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You Are What You Eat: The Social Economy of the Slow Food Movement

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  • Bruce Pietrykowski

Abstract

Recent work by Schor revives concerns raised by Veblen and Hirsch over the destructive consequences of competitive consumption. In contrast, Twitchell argues that increased access to commodities as symbols of luxury signals a democratization of class and social status. Rather than playing the role of dupes, consumers are active co-conspirators in the creation and maintenance of luxury goods markets. While flawed, each of these perspectives has something important to offer to social economists interested in understanding consumption. A key question for social economists is whether material pleasure and the symbolic expression of identity through consumer goods is compatible with a more politicized, socially conscious consumption ethos. Food consumption offers a fruitful starting point for pursuing this issue. I begin by examining food and its symbolic role in identity formation. I then consider the Slow Food movement and explore the ways in which it maintains a central role for material pleasure while promoting a socially and environmentally conscious stance toward consumption.

Suggested Citation

  • Bruce Pietrykowski, 2004. "You Are What You Eat: The Social Economy of the Slow Food Movement," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 62(3), pages 307-321.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:rsocec:v:62:y:2004:i:3:p:307-321
    DOI: 10.1080/0034676042000253927
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. N/A, 2001. "Food for Thought," Energy & Environment, , vol. 12(1), pages 95-102, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Wilfred Dolfsma & Deborah Figart & Robert McMaster & Martha Starr, 2012. "Promoting Research on Intersections of Economics, Ethics, and Social Values: Editorial," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 70(2), pages 155-163, June.
    2. Jérôme Blanc & Marie Fare, 2016. "Turning values concrete: the role and ways of business selection in local currency schemes," Review of Social Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 74(3), pages 298-319, September.
    3. Justin Myers, 2013. "The logic of the gift: the possibilities and limitations of Carlo Petrini’s slow food alternative," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 30(3), pages 405-415, September.
    4. Fifita, 'Ilaisaane M.E. & Seo, Yuri & Ko, Eunju & Conroy, Denise & Hong, Dayun, 2020. "Fashioning organics: Wellbeing, sustainability, and status consumption practices," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 664-671.
    5. Roy Suddaby & Diego Coraiola & Charles Harvey & William Foster, 2020. "History and the micro‐foundations of dynamic capabilities," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(3), pages 530-556, March.
    6. Alessandro Bonadonna & Simona Alfiero & Massimo Cane & Edyta Gheribi, 2019. "Eating Hamburgers Slowly and Sustainably: The Fast Food Market in North-West Italy," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-14, April.
    7. Anna Krzywoszynska, 2015. "Wine is not Coca-Cola: marketization and taste in alternative food networks," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 32(3), pages 491-503, September.
    8. Sanae Tashiro, 2009. "Differences in Food Preparation by Race and Ethnicity: Evidence from the American Time Use Survey," The Review of Black Political Economy, Springer;National Economic Association, vol. 36(3), pages 161-180, December.
    9. Richael Connolly & Joe Bogue & Lana Repar, 2022. "Farmers’ Markets as Resilient Alternative Market Structures in a Sustainable Global Food System: A Small Firm Growth Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-24, September.
    10. Muñoz, Pablo & Cohen, Boyd, 2017. "Towards a social-ecological understanding of sustainable venturing," Journal of Business Venturing Insights, Elsevier, vol. 7(C), pages 1-8.
    11. Rocío Blanco-Gregory & Leonor Elena López-Canto & María Victoria Sanagustín-Fons & Violante Martínez-Quintana, 2020. "Agroecological Entrepreneurship, Public Support, and Sustainable Development: The Case of Rural Yucatan (Mexico)," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-24, October.
    12. Ariane Lotti, 2010. "The commoditization of products and taste: Slow Food and the conservation of agrobiodiversity," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 27(1), pages 71-83, March.
    13. Antonio Tencati & Laszlo Zsolnai, 2012. "Collaborative Enterprise and Sustainability: The Case of Slow Food," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 110(3), pages 345-354, October.
    14. Yokoyama, Shigeki & Sakurai, Seiichi, 2009. "Social Capital and the Local Food Movement in Japan: The Case of the Chiba Prefecture," Asian Journal of Agriculture and Development, Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), vol. 6(1), pages 1-20, June.
    15. Guojun Zeng & Yongqiu Zhao & Shuzhi Sun, 2014. "Sustainable Development Mechanism of Food Culture’s Translocal Production Based on Authenticity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(10), pages 1-18, October.
    16. Allison Hayes-Conroy & Jessica Hayes-Conroy, 2010. "Visceral Difference: Variations in Feeling (Slow) Food," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 42(12), pages 2956-2971, December.
    17. Roberta Sebastiani & Francesca Montagnini & Daniele Dalli, 2013. "Ethical Consumption and New Business Models in the Food Industry. Evidence from the Eataly Case," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 114(3), pages 473-488, May.
    18. Stoeckl, Verena E. & Luedicke, Marius K., 2015. "Doing well while doing good? An integrative review of marketing criticism and response," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 2452-2463.
    19. Sanae Tashiro & Chu‐Ping Lo, 2011. "Balancing nutrition, luxury, and time constraints in food preparation choices," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 3(2), pages 245-265, May.

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