Produzione, consumo, qualità alimentare: il caso di Slow Food

This dissertation explores the moralization of food economies, increasingly pursued by civil society organizations and groups in the context of global food markets. This subject is here framed in terms of collective disputes over the cultural politics of food quality. The research is based on the case study of Slow Food, an international Italy-based association that has established itself as a significant, effective and controversial actor on the scene of sustainable consumption advocacy. Drawing on qualitative (interviews with key representatives; publications and speeches; participant observation at organizational events) and quantitative sources (a survey on the demographics and initiatives of the Italian association), this work shows how an economic institution and cultural intermediary such as Slow Food acts towards the moralization of food production and consumption by promoting cultural innovations on alternative food markets on one side, and by mobilizing a specific approach to the concept of food quality – one that relies on environmental, social and sensory virtues – on the public arena on the other. Potential, limits, implications of the Slow Food approach to the cultural economy of food circuits and to the ethics of consumption are determined.