Overview

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.

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9781474282321

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Reviews

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. * Krista Harper, Professor of Anthropology and Public Policy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA * Valeria Siniscalchi performs a deep examination of the global Slow Food Movement based on over three years of ethnographic fieldwork at its central headquarters, national and international meetings, major events, and grassroots initiatives. In fascinating detail, she describes its Italian DNA and global expansion, its political goals and economic constraints, and its evolving efforts to promote good, clean and fair food. This book makes an important contribution to understanding the nuts and bolts of food activism and political movements more broadly. * Carole Counihan, Professor Emerita of Anthropology, Millersville University, USA * This well-written book elegantly maps how food is a chain of interwoven engagement at many different levels. Readers get a unique insight into the Slow Food movement, built on long-term fieldwork among people dedicated to secure, good, clean, and fair food for all. * Susanne Hojlund, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Aarhus University, Denmark *

"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. * Krista Harper, Professor of Anthropology and Public Policy, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA * Valeria Siniscalchi performs a deep examination of the global Slow Food Movement based on over three years of ethnographic fieldwork at its central headquarters, national and international meetings, major events, and grassroots initiatives. In fascinating detail, she describes its Italian DNA and global expansion, its political goals and economic constraints, and its evolving efforts to promote “good, clean and fair food.” This book makes an important contribution to understanding the nuts and bolts of food activism and political movements more broadly. * Carole Counihan, Professor Emerita of Anthropology, Millersville University, USA * This well-written book elegantly maps how food is a chain of interwoven engagement at many different levels. Readers get a unique insight into the Slow Food movement, built on long-term fieldwork among people dedicated to secure, good, clean, and fair food for all. * Susanne Højlund, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Aarhus University, Denmark *"

Author Information

Valeria Siniscalchi is Professor of Anthropology at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Marseille, France.

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