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"Buy local!" aren't we all familiar with this motto? Slow Food movement brings this admirable principle one step further helping to preserve unique local foods and food techniques both in Italy and around the world. Artisan breads, cheeses and sausages, rare old varieties of fruit and vegetables and many other things are collected, analyzed and promoted by Slow Food enthusiasts, often saved from disappearance and utter oblivion in the nick of time. Thus, only yesterday a beautiful old Canadian apple variety of Nova Scotia joined the Canadian Ark of Taste (named after Noah's Ark and intent on the same noble salvaging goal) http://www.slowfoodfoundation. org/eng/leggi.lasso?cod=3E6E34 5B117b71B789ywUu41F8FF

so Canadians in the future will hopefully have a bit more of an apple choice then the usual supermarket one between Granny Smith and Royal Gala.

I actually think that this is the most important part Slow Food plays preservation of endangered food species. But Slow Food is more than that. The movement initially started in 1989 as an opposition to globalization and ubiquitous identical Fast Food chains, such as MacDonald's and so on. What jubilation there was a couple of years ago when the only MacDonald's in a small town of Southern Italy was forced to close down for the lack of the customers, because for their sandwiches everybody went to the local artisan baker who made them with his fresh-baked country bread. Slow Food issues food guides and food magazines and generally spreads the word about both good things to eat and good (and that doesn't necessary mean expensive) places to eat them at.

Yet another important function of Slow Food is gastronomic education. As everybody knows Fast Food holds a strong appeal for children and Slow Food is trying to counteract it by making old traditional food interesting to the new generation and succeeding! Slow Food has also brought into being the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy and many other educational programs.

But returning to the most vital activity of Slow Food movement, that of preserving biodiversity: if you know of a rare local food product or food technique I do hope that you would go to http://www.slowfoodfoundation. com/ and submit it to Slow Food's notice either for the Ark of Taste or for the Presidium category, it's relatively easy and free of hassle. Get on the Slow Food snail trail you will enjoy it and help our world gastronomic heritage to survive.

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