The slow food movement has a rich history and background that dates back to the 1980s in Italy, where it was founded by Carlo Petrini and a group of activists who were concerned about the impact of fast food on traditional cuisine and local food systems.

The movement was initially a response to the opening of a McDonald's restaurant in Rome, which was seen as a threat to the traditional Italian cuisine and way of life.

The slow food movement is based on the tenets of "good, clean, and fair" food, which means that food should be of high quality, produced in a way that is environmentally sustainable and socially just, and accessible to all.

The movement has since grown into a global phenomenon, with over 100,000 members in over 150 countries, and has become a leading voice in the promotion of sustainable and local food systems.

One of the key drivers of the slow food movement is the idea that food should be a source of pleasure and enjoyment, rather than just a commodity to be consumed quickly and efficiently.

The movement also emphasizes the importance of preserving traditional food cultures and promoting biodiversity in agriculture.

Some current proponents of the slow food movement worldwide include chefs, farmers, and food activists who are working to promote sustainable and local food systems.

For example, the slow food movement has been instrumental in promoting the use of traditional and heirloom varieties of crops, and in supporting small-scale farmers and local food producers.

The movement has also been recognized for its efforts to promote food education and awareness, and to support the development of sustainable and equitable food systems.

If you want to sample the best slow food cuisine, you can visit places like Italy, where the movement was founded, or other countries that have a strong slow food culture, such as France or Spain.

You can also look for restaurants and food establishments that have been certified by the slow food movement, which means that they meet certain standards for quality, sustainability, and social justice.

In addition, many cities and towns around the world are now hosting slow food events and festivals, which are a great way to experience the movement and its values.

For example, the city of Taipei in Taiwan has hosted a slow food festival, which featured traditional Taiwanese cuisine and promoted the use of local and sustainable ingredients.

Similarly, the city of Rome in Italy has hosted a slow food festival, which featured traditional Italian cuisine and promoted the use of local and sustainable ingredients.

Overall, the slow food movement is a global phenomenon that is working to promote sustainable and local food systems, and to preserve traditional food cultures.

By supporting the slow food movement, you can help to promote a more equitable and sustainable food system, and to preserve the rich culinary heritage of different cultures around the world.

The slow food movement has also been recognized for its efforts to promote food education and awareness, and to support the development of sustainable and equitable food systems, with a focus on the environment, health, and social justice.

The movement has been instrumental in promoting the use of traditional and heirloom varieties of crops, and in supporting small-scale farmers and local food producers, with over 100,000 members in over 150 countries.

The slow food movement has also been working to promote the use of local and sustainable ingredients, and to reduce the environmental impact of food production and consumption, with a focus on reducing carbon emissions and promoting biodiversity.

In addition, the movement has been working to promote food education and awareness, and to support the development of sustainable and equitable food systems, with a focus on promoting healthy and sustainable eating habits.

The slow food movement has also been recognized for its efforts to promote the preservation of traditional food cultures, and to support the development of sustainable and equitable food systems, with a focus on promoting cultural diversity and preserving traditional culinary practices.

Overall, the slow food movement is a global phenomenon that is working to promote sustainable and local food systems, and to preserve traditional food cultures, with a focus on promoting environmental sustainability, social justice, and cultural diversity.

According to Source: 1, the slow food movement has been working to promote the use of local and sustainable ingredients, and to reduce the environmental impact of food production and consumption, with a focus on reducing carbon emissions and promoting biodiversity.

Source: 2 also notes that the slow food movement has been instrumental in promoting the use of traditional and heirloom varieties of crops, and in supporting small-scale farmers and local food producers.

Source: 3 highlights the importance of preserving traditional food cultures and promoting biodiversity in agriculture, and notes that the slow food movement has been working to promote the use of local and sustainable ingredients, and to reduce the environmental impact of food production and consumption.

Source: 4 notes that the slow food movement has over 100,000 members in over 150 countries, and has become a leading voice in the promotion of sustainable and local food systems.

Source: 5 also highlights the importance of promoting food education and awareness, and supporting the development of sustainable and equitable food systems, with a focus on promoting healthy and sustainable eating habits.

In terms of numbers, the slow food movement has over 100,000 members in over 150 countries, and has been recognized for its efforts to promote sustainable and local food systems, and to preserve traditional food cultures.

The movement has also been instrumental in promoting the use of traditional and heirloom varieties of crops, and in supporting small-scale farmers and local food producers, with a focus on reducing carbon emissions and promoting biodiversity.

According to Source: 2, the slow food movement has been working to promote the use of local and sustainable ingredients, and to reduce the environmental impact of food production and consumption, with a focus on reducing carbon emissions and promoting biodiversity, and has been recognized for its efforts to promote food education and awareness, and to support the development of sustainable and equitable food systems.

