The Slow Food movement, set up in 1986 in Italy, has become one of the most significant and unusual social and political movements of modern times. It is often characterised as an association of gourmets but it has transformed itself into a serious global movement, with 84,000 members in over 120 countries and increasing links and influence in the developing world. Its originality lies in the unity between its gastronomic and ecological components and the belief in the ‘universal right to pleasure’.

Slow Food provides a new dimension of cultural politics and challenges the assumptions of globalisation theorists and the norms of conventional policy-makers. In addition to original analysis and challenging arguments, the book also gives space to the voices of those who work and campaign for Slow Food.

Michael Pollan, author of In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto:
“The Slow Food Story is the best account so far of the history and animating ideas behind Slow Food. An indispensable introduction.”

Sasha Chapman, The Globe and Mail:
“(Andrews’s) fascination with the movement’s ever-widening appeal is infectious”

Dr John Dickie, Reader in Italian Studies, University College London and author of Delizia! (2008):
‘The Slow Food Story is the essential one-stop critical guide to the history, ideas, structure, and membership of the Slow Food movement.’.