The recent debate over Proposition 2, eloquently outlined in Paul Shapiro’s post, is a timely example of the dilemma we now face: We want food we can feel good about, even after we know all the facts; but the vast majority of our meat, dairy and eggs still come from factory farms. So how did we get here, and how do we change course? Read More
Slow down and read a book
We’re lucky in San Francisco to have one of the best library systems in the country; 27 branch libraries, plus the main library, which together offer more than 2.5 million items – books, DVDs, CDs and more – FREE to anyone with a library card. Today’s libraries are the ultimate recycler of items and ideas, thriving community centers, and amazing places to slow down and enjoy a good book. Read More
The Architecture and Design of Slow Food Nation
Though the central focus of Slow Food Nation is food and the people and places that enable us to eat—farms and farmers, artisans and bakers, urban gardens and policymakers—this year’s event also boasts incredible architecture and design from some of the best firms in the Bay Area. Thanks to the talents and dedication of this esteemed group, visitors to Slow Food Nation will enjoy delicious food and hear stimulating conversations inside beautiful, sustainable structures designed specifically for this event. Read More
The Slow Nature of Indigenous Diets
Daphne Miller, M.D. is the author of The Jungle Effect: A Doctor Discovers the Healthiest Diets from Around the World – Why They Work, and How to Bring Them Home. She is an associate professor of nutrition and integrative medicine at the University of California, and works in a private family practice in San Francisco.
Paula: What first got you interested in studying how indigenous diet effects health? Read More
Come to Community Day at the Victory Gardens in SF
This coming Saturday, August 16, in the Slow Food Nation Victory Garden, the city of San Francisco is organizing a Community Day for residents of the Bay Area to come together around food, gardening, and the power of local communities working together to improve the city.
Daniel Homsey, program manager for the Neighborhood Empowerment Network (NEN), has his finger on the pulse of neighborhood organizations and community events around the city. “We are hoping community members from the all corners of the City, from the Outer Richmond avenues to the Bayview, will come out and participate in this exciting day full of puppet shows, carnival games, and tours of the Slow Food Nation Victory Garden,” says Homsey.
Residents will have the opportunity to tour the gardens and hear the garden managers explain why they chose certain vegetables for the SF Victory Garden and how the growth of the gardens is progressing. The Sustainability Road Show will be there with their Sustainability Resource Fair, complete with puppets and a carnival show. The fun-filled day will offer San Franciscans a chance to learn more about the city’s edible demonstration garden and to take part in this project that promotes healthy local food and shows the community some different ways to live a more environmentally sustainable life.
The Community Day is being put on in partnership with the SF Victory Garden Project, Slow Food Nation, the Sustainable Living Roadshow, and the Neighborhood Empowerment Network; along with the city of San Francisco and its partners, Garden for the Environment, Department for the Environment, Department of Health, Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, Norcal, San Francisco Department of Recreation and Park, and the Public Utilities Commission.
Photo by Daniel Homsey
Drink and be Merry: The Spirits Pavilion
At first glance, it seems like a distant connection from the wood-paneling-and-mirrors saloons of 1860s New York, where the mustachioed, vested Jerry Thomas mixed drinks, to the sleek modern bars of the Tenderloin and North Beach, where a fresh crop of bartenders are making concoctions with seasonal fruit and fresh herbs. But ask Allen Katz, one of the curators of the Jerry Thomas American Cocktail Bar—also known as the Spirits Pavilion at Slow Food Nation—and the connection between bartenders of old and the modern cocktail is very real. Read More
Preserving and Protecting Native Foods
At a Slow Food dinner seven years ago, native foods chef John Farais and California native landscaper Alrie Middlebrook began an ongoing conversation about the importance of integrating native plants into our daily lives and diets. Read More
The Cheese Pavilion at Taste
As the nation’s leading dairy state and second-largest producer of cheese, California is a natural location for Slow Food Nation’s Cheese Pavilion—an homage to all things cheesy. Read More
Worm Wars
There’s something about caring for a tomato plant that brings out every nurturing instinct in me. I am literally in constant motion during peak season, in a long, choreographed dance of pruning, irrigating, mulching, deworming, and finally, harvesting—my own version of tomato salsa. Read More
Where the Bounty Goes: SF Food BankDistributes Slow Food Victory Garden Produce
Chef Calvin Blake holds the huge, deep green, red-veined leaves up to his nose and breathes in their pungent, sassy aroma. “That smells so good—so fresh!” he exclaims, adding the bags of Giant Red Mustard leaves to his cart. “These are going to be great in salads.” Read More