Elizabeth Silber
November 10th Re-post
Research Paper

Originally the movement known as the Slow Food Movement began in 1986 by a man named Carlo Petrini. Beginning in Bra, Italy, he began this movement to initiate a stand against the opening of a new McDonalds near the Spanish steps in Rome. While doing so Petrini came up with the motto of this movement, which is good, clean, and fair. The essential idea behind this revolution was to attempt to preserve the cultural cuisines of Italy associated with natural plants and ingredients. The importance of appreciating domestic animals and environmental landscapes is also the center of the Slow Food revolution.
While researching this movement I began to look at the types of tea infusers and how they play a part in slowing down daily life in order to enjoy life and have a more healthy lifestyle overall. We are so programmed to run from place to place and get things done in the small amounts of time we have and therefore fast food has become a relatively normal part of life. Convenience has become a double-edged sword in terms of the foods we eat versus the speed at which we can eat them.
Some of the objectives of the Slow Food Movement are creating and maintaining seed banks and preserving basic ingredients in connection to local food systems that currently exist, educating consumers about the risks of consuming fast food, developing political programs to conserve family-owned farms, lobbying against the utilization of pesticides, encouraging consumerism in an ethical manner, and teaching gardening skills.
While no one can really tell you exactly how successful this movement is, considering the origin in 1986, many of the people I know have begun to rethink the foods they eat. I know that specifically as a college student that recently I have begun to try to limit the amount of fast food I eat. Many friends of mine say that fast food is cheap and convenient and that that’s why they eat it, but over time we have begun to find other ways to control our budget while eating healthier and making more informed decisions about where and what we eat. As we have gone in 2009 and soon-to-be 2010, there has been a push for things to be organic, less trans fat, more veggies and fruits, etc. This has allowed people to begin to change the environment of fast food. While its still not healthy and often the ingredients are less than mediocre, McDonalds, Burger King, and Wendy’s have begun to include salads, fruits, milk, and other alternatives to the fried foods they offer. They have expanded their menus in order to address the issue of healthy foods, but now it’s a matter of convenience. It’s so quick and easy to eat snack foods or fast food but in the end are we sacrificing our family dinnertime? Our time with friends enjoying a meal? Time in general to cook dinner and take that time for oneself? I think so.
Instead of looking for convenience in fast food I have begun to take the time once a week to sit down with my family for a home-cooked meal. Every Monday night (or most) our family sits down to eat dinner and every person makes something so we are all participating. It’s nice to have at least once a week where we aren’t running around or stressing out about work or school, just time with one another.
In terms of the Slow Movement, I am aware of how important these issues are. As I researched the movement a few words came to mind that I would like to maybe incorporate into my piece or the creation of my piece. When I begin to sketch I think I will look to these words so that I can incorporate the Slow Food Movement into the finished product of my piece. The words I thought of were friends, family, organic, healthy, consciousness, choices, farm, fairness, cooperation, and environment.
Now as for my actual piece I would like to create a tea strainer that embodies the essence of tea itself. When I think about tea or a tea infuser I think about the luxury of time. I think about a cold day when you can take a minute to enjoy a warm cup of tea or coffee in sweatpants. The importance of taking time for yourself and enjoying the best ingredients whether various types of tea leaves or the actual process of straining tea. With my piece I want whoever uses it to be able to enjoy taking a minute out of their day for themselves.
I would also like to include some beading in addition to my sterling silver. IF not beading, I want to add an element of luxury, whether sparkle or color. I would like to create a tea ball strainer as well. After studying tea strainers I saw that many used them in the 19th century when teatime was prominent in daily life and now many people collect these antiques as decorative pieces for their home. I think the tea infuser, as an antique would take someone back in time whether they use it for tea or they use it for decoration. Either way it allows you to think of a time where life was slower and could be enjoyed a little longer.