Slow Food committee member Charlotte Howlett Jones with member Martin Myram in support

'THERE is more to life than simply increasing its speed,' said Gandhi - and his words have a particular resonance today. Nicola Rayner looks at the campaign for Slow Food and meets Dorset's supporters.

A recent study looked into the speed at which Brits complete a range of everyday tasks and the results show we are doing things faster than ever before and demanding instant gratification.

One thing that has got faster is the speed at which we eat. One in five people eat their evening meal in 10 minutes or less and fast food joints are taking over the world, none too slowly. The prospect of a branch of McDonald's opening under Rome's Spanish Steps in 1986 so horrified Italian journalist Carlo Petrini that he started a whole movement in opposition to fast food, namely Slow Food. Now his organisation is a non-profit, eco-gastronomic, member-supported movement with over 83,000 members worldwide.

Slow Food aims to preserve, encourage, and promote local specialities, for example, cheeses, traditional ales, breeds of animals, and varieties of fruits and vegetables. A key theme is to unite those who enjoy good food with the environmentalists who want to support local, small-scale producers, especially those using organic farming methods. Its emblem is the snail, seen as a symbol both of gastronomy and of 'slowness'.

The movement came to Dorset in 2004 after Amanda Streatfeild of Denhay Farm returned from a trip to Italy.

"We had a stall at the Salone del Gusto which is the Slow Food international fair in Turin, which brings together Slow Food producers from all over the world. I felt that in Dorset we have got such a history of good food production, it would be good to highlight that and support producers all over the world. We have got about 90 members at the moment."

Amanda is the leader of the local branch, or convivium of Slow Food. A convivium (plural convivia) is a feast or banquet or, more broadly, a living together, from con + vivo. One thing that unites the convivium is support for the overall principals of the international Slow Food movement. The convivium collects information about regional food and drink, whether it be good shops or restaurants, or food and drink products under threat, and passes on this information to Slow Food members worldwide.

Conviviality and enjoying yourself are essential features of Slow Food membership. Artisan producers, traditional methods, unique food flavours, varieties, rare breeds and education are central to the ethos of Slow Food. Each convivium has a leader, like Amanda, who is responsible for organising food and wine events, tasting workshops and who raises the awareness of small local producers.

Amanda explained: "Slow Food is producing food traditionally and properly. We produce farmhouse cheddar and we have to leave it a year to develop its flavour. The watchwords of Slow Food are good, clean and fair.

This means that the food we eat should taste good; that it should be produced in a clean way that does not harm the environment, animal welfare or our health; and that food producers should receive fair compensation for their work."

The programme for 2008 begins with Slow Food Dorset's AGM on March 28 at 7.30pm which will take place at Puddletown Church Hall. With the business part of the evening concluded, a Dorset supper will follow. Plans in the pipeline for this year are an Italian cookery evening in May, followed during the year by a soft fruit tasting event, a visit to the Cranborne Estate, an autumn apple and pear event at Washingpool Farm Shop, and a game supper and talk at Denhay Farm. Slow Food Dorset will also support Bridport Food Festival.

Recently, it has sponsored an award at Weymouth College for the best catering apprentice.

"There are one or two projects under way to support communities across the world," said Amanda. "We have just done some fundraising for Gabon in West Africa and for a community in Mexico that was affected by the floods last October.

"The subscription is £35; some people say what am I getting for that? But we are not just doing it to benefit ourselves, but we give the money to benefit small producers abroad that are struggling. It's an international organisation that does so much good."

Members of Slow Food receive the quarterly Snail Mail magazine together with an annual Slow Food International publication, which features articles on the worldwide movement. While annual membership costs £35, a joint membership costs £47 and young members (under-26) can also join for £20 per year. New members of Slow Food Dorset will be warmly welcomed to any event. Visit www.slowfood.org.uk and www.slowfood.com for more information.

8:14am Monday 24th March 2008

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