The international Slow Food Movement is more than 20 years old, but many people still find themselves somewhat at a loss when they initially  discover the phenomenon. Some people assume that the term refers to advocating food that takes a long time to cook, eat, or even digest. But perhaps, given American culture's ever-quickening pace, it isn't surprising that that we're often a little, well, slow, when it comes to understanding Slow Food.

Taking your time over dinner is certainly part of what Slow Food is all about, says Holly Shelowitz, certified nutritionist, proprietor of Nourishing Wisdom, Inc., and a member of the steering committee of the Hudson Valley chapter of Slow Food USA. "Something I teach my clients over and over is to literally eat slowly, to chew their food well, and appreciate the flavors and textures. An exercise I do with them is to have them notice how many times they chew each bite, then increase it,"  she says. "In Europe," Shelowitz points out, "appreciation of gastronomy  is the lifestyle, [but] here in the States, we have gotten really busy as a culture and the pleasure of eating often is passed by."  However, she adds, members of the Slow Food Movement make a conscious effort to take things easier regarding all aspects of eating, by making the time to cook more often, to create the time to enjoy good food, with good company, s-l-o-w-l-y! Make believe you are in Italy enjoying it all!

Not surprisingly, it actually was in Italy, a nation in which maintaining a languid pace and lingering over convivial meals is nothing short of an art form, that the Slow Food Movement was launched in 1986 as the most civilized possible backlash against the American fast-food industry. Founder Carlo Petrini and others objected to the homogenization of taste being promulgated by fast-food franchises like McDonald's, which they saw as the cause of the annihilation of thousands of flavors and food varieties. Petrini wished to protect Italy's gastronomic traditions, as the mainstay of his country's culture. By 1989, Slow Food had caught on throughout Europe and beyond, with delegates from 20 countries signing a poetic-sounding manifesto that declared, in part:

"We are enslaved by speed and have all succumbed to the same insidious virus: Fast Life, which disrupts our habits, pervades the privacy of our homes, and forces us to eat Fast Foods. To be worthy of the name, Homo Sapiens should rid himself of speed before it reduces him to a species in danger of extinction. Our defense should begin at the table with Slow Food. Let us rediscover the flavors and savors of regional cooking and banish the degrading effects of Fast Food."

Today, the Slow Food Movement is an international association that's spread to more than 100 countries and attracted more than 80,000 members, from chefs to vintners to growers to foodies to regular folks who are dedicated to celebrating food through events hosted by local convivia, regional groups that work together toward preserving culturally significant foods and traditional cultivation and processing techniques, and defending domestic and wild animal and vegetable species. Slow Food USA boasts 12,000 members, organized throughout the country into 140 convivia.

Both the Slow Food Movement and its nonprofit offshoot, the Slow Food Foundation of Biodiversity (SFFB), which was established in 2003, have come about none too soon. Since 1900, the SFFB website reports, 75 percent of European and 93 percent of American food, product diversity has been lost; 33 percent of traditional livestock varieties have either disappeared or are close to disappearing; and over the past century, 30,000 heirloom vegetable varieties have become extinct, with one more being lost every six hours.

Slow Food arrived in the Hudson Valley in 2002 courtesy of Gayil Greene, a longtime staff member of Phillies Bridge Farm Project in Gardiner, who headed the local Slow Food chapter until recently. Current Hudson Valley Slow Food (HVSF) convivium coleaders are Lani Raider, assistant professor, the Culinary Institute of America, and Leslie Coons, a writer and editor who contributes frequently to Valley Table magazine. HVSF attracts members from Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, and Rockland counties who share an interest in food, culture, and the beauty of the Hudson Valley.  The local convivium's mission is to gather and share information with our members and the larger community about food and the farm heritage of the region; to support local farms, wineries, and other food purveyors in the Hudson Valley; to encourage the nexus of community, culture, and farm through outreach; and to celebrate the valley's culinary riches by inviting people back to the pleasures of the table. "I believe that Slow Food is reminding people to enjoy the pleasures of the table with family and friends," says Raider. "I think that people are enjoying Slow Food meals both in and out of the house. What is evident is that people are approaching both the meal and the foods being served with a kind of renewed enthusiasm, excitement, and anticipation. These meals gather family and friends and create a life that is rich, full, and grounded in our fast-paced world. Slowing down, one can enjoy life much more fully."

So far, says Raider, she has seen HVSF having a direct impact on local agriculture and food producers through establishing an annual chef-farmer dinner, bringing chefs and farmers together to network and work collaboratively and support each other. HVSF also hosts educational events, including a workshop for farmers on cold-weather cropping and a one-day festival of fermented products. Last month, HVSF screened the film Future of Food at Upstate Films in Rhinebeck, and invited the community into an open discourse on concerns about agricultural practices that are endangering our future food supply.

Although Slow Food is largely focused on dining at home, several area restaurants have begun to cook and serve the Slow Food way, says Raider, including New World Home Cooking Cafe in Saugerties, Gadaletto's and the Village Tea Room in New Paltz, Gigi's in Rhinebeck, Miss Lucy's Kitchen in Saugerties, the Country Inn in Kerhonkson, and at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, thanks to the enterprising new student group CSA Chefs Sustaining Agriculture. However, warns Shelowitz, have patience when visiting restaurants that are part of the slow food movement: Since the food is made fresh, it naturally takes longer getting to the table.

Hudson Valley Slow Food holds quarterly meetings and community dinners, and sponsors (and cosponsors) events that advance the convivium's mission. Past events have included annual chef-farm networking dinners to enhance the regional farm-food connection; a bread-baking demonstration and tasting at the 1760 Elmendorph Inn's restored brick beehive oven, in Red Hook; fundraising for the Phillies Bridge Farm-to-Family Project; harvesting produce from a member garden in Hopewell Junction for a local food pantry; and assorted tastings and potluck dinners featuring seasonal local products. The biggest annual event is HVSF Family Farm Festival, scheduled for Sunday, September 11. VSF is a proud sponsor of this event, says coleader Lani Raider. It brings the entire community together to gather, learn, eat, and have a great time. For more information on this and other upcoming events, or to join HVSF, visit www.hudsonvalleyslowfood.org.