The Speed of Food

HOW THE SLOW FOOD MOVEMENT IS PUTTING AN ACCESSIBLE SPIN ON FAST FOOD Written by Braden Ross, Culture Editorial Assistant Graphic by Kate Madigan, Staff Graphic Artist

In 1948, two brothers opened a small burger joint in San Bernardino, California. Their vision was to create a restaurant that could serve a lot of food very quickly at low prices. They limited their menu to a few tried and true items, implemented self-service counters to eliminate the need for servers and made their burgers ahead of time so they’d be ready right when customers ordered them.1 Though they didn’t know it at the time, the brothers had created what would become the most iconic fast-food franchise in history: McDonald’s. Thus, fast food was born, becoming a $650 billion industry by 2019.2

Despite its popularity, the fast-food industry has faced significant backlash for its low standards and unhealthy options, often targeted toward low-income areas due to their need for cheap prices and easy accessibility. As the fast food revolution spread across the world, so did the resistance.

In 1986, McDonald’s faced serious pushback when they opened a restaurant at the bottom of the iconic Spanish Steps in Rome. Many Romans saw the new franchise as an invasion of

American “fast culture” and unhealthy habits.3 In Italy, political activist Carlo

Petrini proposed an opposing vision for nutrition: Slow Food.

Created in direct contention with fast food, Slow Food was made with the goal of promoting traditional, regional cuisine and local, healthy ingredients. Globally, the Slow Food movement works on projects to preserve biodiversity, advocate for sustainable food systems and reduce food waste, among other initiatives.4

¹ “McDonald’s History, Ray Kroc, & Facts,” Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed October 20, 2021. ² Raju Kale and Roshan Deshmukh, “Fast Food Market Size, Share & Trend | Industry Research Report, 2027,” Allied Market Research, accessed October 20, 2021. ³ Suzanne Zuppello, “Slow Food’s Elitism Only Fueled My Craving for McDonald’s,” Eater, October 18, 2018, ⁴ “Slow Food International,” Slow Food InternaOver the years, the Slow Food movement has gained global traction. It even reached UW’s campus in 2008 with the creation of Slow Food UW, a student organization aiming to promote sustainable, local food systems on campus.

On Monday nights, Slow Food UW holds Family Dinner Night, where they serve a $5-8 three-course meal to anyone who wants it. With the goal of being as inclusive as possible, they also provide vegan and gluten-free options where they can. On Wednesdays, they hold a similar $5 lunch event called Cafe. Both events are held in the basement of The Crossing on University Ave. Some recent dishes have included butternut squash and veggie pizza, pumpkin lentil falafel with sweet tahini and sweet potato black bean tacos with cilantro lime sauce.

Due to its emphasis on local food, which tends to be more expensive and harder for low-income communities to find, the movement has faced criticism for elitism and inaccessibility. However, Slow Food is working to change that. For Slow Food UW, this commitment to inclusivity includes a Pay it Forward option at their food services, in which customers can make donations that allow the group to provide free meals to anyone, no

questions asked. They also organize South Madison programs that include cooking and gardening classes for the greater Madison community. Though Mcdonald’s was instrumental in pioneering the fast food industry, movements like Slow Food provide a new lens to view food accessibility and health. Slow Food UW is taking important steps toward modernizing easy and healthy food, ensuring that people everywhere have access to a vision of food freedom. ■

Globally, the Slow Food movement works on projects to preserve biodiversity, advocate for sustainable food systems and reduce food waste, among other initiatives.