Carlo Petrini, the man who was born on June 22, 1949, is the founder of the international Slow Food movement. The movement was first formed in 1986 in Italy and has now spread all over the world.
The first public figure of Carlo was in the 1980s when he took part in a campaign against fast food at the opening of McDonald’s fast food outlets near the Spanish Steps in Rome. In 1983, Carlo found and develop an Italian nonprofit association in the field of food and wine called Arcigola. Together with this association, Carlo is trying to prevent the opening of a McDonald branch in Rome. Unfortunately, the prevention effort failed.
Although Carlo failed, He kept trying again and again. Three years after his failure with Arcigola, Carlo formed a new organization called Slow Food (1986). The organization was created with the aim of making a movement promoting local food, gastronomy, and traditional food production. In other words, the movement contradicts fast food, industrial food production, and globalization.
Carlo Petrini is actually a former political activist in the communist movement of the Unity Party of the Proletariat (in Italian: Partito in Unità Proletaria, PdUP). But in 1977, Carlo began contributing in culinary articles to Communist daily newspapers Il Manifesto and L’Unità. This gray-bearded man is editor of various publications and publishing houses Slow Food Editore. He also often writes weekly columns in one of Italy’s oldest newspapers, La Stampa.
Carlo Petrini describes himself as a professional gourmet. The goal of establishing Slow Food is nothing but to fight for regional traditions, healthy food, gastronomic enjoyment, and slow phase of life.
For more than two decades in history, this movement has evolved to include a comprehensive approach to food. This approach is used to introduce a strong relationship between dinner plates, planets, people, politics, and culture.
Currently, the Slow Food movement has had tens of thousands of members scattered in various countries throughout the hemisphere. No one had expected that this movement would grow quickly. Whereas Slow Food originally only started from an informal chat for food lovers in Bra, Italy. The conversation started out very simply when gathered in pubs and tattoos (an Italian restaurant that provides simple food) around town to simply eat and drink local wine.
Enjoying those simple moments made Carlo and his friends feel very happy. However, He deeply regretted that in fact in a few years later such places may no longer be found. This thinking that makes Carlo more willing to create small changes, starting from his own environment.
There were two events that convinced Carlo in 1986 that Italy was in a state of crisis and needed a helping hand. First, the opening of a McDonald branch outlet in the heart of Rome. Second, the deaths of 19 people and hundreds of Italians who were poisoned by the consumption of cheap wine that turned out to contain methanol.
When the famous American hamburger company went to Italy, also France and other countries, they were greeted with a demonstration of anger. Although Carlo was also angry, he realized that opening conflicts with multinational companies is useless. For that, he prefers to shed his anger by building awareness that the wealth of traditional food is in a threatened position.
This is a very intelligent war strategy. Instead of fighting out with energy for the things that are useless, resistance can also be made visible. For example, rather than throwing or destroying fast food, try to start shifting to healthier traditional foods. Making delicious, eco-friendly, and clean foods is a Carlo Petrini principle embodied in the Slow Food movement.
