Food Yoga – The Slow Food Movement

What is the Slow Food Movement anyway?

While browsing Black Girls Guide To Weight Loss I read a great article on the Slow Food Movement. I went to the website slowfood.org and got their definition. “Slow Food is an idea, a way of living and a way of eating. It is a global, grassroots movement with thousands of members around the world that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment.”

In short, it gets us back to basics.

For many of us- food=love.

We had dinner around a table. Our mothers, aunts grandmothers or dads etc. cooked, and we ate. They went to the grocery store or food stand. But the biggest part? The smells that came out of a kitchen and conversation that happened around a table.

That’s powerful stuff right there.

Family dinner can be a time of fellowship, communion and a time when the important thing is what is right in front of you. In this day and age of single parent incomes, video games and smart phones- it’s hard to slow down and eat together.

It may not happen every night- and it doesn’t have to be a five-course meal- but not having it could be costly. Families that eat together are less likely to have kids that do drugs, get depressed, drop out of school or get pregnant. Kids who eat around a table with others do better in school. It matters and the data shows that.

The folks at Slow Food know that and all over the world they are raising awareness- it seems that we are a better planet when we know where our food comes and take time to cook it. There is much debate over whether it is more expensive to cook your own food- and let’s face it- the dollar menu can come in handy.

The reality, though? Raised on nothing but fast food- people face an increased risk of diabetes-, which in the long run cost much more in doctors’ bills. Long term thinking of living in the moment makes this thought process hard to grasp.

The idea that tomorrow ay never come is tempting- but tomorrow does come for most of us- we should make the most of it and give ourselves and our children the best shot by shopping along the aisles of a supermarket and taking a few extra minutes to make dinner instead of take out.

Our lives may depend on it.

This is yoga. Take it slow.

Namaste y’all.