FAQ

What is a food system?

A food system encompassing nutrition, food, health, community, economic development and agriculture involves all processes necessary to feed a population: growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consumption, and disposal of food and food-related items, as well as the inputs needed and outputs generated at each of these steps. A food system operates within and is influenced by social, political, economic and environmental contexts.

What is Slow Food?

The Slow Food movement grew up in opposition to global agribusiness and its effect on food and culture: fast food, genetically engineered crops and factory farms. Slow Food aims to preserve the cultural cuisine and the associated plants, animals, soil and farms within each eco-region.

What is Slow Money?

Taking its name from the Slow Food movement, Slow Money aims to organize investors and donors into new sources of capital for local food enterprises, and develop relationships between capital markets and local communities. Central to Slow Money's mission is the building of regional stakeholder networks -- consisting of food entrepreneurs, leaders from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), farmers and investors committed to financing local food systems. Slow Money Austin is the local group to promote investment in regional food systems built on environmental, social and cultural sustainability.

Why is Slow Money important?

There are many local food producers, food chain contributors and consumers who believe in sustainable food production, such as organic farming and free range livestock. Sustainable production typically provides for returns on investment based on different criteria than industrial "factory farm" production methods. Because of this, sustainable food businesses have difficulty finding investment capital to expand their operations, even when high demand extists for their products. An objective of Slow Money is to find local investors whose values and expectations align with the "slow food" concept and who are willing to investment in their community.

Why support local agriculture?

Local, sustainably produced food tends to be more expensive than mass produced food when comparing only price tags. There are many reasons for this. Big agra-business receives many tax breaks and subsidies. Factory farming also has many impacts not figured into the cost of the food. Air and water pollution, loss of soil fertility and nutrients, and a multitude of health problems are just a few of these impacts.

In the corporate model, farmers and consumers are separated through a chain of processors/manufacturers, shippers and retailers, where the 'middle man' controls the quality of food. Local food systems redevelop the relationships between consumers and producers, and encourages a return of quality, not only in the product, but in the method of producing it.

What is a "locavore"?

A locavore is someone who eats food grown or produced locally. They typically buy from farmers' markets, community-supported agriculture groups (CSAs) or grow food in their own gardens. Fresh, local products are more nutritious and taste better. Local foods are a more environmentally friendly means of obtaining food, since supermarkets that import their food use more fossil fuels and non-renewable resources. Organic and sustainable food practices also serve to renew the land, restoring fragile eco-systems to a more healthy and balanced existence.

What does "buy local" mean?

When you buy from a big chain store, you may pay a slightly lower price, but most of the money is quickly taken out of the community, resulting in a poorer local economy. Buying at a local independent store keeps much more of your money circulating in the local economy, providing more jobs and tax revenue to keep the community strong and healthy. Local groups like the Austin Independent Business Alliance work to promote the advantages of buying locally.