We are trying a shortened newsletter format with links to the full articles, as Slow Food USA does.  If you wish to comment on the format, please send your comments to Nina Macdonald at communications@slowfoodoc.org.

Hello Slow Food OC,

November is off to an enthusiastic start!  Several members of our steering committee attended a Slow Food California Leadership meeting hosted by Slow Food Urban San Diego. These meetings always inspire enthusiasm and new ideas. Members from established chapters throughout the state, our newest California Region chapter from the Gold Country, and a chapter in formation from Fresno/Tulare attended the meeting. Several SFUSA staff members as well as Slow Food Mexico International Counselor Alphonso Rocha Robles attended the conference and offered presentations.  

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Terra Madre Day, Slow Food's annual worldwide celebration of local food held on December 10, will take place in communities across the globe. We invite everybody, whether you are a member or not, to join this international day of celebration.

For one day, whoever and wherever you are, Slow Food invites you to put local food in the spotlight through a myriad of different activities: From community picnics and food festivals, to film evenings, rallies and farmers' markets, or even a simple dinner with friends. This year Slow Food Orange County will honor one of our local food traditions, with our tamale-making class.

How should we apply good, clean, fair - the watchwords of the Slow Food movement - to meat? Meat is at the center of much good food and many cherished food traditions. At the same time, meat raises real ethical dilemmas for many people. Much of the meat that is commonly available comes from a system that maximizes production and efficiency but often seems to abandon common sense, animal husbandry traditions, land and water stewardship, and animal welfare not to mention nutrition and taste. At the national level, in June 2014, Slow Food USA will assemble an array of policy experts, food system practitioners, and Slow Food leaders in Denver to identify practical points of intervention for local communities to adopt from field to fork. The resulting menu of actions will be field tested in Slow Food communities across the USA in 2014-2015; the experiences from these experiments will inform wider deployment in 2015-16. However, for now, those of us who eat meat are faced with the question of where to get meat that is good to eat and has been raised and slaughtered in a clean and fair manner. 

We are looking for active participants for our Events and Outreach Committees. No experience necessary, just a desire to effect positive change in our community and, of course, a hearty appetite for good food!

EVENTS COMMITTEE: Want to share ideas on how to promote good, clean and fair food? Then take the lead on one specific event or volunteer for the day and help out. To get involved email Stacey Blaschke, Events Chair, at stacey.blaschke@gmail.com.