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Slow Food: Take Time to Savour the Flavour
International Slow Food® Movement
by Alexandra Greeley

On her pastoral Iowa farm, away from bustling city streets, Simone Delaty Alvarez pursues several passions: cooking; baking artisan bread; raising fruits, vegetables and herbs; and tending goats. In her simplified life, Simone derives pleasure from her stewardship of the land and from sharing bountiful crops with others: She hosts intimate, home-cooked, family-style dinners, enjoyed leisurely at her farmhouse table. It's no surprise, then, that she has come to embody the spirit of the international Slow Food movement right in America's heartland. As the Slow Food story goes, in 1986, founder Carlo Petrini, an activist in Bra, Italy, greatly resented the proposed construction of a McDonald's restaurant in his favourite piazza in Rome. To Petrini, such a fast food invasion of a historic city—famed for its glorious cuisine and elegant architecture—required some sort of response. Thus, Petrini launched the original branch of the Slow Food movement in the city of Barolo in the province of Cuneo, Italy. In 1989 in Paris, Slow Food went global with numerous grassroots groups, or convivia, sprouting up on five continents. Today, Slow Food members number about 80,000 worldwide. And the movement is growing.

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Cookin' With Kale!
by Paulette Millis

Kale, a green leafy vegetable that belongs to the brassica (cabbage) family, has more nutritional value for fewer calories than almost any other food. It does not form a head but consists of a bunch of coarse, curly leaves. This health-promoting vegetable is easy to grow in colder climates as a light frost actually sweetens the kale leaves. Kale comes in several varieties and colours, most common being Scotch kale with very curled bright green to greeny-yellow leaves. Others are blue kale, which has frilled edge leaves that are deep green with a bluish tinge, and black kale.

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Reflexology in the New Millennium
by Roxanne Wayland

A well-known pictograph found in the tomb of an Egyptian physician, illustrating foot and hand work being performed on two (lucky) recipients, is thought to be the first documentation of reflexology. According to some researchers this ancient natural healing art form has persevered 5,000 years or more. In this new age of sophisticated technology and quantum physics we are now coming full circle with likely explanations for our ancestors' equally sophisticated wisdom and intuition. What is reflexology? I will recap for those as yet unfamiliar. The Reflexology Association of Canada (RAC) states reflexology is based on the principal that there are zones and reflexes in the feet, hands, and ears that correspond to every part, gland, and organ, of the body. Most popular has been foot reflexology — as the feet provide the largest holistic representation of the body, giving easy access to more than 7,000 nerve endings on each foot.

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Why is Peace So Elusive?
by Arun Gandhi. President, M. K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence

Often when this question is directed to me the image that pops up in my mind is that of a fireman attempting to put out a conflagration with a water-hose in one hand and a gasoline-hose in the other and wonders why the fire continues to rage. Similarly, we work for peace while feeding the culture of violence that dominates human relationships and wonder why peace is elusive. Indeed violence pervades every aspect of our lives, from justice, economics, education, religion, and culture to our relationships with each other, with our parents, siblings, children, and spouses. I recall the story of my grandfather, M. K. Gandhi, when, as a 24-year-old struggling lawyer, he landed in racist South Africa totally unaware of the depth of racial hatred that existed. On several occasions during his 22-year stay he was mercilessly beaten by white South Africans, but each time the police invited him to file charges against his assailants he refused. His argument was: “Punishing will not teach them anything, whereas forgiving may open a door in their heart for some love and understanding to pour out.” And, it worked! Several of his assailants joined his struggle and became his followers.

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Renewing the Sacred Balance
Transforming and Healing the Whole Earth Community
by Rachel MacDonald

In a warm circle on a Wednesday night, fifteen people rise from their tea and join hands, swaying and stepping silently to quiet Latvian music. At a break in the song, voices call out the names of people and places in need of healing, including Novozybkov, the forest village where the Elm Dance is still done to remember the forest, land, air, and people contaminated by the fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. When the music stops we stand there, breathing. Finally, facilitator Ruth Blaser breaks the silence, "Look how these people don't want to leave," she laughs. And, it's true! In the eight weeks of this transformational course, "Engaging in Spiritual Practices to Renew the Sacred Balance", we have moved from a group of strangers to a community, ready to nurture the love needed to bring the world around to healing. Week by week we have grown in gratitude, awareness, and hope, and we have reached our goal of "strengthening our intention to participate in the healing of our world".

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Editorial
by Melva Armstrong

Welcome to a bigger issue for September/October 2005. It is a very full journal with lots of well-written articles and diverse advertising that reflect the uniqueness of the ever-growing wholistic health movement in Saskatchewan. I trust you will enjoy reading it and that you will find all aspects of the journal useful in your daily life. Ever since I heard an excellent documentary about the International Slow Food movement on CBC Radio, just over a year ago, I have been wanting to introduce our readers to this unique movement. At last we have found an article …

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Plus:

Study on the Carcinogenicity of the Artificial Sweetener Aspartame
Barbara Brennan School of Healing
Laugh for No Reason
Natural Reflections: Is it Good-bye Oil and Hello Hydrogen?
Book Review: Ancient Healing Techniques
News of Note
From Our Readers