s a little bit in there for the convivium, but it’s just enough to cover operating expenses—things like web hosting and advertising.

Q.Not to put too fine a point on it, but, what do you want from me?

A.That’s easy.  Renounce fast food forever, vow never to touch another piece of food that you haven’t grown or slaughtered yourself, and... aha, gotcha! Thought we were serious, didn’t you?  Nope, it’s nothing that drastic.

Here’s the deal:  Enjoy yourself.  That’s what we want you to do.  Really, that’s it.  And our guess is that, the more you understand and appreciate the food that you’re eating, the more you’ll end up savoring it and being excited by it and enjoying the company of other people who feel the same way.  Our events are designed to bring you together with those people and put food in front of you that you’ll really appreciate.  If that sounds like your kind of thing, drop us a line or sign up for an event.