Critical food guidance from the slow food movement: The relationship barometer

Abstract

The Slow Food movement embeds food guidance that encourages interaction with local food production and appreciation of local cuisine. It advocates critical thinking and actions that support the preservation of traditional food practices, as well as environmental considerations around food harvesting and processing. We begin by contextually situating Slow Food as a movement and a change agent. We then introduce a critical guidance tool called the Slow Food Relationship Barometer, developed by Fader and Mesmain from their experience in southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. This tool is meant for use by advocacy groups and policy makers rather than individuals. It is based on the view that identifying and assessing the multiple relationships intrinsic to a local food product—from origins to the table—can reveal pathways toward its improved sustainability. We illustrate how the Relationship Barometer can be applied to the case of wild and farmed salmon, which also underlies the Slow Fish movement.