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Written by one of the leading experts on food activism, this is the only independent, full-length study of the Slow Food movement. Based on three years of ethnographic fieldwork inside Slow Food's international headquarters in Italy, Valeria Siniscalchi reveals what really goes on behind the scenes of this enigmatic organization. Observing daily meetings, decision-making processes, and major events, she explores the contradictions, complexities, and ambiguities of the movement - as well as the passionate commitment of its employees, members, and leaders.Through talking to insiders and people who have 'broken' with Slow Food, Siniscalchi makes a major contribution to our understanding of one of the most high profile and controversial food movements in the world - and to our knowledge of activist organizations more broadly. This is an essential read for students and scholars in food studies, anthropology, geography, and sociology and anyone interested in Slow Food.
List of contents
Preface
1. Negotiating Fieldwork: How to Study Food Activism?
2. From Politics to Gastronomy and Back: Where Did Slow Food Come From?
3. Power and Governance: How Is the World of Slow Food Governed?
4. Inside the Italian Association
5. Autonomy and Dependence: The Internationalization of Slow Food
6. The "Black Box": How Does the Slow Food Machine Really Work?
7. Gastronomic Biodiversity: How Are the Environment and Food Connected?
8. Cheese Regulations: Political Battles and Economic Interests Inside the Presidia Project
9. Inclusion and Exclusion: The Political Taste of Slow Food
10. Politics at the Dinner Table and in the Vineyards
11. Real and Imagined Economies and Politics in Action: Terra Madre, Salone del Gusto, and Cheese
12. The Pragmatic Utopia of Food Activism: Coping with Ambiguity
Bibliography
Index
About the author
Valeria Siniscalchi is Professor of Anthropology at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Marseille, France.
Summary
Written by one of the leading experts on food activism, this is the only independent, full-length study of the Slow Food movement. Slow Food is a grassroots organisation that embraces a slow way of life, linking the love of food with community and environmental support. Based on three years of ethnographic fieldwork inside Slow Food’s international headquarters in Italy, Valeria Siniscalchi reveals what really goes on behind the scenes of this enigmatic organization. Observing daily meetings, decision-making processes, and major events, she explores the contradictions, complexities, and ambiguities of the movement – as well as the passionate commitment of its employees, members, and leaders.
Through talking to insiders and people who have ‘broken’ with Slow Food, Siniscalchi makes a major contribution to our understanding of one of the most high profile and controversial food movements in the world – and to our knowledge of activist organizations more broadly.
This is an essential read for students and scholars in food studies, anthropology, geography, and sociology and anyone interested in Slow Food.
Foreword
The Slow Food movement is much discussed and critiqued: this is the first full-length study from leading expert Valeria Siniscalchi.
Additional text
In Slow Food: The Economy and Politics of a Global Movement, Valeria Siniscalchi trains her ethnographic lens on the largest and most renowned food activist organizations in the world. Siniscalchi offers a fascinating account of the politics of mobilizing producers, consumers, and policymakers around local, artisanal food. The book's appeal goes far beyond food studies, allowing us to accompany the organization from its early years as a loose alliance of local Italian chapters, to a complex global network advocating gastronomic biodiversity, with growing pains and ongoing debates over the core "food values" of Slow Food.
