Healthy living goes slow and organic

The charm of the burgers and pizzas persist. Health advisories also persist in telling you how bad fast food is for your well-being.

But somewhere amidst the cacophony people are realising the worth of that age-old saying — that ‘slow and steady wins the race’.

And followers of this mantra are turning to the food that is slow too.

So the ‘back to the roots’ movement, christened better as the Slow Food Movement, is making its presence felt amidst the spiralling market for fast foods.

Carlo Petrini, the founder of the movement, is of the opinion that the concept of sustainable and healthy lifestyle is under threat from multinationals who are invading our culture with fast food. But despite the onslaught, people are gradually opting for healthier eating options over empty calories.

“It is time the movement took a global form,” feels Petrini, who is busy organising people who vouch for their traditional cuisine.

Founded in 1986 in Italy, the Slow Food Movement gained the status of an international association within a short span of three years.

It now boasts of 86,000 active members with offices in Germany, Switzerland, the US, France, Japan, and Britain. In fact, Terra Madre, the world meeting of food communities held every two years was born out of the Slow Food Movement.

The third such meeting will take place later this October. 16,000 food communities from five continents, over 5,000 farmers, breeders, fishermen and artisan food producers, 1,000 chefs, restaurateurs and domestic cooks will descend in Turin, Italy, to showcase and defend ethnic cuisines from different countries.

It will also be marked by the presence of 500 educationists and nearly 1,000 youth from the Youth Food Movement.

“Traditional food not only reflects the culture of the place but is also in tandem with the natural environment. Therefore, its health and eco-gastronomic quotient is high,” says Petrini.

Take India for instance. Chef Manjit Gill of ITC Maurya Sheraton, Delhi, explains: “Our ancient Ayurvedic texts prescribe eco-gastronomy. The universe is made up of five elements — aakash, vayu, agni, jal and prithivi. These five elements manifest three doshas in our body called vat, pitt and kaph. Imbalance in the three doshas leads to diseases.”

Infusing prana through rasa

Explaining the association of taste with traditional food, he says that rasa (taste) is the essence of Indian eco-gastronomy. Traditional food appeals to the rasa and also to the need of the body to adjust according to the three doshas.

“The taste directly affects our nervous system through — prana — the life force in the mouth, which is connected to the life force in the brain. Taste stimulates the nerves, awakens the mind and senses. It is the good taste that awakens the agni in our body for proper digestion,” he says, further adding that Indian traditional food is based on five elements, three strands, five senses, three humours, six savours and nine feelings.

Traditional food like idli, dosa, parantha and chhole bhature appeal to distinct tastes and eco-gastronomic conditions of the people in different geo-climatic regions of the country, asserts Gill.

The Slow Food Movement regards the participation of chefs necessary in popularising the concept among elites through 5-star hotels. It also emphasises on the need for taste education as part of the curriculum and supports sustainable and organic farming.

Petrini believes food science has developed along with civilisations in various parts of the world. Local food has its own unique taste. The invasion of fast food chains at the behest of multinationals like McDonalds seeks to replace this cultural diversity in food by a mono-food culture across the world. He says “an organised resistance to such invasion is imperative. People are now taking pride in their heritage, he says.

Promoting organic food

In India several NGOs are promoting the concept of slow food. Vandana Shiva-led Navdanya has organic farms in Dehradun and retail outlets and food cafes for selling the organic produce and traditional gastronomic fare in different parts of the country. “Obesity, diabetes, blood pressure, heart diseases and other functional disorders are common among the urban elites.

There is, therefore, a growing awareness for having healthy traditional food. We in Navdanya are promoting this cause through our food outlets and organic food melas,” says Shiva.

Petrini visited Navdanya farms and cafes on his recent visit to India. “The demand for organic food and traditional preparations is growing among elites in cities. And, a majority of the people residing in rural and semi-rural areas are continuing with their traditional lifestyles and food habits,” he feels.

Krishan Bir Chaudhary, president of Bharatiya Krishak Samaj and also a participant at the Terra Madre-2006 cannot agree more. “Nearly 60% of the cultivated area in India, even without irrigation facilities, is organic by default. It is time to focus on marketing our organic produce in the world market at premium prices. The demand for traditional Indian cuisine is also growing in foreign countries, not only among overseas Indians, but also among the local population.”

Down south, the Deccan Development Society has organised farmers, particularly women farmers to cultivate millets and other local food crops on wastelands.

It has also opened food outlets for traditional food preparations. “We have motivated women farmers to grow millets organically on wastelands in the drylands of Zaheerabad. Their produce is bought at agreed prices and stored in grain banks managed by the local communities.

We also procure grains from farmers for food outlets we have set up in the nearby township where local cuisine is served in the traditional style” says PV Satheesh of the Deccan Development Society.

The Slow Food Movement does seem to have struck deep roots.