The summer of Slow Food

Merrill Shindler reports.

Mango madness

Coming of age

Coup de foie gras

The real thing

Sad good-bye

A final toast

San Francisco—It was 41 years ago that a new generation—concerned about the direction the world was taking—convened in San Francisco for the Summer of Love. Which, of course, eventually boiled down to a nonstop orgy of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll. But of course, that was then. This is now. And it's amazing how a mere four decades can change the cultural landscape. Come Labor Day, Slow Food Nation will convene in San Francisco for four days of, well, organically grown vegetables, sustainable produce, artisan products, and righteous satisfaction. There may or may not be sex, though it's sure to be safe, and probably monogamous. Drugs will lean more toward vitamins than mescaline. And though there will be rock 'n' roll, it will be "Slow Food Nation Rock"—more mellow than acid. Welcome to the State of Alternative Living 2008.

The Slow Food movement began with culinary activist Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986—response to the opening of a McDonald's at the foot of the Spanish steps in Rome. But if Petrini is the Father of Slow Food, Alice Waters is the Mother of the Movement. And as a child of the counterculture of the '60s, she understands the logistics and semiotics of getting people involved.

Waters is listed as the "Founder" of Slow Food Nation (and international vice president of Slow Food), presiding over a board of directors that includes Josh Viertel, founder and director of the Yale Sustainable Food Project, and a staff that includes one person described as "justice director," who we're told is "anticipating board certification in holistic nutrition…" My point is, these are not people for whom food is just something you eat with a beer. These are True Believers, for whom food is a statement. As Waters wrote in the Nation, "…when we have learned what the real costs of food are, and relearned the real rewards of eating, we will have laid a foundation for not just a healthier food system but a healthier 21st century democracy." As we used to say back in the day, "heavy!"

Slow Food Nation '08 "Come to the Table" will be held Labor Day weekend, from Friday, August 29 through Monday, September 1, at both San Francisco's Civic Center and its Fort Mason Center in the shadow of the Golden Gate Bridge.

At the Civic Center, there'll be "Food for Thought" talks by the gurus of the movement—Eric Schlosser, Marion Nestle, Michael Pollan, and, of course, Waters and Petrini. There'll be a 15,000-square-foot Victory Garden planted on the lawn of Civic Center Plaza and a Marketplace, where an estimated 100 farmers and artisanal producers will display and sell the fruits of their labor.

For those in need of a little something to eat at the Civic Center, there'll be a multiethnic food court—Slow on the Go—where "sustainable, fully source-verified ingredients" will be used in the "South Indian dosas, grass-fed beef burgers, Afghan bolani, peach ice cream sandwiches, and more."

There's Changemakers Day, when "activists in the fields of social justice, the environment, agriculture, culture, and policy will focus on a common theme of forging a 'slow' and sustainable food system." There's a gathering of the National Congress of Slow Food convivium leaders from all 50 states. And, perhaps the highlight of the weekend will be an opening dinner for 500 on Civic Center Plaza to "celebrate urban-rural partnerships featuring food grown in urban gardens and products grown on farms in the counties surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area."

At the same time, there's a parallel world at Fort Mason, with an event called "Taste"—a tasting of "beer, bread, cured meat, cheese, chocolate, honey, preserves, ice cream, native foods, pickles, spirits, tea, and wine." There'll be Taste Workshops built around topics like American Raw Milk Cheeses and Small-Batch Soy Sauce. There'll be a County Fair where children can explore activities like beekeeping. And there's Slow Food Nation Rocks, a series of concerts.

There are other activities planned as well—Slow Dinners at local restaurants; Slow Journeys to local "gastronomic hot spots"; Slow Hikes through the "agricultural landscapes of the Bay Area." In the Nation, Waters echoed Brillat-Savarin, writing that "Food is destiny." But over Labor Day weekend, it's also educational fun for the whole family. Just take it slow.