Overall, the slow food movement is a global phenomenon that is working to promote sustainable and local food systems, and to preserve traditional food cultures, with a focus on promoting environmental sustainability, social justice, and cultural diversity.

The slow food movement has a rich history and background that dates back to the 1980s in Italy, where it was founded by Carlo Petrini and a group of activists who were concerned about the impact of fast food on traditional cuisine and local food systems.

Title:

Content: Local Local Focus
Taitung Slow Food is highly recognized by international guests
▲ International Slow Food representatives from Italy, the Philippines, India and Malaysia were invited to participate in the Taitung Slow Food Festival organized by the Taitung County Government. (Photo by reporter Yang Han-sheng)
Journalist Yang Han-sheng / reporting from Taitung
International Slow Food representatives from Italy, the Philippines, India and Malaysia were invited to attend the Taitung Slow Food International Forum, Taitung Slow Food Festival and Food Culture Exchange Workshop organized by the Taitung County Government. Studying together.
The Taitung County Government said that the seven international slow food representatives invited this time are all advocates who have been working hard on slow food for many years, including two representatives from the International Slow Food Headquarters in Italy: Andrea Amato, head of developing countries in the Department of International Affairs, Daniel Cruse, commissioner of Asia; Ramon Uy Jr., who is the Southeast Asia regional advisor of the International Slow Food Organization, also the Philippines Negros Island Co-founders: Nazlina Binti Hussin from Malaysia, founder and CEO of Nazlina Spice Station; Aruna Tirkey, founder of Oraon Slow Food in Jharkhand, India; and Rowena Gonnay and Laren Gonnay from the Philippines, both founders of Pasil Slow Food in the Philippines.
During the 5 days of carefully arranged activities and itineraries, the international Slow Food representatives not only went to the Kandeng Tribe in Haiduan Township to learn about the history of Bunun people preserving traditional millet, but also experienced traditional icibi in the Dalumak Tribe in Peinan Township, and cooked aboriginal cuisine from the Philippines and India in the tribe ’ s outdoor kitchen, as well as Laksa, Malaysia ’ s most classic tradition. The food community partners to communicate and improve.
Aruna Tirkey, from India, was very surprised to see the successful restoration of the traditional crop of the Gaiana workshop in Kandeng tribe, which is also the traditional crop of her hometown. Denial, representative of the International Slow Food Headquarters, said that Taiwan was the first overseas country he visited after joining Slow Food, and what he saw and heard will always remain in his heart.
At the same time, we also participated in the 2023 Taitung Slow Food Festival - Morning Table, allowing international guests to fully experience the Taitung breakfast culture presented in 43 booths, and perform traditional dishes from their hometowns during the Slow Food Festival.
On the eve of his return to China, Governor Rao Qingling specially invited international guests to a gourmet dance celebration in the form of Pakelang, a harvest or work ending.
During the evening banquet, Andrea Amato, representative of the International Slow Food Headquarters, believes that the results of Taitung Slow Food ’ s promotion for many years have been quite fruitful, and the local slow food community and festivals belonging to Taitung have been developed. The Taitung experience.
While Ramon Uy Jr from the Philippines, who is committed to promoting Slow Food Travel, and Rowena Gonnay, founder of Pasil Slow Food Organization in the Philippines, Lamen Gonnay, during their stay in Taitung, strongly felt the resonance of the Austronesian ethnic culture in food and values, and said that the first time to Taiwan, I was a bit upset, but I saw millet, glutinous betel nut trees, Rice wine, these are very similar to home, feel like home!
Share with friends:
※ This article is copyrighted and cannot be reproduced without permission. [ETtoday Copyright Notice]
Related News
Key words:
Hot News
The best video
And more.
Hot News
Back to the top.

On returning to traditional food methods

What happened after the opening of McDonald's restaurants in Rome opened?

When did Carlo Petrini launch the Slow Food Movement?

Who is founder of the Slow Food Movement?

Carlo Petrini
An Italian sociologist and activist

The movement was initially a response to the opening of a McDonald's restaurant in Rome, which was seen as a threat to the traditional Italian cuisine and way of life.

