Seattle’s Slow Food Movement from the Perspective of a Small Farm
For five months, I worked for SeaBreeze, a small farm on Vashon Island, WA. I immersed myself by spending time in all of the farms operations; from animal care to product processing to working at the weekly farmers markets. My goal and inspiration was to observe how a small farm near a metropolitan area operates and functions. My inspiration came from being raised on a large ranch with a different style of market and operation. I wanted to broaden my view on food production, specifically meat and dairy production. Throughout my Sea Breeze experience I developed an idea of what the local slow food movement is like. I learned that Seattle has a very active community of young people who are exploring this exciting revolution. It also has become a hot topic at the University of Washington, where there is a student run farm on campus, a campus sustainability program, and a food sustainability lecture series. Outstanding p-patch, csa, and farmers market programs are some of the visual products of the Seattle slow food movement.
