Good, Clean And Fair Food
Wednesday - September 21, 2011 Share
By Rike Weiss, Volunteer Coordinator,
Slow Food Oahu
The Slow Food (SF) movement started in Italy in the mid-‘80s and is spreading its message of good, clean and fair food through thousands of chapters worldwide.
“Good” in the context of our organization means delicious food from healthy plants and animals, “clean” means produced with a positive impact on the environment, and “fair” means reasonable compensation for the producers and farmers.
Slow Food Oahu (SFO), now in its seventh year, has adopted Ono & Pono as its local slogan. There are SF chapters on Maui, Hawaii Island and a culinary student chapter at Kapiolani Community College. We’re governed by a volunteer board and provide fun, educational experiences for members and the public via farm visits, food tastings, lectures and community workdays.
* Slow Food Oahu has nominated delegates to the bi-annual Terra Madre gathering in Italy, which attracts thousands of visitors from around the globe and brings together 200 producers who support biodiversity, sustainable fishing, breeding and agriculture. SFO support has made attendance possible for Hawaii taro and organic farmers, chefs and honey producers.
* We have partnered with Jack Johnson’s Kokua Foundation to lay the groundwork for healthier lunches in our public schools.
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* We have participated in workdays on farms and ponds in Waiahole, Paepae o Heeia and Mohala Farms.
* We have donated to school gardens and farmers who suffered arson and vandalization.
* We educate through farm tours, fish auctions and food manufacturing, as well as through lectures on topics including land use and the history of chocolate.
* We purchase pasture-fed, antibioticfree beef through the Molokai Livestock Co-op in bulk (recommended by Chef Ed Kenney of town and downtown restaurants), and recently have added Kahuluu raised pork.
Sustainability, food security, decent wages, land-use planning, access to ag lands and water for our farmers, and a love of cooking, food traditions, eating and sharing great locally sourced food these are the aspects of the Slow Food mission that unite our membership.
For more information, visit slowfoodoahu.org.
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