Much of the slow food concepts of locally grown (home grown, too), safely grown is worthy and not too hard to grasp. Healthier foods, basic foods. But, with much anymore there is a linkage with causes, progressive causes, that is anti-big business or anti-capitalism. Collectivization dreams or utopian ideals of food production shade the health and simplicity of slow foods mantra. Who can argue with backyard gardens. My God, it was the norm in my city neighborhood 50 years ago. Everyone had a garden of varying sizes and definitely fruit trees. Somewhere, we gravitated away from growing our own to the super market produce.
That, I imagine, was a realization that others could do it easier, with less sweat. The joy of gardening or self sufficiency was not all it was cracked up to be for many. The fact that urban hipsters have reconnected to the joy of gardening does not negate the decisions of their parents to give up on the practice. To spend time and effort doing other pursuits they deemed worthy. Even today, I have friends that fancy themselves urban farmers. They start off well, reconnecting to the earth come April/May, but by August/September their gardens lay neglected or under harvested because of the distractions the always involved hipsters see as equally worthy.
Frankly, most of them are so involved in their own distractions, they forsake the urban farming for grocers that cater to their sense of organic or locally grown…not much different than the 1960′s decisions. So, ok less chemicals, support local farming (100 mile radius). But, finally, I get to the point…the simplest, reasonable concept has to be tainted with bigger agendas of progressive snarkism. Dancing With The Devil is a honest discussion of balancing a reasonable discussion of slow food v. agri-devils.
“Just ask the French, who started a revolution for liberty, equality and fraternity but ended up exchanging one tyrant for another.”
Slow Food and all the rest (free range chickens) is good. Just collective efforts to force any of it be damned. Simplicity and liberty are good.
