Slow Food San Diego held it's 4th annual Taste of Slow Food this Sunday at Orfila Vineyard. I couldn't pass up the chance to sample food from so many different restaurants in one location that focus on local foods.

Slow Food International was founded in Italy by Carlo Petrini after the 1986 opening of a McDonald's in Rome's Piazza Spagna. Slow Food San Diego was started in 2001 by Gordon Smith, owner of Basil Street Cafe in Encinitas and other food related businesses. Their goal is to promote people's interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it taste, and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.

One thing I identified with that seemed evident in the mood of the event, what people said, and what I've read about Slow Food is that much of what they do is for the pure enjoyment of partaking in life around food. They celebrate the pleasure of farming, cooking, and eating. Here's a photo of the chefs on stage getting a round of applause.

This event got me to thinking about my motivation for the restaurant project based on local foods. Many reasons stated for supporting local foods don't resonate with me. I'll list them here and tell why they don't motivate me.

* More money for the local economy: Local farmers earn our business by providing value. Value means prices that people are willing to pay or a specific quality, convenience, and intagibles (connection with food, personality of farmer, etc.). Buying local is not about charity towards local producers. Protectionism also means that we can't sell our amazing products outside of San Diego, so don't forget that it goes both ways.

* Healthier food: There are health benefits, but they are fairly abstract and long term.

* Better for the environment: This depends much on what you're eating, how you prepare it, and where it comes from. Again, these are abstract and long term.

* Improves food security: I believe it does, but this doesn't motivate me on a day-to-day basis.

* Support your local farmer: Supporting your local farm implies other reasons, as it is not a reason in itself. The phrase itself implies a sort of charity, as if I would be paying more for something than the value I get out of it or giving money to someone who didn't earn it in some way. I believe charity generally has negative consequences, creating dependent people or encouraging behavior that is the opposite of what is needed for success and happiness. Farmers have so much to offer (good food, connection to the land, knowledge of plants and animals, etc.) that buying what they sell does not require charity. Another reason I say this is that I've worked with many business owners over the years who complain about not having enough customers. They want the headquarters to bring more customers in for them or give them bigger discounts on the products they sell. Instead of complaining, the more successful business owners go out and talk to the people in their neighborhood and tell them about the value of what they offer. They don't sit behind the counter waiting for charity.

There are also very powerful forces that discourage me from buying local even when it would otherwise make sense to do so. Here's what they are and what I think should be done about them.

* Laws and subsidies in favor of large farms: Remove farm subsidies so that certain crops (corn, soybeans, etc.) aren't grown when it might make more sense to grown another crop or raise an animal in a different way (grass fed instead of corn fed). Remove laws that favor large farms. For example, to slaughter an animal for commercial sale in San Diego, you would have to pay for a USDA inspector to come to San Diego. Small, commercial animal farms cannot exist in San Diego for this reason. Also, there are many laws about how commercial production facilities have to be constructed (sinks, entrances, etc.) that exclude people from making food for sale on a very small scale. The goal is safety, not exclusion of small farms and producers.

* Lack of environmental protection: Have strong environmental laws so that the true environmental cost is included in the price of the food produced. Individually, we generally don't act in ways that preserve the environment to the level we would like collectively. This is one of the few areas I think government regulation is extremely important.

* Energy: Stop government policies (wars, subsidies, etc.) that keep fuel prices far lower than their true cost.

So given the current status of the world, and my take on the various reasons people give for buying local, how in the heck do I decide what to eat? Should I buy this banana that was shipped from half way around the world? Should I buy this fast food hamburger? I would answer those questions by asking myself if I'm looking for fulfillment or just to get full and if there is something else that would better fill my hunger for food and fulfillment. Some days I'll opt for the banana and the hamburger. Some days I won't. I don't see either answer as moral or immoral. But I do see that each time I opt for something local, it fills my need for a connection to the creation of the food.

Now that I'm down from my soapbox, here are some more photos of the event. Slow Food seems like an excellent organization and I look forward to learning more about them.