Globalization is Slow Food's enemy, but there are no anti-free trade rampages, no smashing and thrashing of hamburger outlets. The biggest showcase for the Slow Food style is a vast food fair held every other autumn in Turin, capital of Italy's wine-producing Piedmont region. The aisles were jammed with people wandering around with wine glasses dangling from their necks in pouches and lugging bulging shopping bags. More than 500 food producers offered samples at an indoor market that sprawled over 350,000 square feet. More than 3,000 different wines were uncorked for tastings, and dozens of special dinners were offered, along with workshops on everything from couscous to chocolate.
Piedmontese beef is special.
The animals, which have an extra layer of muscle and surprisingly delicate bones, also produce more meat per pound than traditional breeds. But Piedmontese are in danger of dying out because of competition from cheaper-mass produced beef and because thousands of farmers switched to dairy cattle for a quicker profit. Fifteen years ago, there were more than 600,000 head of Piedmontese cattle, almost all on small, family farms. Today there are half that. About 40 miles from the food fair, oblivious to the hubbub, Virgilio lounges in his stall, putting on extra weight for Italy's livestock show.