Slow Food Movement (The Way We It Does Matter)

Background Have you ever thought that the idea “what we eat matters”? "The way we eat has profound consequences for our own health, but also for the environment and our cultural identity. The food that’s good for us is also good for the environment and the community. Slow Food believes food quality should not be defined only by taste but according to three broad principles: quality food should be good, clean and fair. “Good” food entails food that is healthy, tasty and diverse; “Clean” refers to food produced in an environmentally sustainable way and local, whilst “fair” food refers to food produced in a way that reaps fair earnings for farmers as well as in the fairest way possible towards animal welfare. Therefore, our everyday food choices have an impact on our health, but also on the climate and on the culture. Choosing more vegetables and legumes and reducing consumption of meat and industrial foods can lead to a considerable reduction of CO2 emissions and can save the planet. Along with varying impacts on human health, different foods also have differing impacts on the environment. For example; the production of animal-based foods tends to have higher greenhouse gas emissions than producing plant-based foods—and dairy and red meat (especially beef) stand out for their disproportionate impact. Methane gas, which is stated to be 23 times stronger than carbon dioxide, is considered one of the most important elements of global warming. In the calculation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2017, it was stated that the share of farm animals in methane gas emission was 24%. Considering that a cow emits 100 to 200 liters of methane a day, we can better understand the extent to which red meat consumption is harmful to the environment. Slow Food movement aims to preserve cultural cuisine and in so doing to preserve the food plants and seeds, domestic animals and farming within an Eco region. The slow food movement has become a social and political movement capable of resisting the dehumanizing effects of large-scale, commercial food production and the fast food industry. People who are detached from their lands and forced to migrate cannot preserve their food culture in the new countries they migrate and start to lose. This causes many eating habits to disappear and somehow assimilate over time. The loss of food culture, which is one of the most important parts of folk culture, causes other cultural erosion to begin. In addition, the industrialized society structure eliminates the food culture with fast food, while also eliminating the communication and sharing of people during eating. The decrease in sharing and communication between people naturally harms the cultural interaction. The 3 main objectives of our project are to be aware of the negative effects of our eating and drinking habits on human health, the environment we live in and our existing cultural heritage and to produce solutions to prevent these negativities. For all these reasons, our project is a project that aims to combat environmental and climate change directly, aims to reduce domestic wastes, reduce harmful gases such as methane and carbon dioxide gas in nature, support organic agriculture practices, and want cultures to preserve their eating and drinking traditions and support this. Objectives Have you ever thought that the idea “what we eat matters”? "The way we eat has profound consequences for our own health, but also for the environment and our cultural identity. The food that’s good for us is also good for the environment and the community. Therefore, our everyday food choices have an impact on our health, but also on the climate and on the culture. The content of this page is published for information purposes only. The project was funded by the European Union. However, the communication about the project that is published through this page expresses the views of the project beneficiaries only and it does not represent the views of the European Union or the European Commission. It shall not be deemed to constitute legal or official notice on behalf of the European Union or the European Commission. Neither the European Union nor the European Commission can be held responsible for this content nor the use thereof made by any third parties. Page 2 of 5 2021-2-NO02-KA220-YOU-000050464 Generated on: Jan 9, 2026 In our project we are going to; In terms of health, • Identify the damages of the Fast Food culture to human health and the environment and search ways to minimize these damages, create awareness in this field, • Clarify the effect of genetically modified foods on human health and the redefinition of alternative nutrition ways in this regard. • Explore the role of nutrition on human health, examine diseases that occur as a result of unhealthy nutrition and search methods of protection from these diseases, • Provide the importance of probiotic nutrition and the introduce foods that strengthen our immune system, and solutions will be put forward for the Slow Food movement's nutritional habits that threaten human health. In addition, it will be ensured that school canteens and cafeterias are organized in accordance with the "Slow Food" philosophy and the nutrition menus are updated in accordance with this philosophy. In terms of nature and climate change, • Raise awareness about the environmental hazards of excessive meat consumption and the effects on climate change. • Examine the environmental damage of wild fishing and to find solutions to prevent new environmental problems that will come with the degradation of the aquatic ecosystem. • Investigate the environmental damage of domestic wastes created by fast consumption culture and to seek solutions for the safest disposal of these wastes. • Also, with the Slow Food movement, we are going to search the benefits of on-site production, organic agriculture and balanced nutrition to our planet, practice gardens are going to be designed where students can practice organic agriculture. In terms of culture, • Explore the changing effects of our eating habits on family and society. • Search agricultural migration and the changing cultural structures of immigrants as a result and find solutions to prevent this cultural erosion. • Investigate how the Slow Food movement unites our food and cultural values, to present solutions for the preservation of our cultural food heritage, and create a food book that has sunk into oblivion where students can present examples from their own cultural cuisine. Activities There will be 5 LTTA’s in the project; also there will be 3 outcomes and 1 multiplier event in the project. The main factor underlying the project is to conduct researches on the effects of our eating and drinking habits and our food consumption on human health, our environment and our cultural heritage, to raise awareness in the working groups of the project