Though it’s been around since 1986, the Slow Food Movement has only recently begun to spread across the United States, hitting Boston University as recently as 2007. Founded by Carlo Pertini, it was actually started to protest the opening of a McDonald’s in Italy. Today, it is a grassroots movement that aims to preserve cultural foods and to move away from the world of fast food, active in 122 countries.  Some famous people in the U.S. who are involved in the movement include Michael Pollan, Alice Waters, and Eric Scholsser.

The point of the Slow Food Movement is sustainability, cultural identity, and health. Some of its specific objectives include maintaining small-scale local food processing, preserving cultural foods via seed banks, educating about fast food risks, food diversity, gardening, ethical buying, factory farms and taste, creating regional celebrations to highlight local foods, and lobbying against genetic engineering and pesticide use.

One result of the Slow Food Movement was the preservation of four different varieties of native American turkey. To maintain the species, members purchased 4,000 eggs and raised the turkeys to reproduce, as well as to be slaughtered and sold.

The movement is an important one, especially during times of rapid diabetes, obesity and heart disease in the Western world. If you’re interested in getting involved in the Slow Food Movement, here are a few things you can do.

Get involved in the Slow Food National Day of Action! It’s September 7 this year (Labor Day). Click here to sign the petition to get slow food into schools, contact your legislators, and organize your own event.

Become an official member. Join Slow Food USA and get involved.

Garden your own grub. Teach your kids, neighborhood children, and anyone willing to learn how to garden, too. If you’re a gardening professional, try sharing your skills with local businesses and schools to help spread the knowledge.

Host block party potlucks. Encourage people to skip ordering the pizza and wings and instead create dishes that they may be famous for, family recipes, and other delicious, local-food-based treats.

Eat slow food! It’s one of the most powerful things you can do. Skip the fast food whenever possible. If it’s hard to do, start with one slow food night a week with your family. Make a big deal about cooking together and make it a fun event. Gradually increase it to more than one night until it’s a habit.