My Sunday afternoon feast began with a salad of apples, red onions, roasted hickory nuts, goat cheese and mixed greens dressed in a sherry vinaigrette. The salad gave way to a generous portion of apple cider-brined pit-roasted turkey. Finally, in order to ensure I would not go home without a distended stomach, my hosts offered me a subtly sweet, incredibly moist, frangipane-filled apple cake.
The feast was fantastic, and all of the approximately 50 people in attendance enjoyed the delicious food. The quality of the food, however, was not the only thing that made the feast remarkable.
First and foremost, all of the ingredients were locally grown. While this may seem unsurprising in the agriculturally rich Midwest, local food has become uncommon even in this region of the country.
Unlike today’s fast food-philic society, our Midwestern forbears cooked all of their meals in the home using fresh, local ingredients. My own grandparents still remember a time from their childhoods when a peach from Georgia was a rare treat. Now, they don’t bat an eye when eating Chilean apples or Big Macs made from a hodgepodge of agricultural commodities from across the country.
Some would argue that this change is the laudable product of capitalist efficiency. Others feel that modern society’s reliance on shipping inexpensive food over long distances has hurt local agriculture and contributed to U.S. reliance on foreign oil.
The sponsors of Sunday’s feast, a group called Slow Food Madison, fall into the latter category. They are a local chapter of an international organization that promotes "good, clean and fair food." Slow Food argues that industrial farming and the demand for quick, easy meals have had a negative impact on food across the world. They feel society’s emphasis on convenient and inexpensive food has resulted in poorer farmers and inferior food. In order to remedy this, Slow Food promotes a return to more traditional and sustainable modes of growing, cooking and enjoying food.
They proved on Sunday that they have the enjoyment part down pat. Whether it was due to the tryptophan in the turkey or the simple act of sitting down to a meal together, everyone became relaxed and friendly during lunch, and this convivial atmosphere was very conducive to discussing the ideals of Slow Food.
Furthermore, the setting for the feast, the Crawford family farm, was a very appropriate location in light of the group’s ideology. Feeling a connection with the food one eats is much easier when sitting at a festively full table next to a field of sheep than it is in a plastic booth at a greasy fast food joint.
After the meal, as we watched the Crawford family’s pigs frolic, a friend and I discussed the wonderful meal we had just eaten. Not only was it delicious, but the meal’s provenance and preparation made it a remarkable, slow experience in a world where fast food has become the norm.
Nevertheless, even the most idealistic members of Slow Food must realize that this kind of feasting is impossible on a daily basis. If it were convenient to go to a farm and eat roast turkey for lunch every day, Easy Mac would have no reason for existing.
Of course, eating "slowly" also seems like a particularly daunting task for a college student. There is a widespread idea that students experience so much pressure to succeed in the classroom and in their extracurricular activities that there is no time to cook for themselves. Add to this the cost of buying fresh, local produce, and the notion of slow eating in college begins to seem even more unfeasible.
However, Slow Food insists it is possible. In fact, a new student organization is coming to campus to attempt to prove it.
At the feast, Slow Food Madison director Susan Boldt announced that the University of Wisconsin was in the process of starting a chapter of Slow Food Campus, the organization’s collegiate branch. UW student Genya Erling and professor of consumer science Lydia Zepeda are currently working to bring the organization to campus, and they will hold a kickoff meeting in room 78 of the Human Ecology building Oct. 30.
Although slow eating may be difficult to fit into the busy schedule of a college student, the feast I attended on Sunday proved to me that it is well worth the effort. By slowing down enough to make the decision to buy local produce, cook fresh food and enjoy it in the company of good people, we can reconnect with the traditions of our ancestors while forming a sustainable, happy future.