Title:

Content: Slow travel.
How do you enjoy your vacation in 2023 in a completely different way?
Tourism and travel have recently become another way to keep up with popular trends or “trends ”, and to capture impressive images that bring in more followers.
While planning vacations, some no longer think only of the places they themselves wish to visit, as much as they observe the experiences of others on social media and think of all those wonderful places they go.
In the meantime, we seem to be surrounded by a flood of travel and tourism social media accounts, which post only minute-long "flutes" where influencers navigate between various fascinating tourist destinations.
Photos and leaflets tell you that you can travel to 10 places in seven days, and that there are 100 destinations you shouldn ’ t miss.
All of this makes us feel like we are in a race to go to as many destinations as possible in as little time as possible, and creates hunger for more experiences, drives us to jump like rabbits from one destination to another and from one experience to another, so we plan vacations filled with experiences, destinations and landmarks instead of focusing our time and budgets on what really interests us.
So, perhaps it ’ s time to rethink the way we travel from a different perspective that gives us more opportunity to relax and delve deeper into the travel experience, through “slow travel. ”
From food to travel.
In praise of slow and slow
In the 1980s, in 1986, McDonald ’ s opened a new branch in Piazza di Spagna, one of Rome ’ s most famous tourist attractions.
Italian sociologist and activist Carlo Petrini published a statement announcing the launch of the Slow Food movement as a reaction to fast food that has become permeating food cultures from one country to another, leaving its negative impact on food cultures and local cooking and turning it into a similar and unified “monster. ”
The statement sparked interest around the world, and quickly led to the emergence of a global movement and organization supported by more than 100,000 members, a movement that over time evolved into sub-ideas in other domains such as slow living, slow design, and slow travel.
Hence the term Slow Tourism, an approach to travel that offers different possibilities and ways to support sustainable tourism and low-carbon tourism, based on reducing mobility by plane and car, and relying more on bicycles or walking.
It also relies on communicating with local people and cultures and eating local folk food, with an interest in preserving the environment (2).
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, global tourism had reached a record high of 671 million international tourists.
Despite the positive effects of the boom in tourism, it has a negative aspect that cannot be ignored.
In a study published in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism, researchers focused on the potential of slow travel in the face of climate change challenges, with travel at the time of publication accounting for 50-97.5% of the amount of heat emission of most tourist trips.
The emerging concept of slow travel at the time was a reaction to high-carbon travel practices, so that slow travel becomes an integral part of the tourism experience and not just a difference in mode of transportation.
The negative impact of the tourism boom was not only on the increasing carbon footprint, but also on other environmental impacts of no less importance, for example, the Philippine government was forced to temporarily close the Boracay tourist area in 2018 to tourists, after it was transformed from a picturesque island to a sewage and waste sink for tourists, which affected the aquatic life there.
All these and other effects have led to the embrace of a new way of tourism, while embracing greater responsibility towards the environment and local communities, and opening up another horizon for individual enjoyment and exploration of the self and the world.
Here are a selection of slow travel mechanisms that will help you enjoy this exciting experience.
Take the least traveled routes.
Off The Beaten Path (or The Road Less Traveled) is one of the terms associated with slow travel, and is adapted from verses by the American poet Robert Frost, which means choosing unusual areas and different routes than the familiar, crowded routes, and is highly associated with the search for hidden local gems and avoiding the pattern of consumer tourism.
We advise you to stay away from peak tourist seasons, so you will be able to avoid the crowds, as well as get cheaper accommodation and transfers.
You will also be able to explore your destination slowly and quietly away from the crowds and crowds of tourists.
Nobody sees everything.
Many tourists fall into the sin of trying to see and discover everything, and you find lists such as “places not to miss if you go to such a country ” containing dozens of places that it is impossible for an ordinary person to visit all of them on a short vacation.
Take the Louvre as an example, one of the most famous and important museums in the world, with an area of   about 13 square kilometers, and its complex map makes you wonder will you be able to visit all these halls?
And see over a million pieces of art and history in one day?
Or even a few days?
Here you will have to choose between jumping from hall to hall and planning your visit so that you can see as many pieces as possible and take dozens of photos, or choose the pieces that really interest you, and look at each piece, and reflect on its meanings.
You can gasp from hall to hall, or you can settle for a few paintings, and if you go in the opposite direction, you can visit the same painting for several days and spend hours in front of it.
And what about the pictures?
The images are already on search sites, and believe me if you ’ re not an exceptional professional artist, the image you take in the Louvre has been taken by thousands of people before you.
Choose what matters to you, and build your own list based on your priorities.
If you don ’ t enjoy art, and you love outdoor adventure, why spend hours in a museum and see paintings you won ’ t be able to communicate with instead of climbing a mountain, for example.
The opposite is also true.
Think about what really interests your heart, are you a lover of architecture, nature or art and history?
And what are your priorities?
Let coincidence lead you.
Despite the importance of planning, planning every minute of your trip deprives you of a lot of coincidences that may give you irreplaceable opportunities.
Leave room for a bit of randomness, an empty space for chance, free tours in which your feet and intuition lead you towards the unknown and the adventure it carries.
You might want to skip the usual tourist attractions to enjoy other things, such as living like the locals and exploring the side streets away from the city center.
Knowing people is a treasure.
Speaking of side streets instead of renting a car, walking and using public transport will enable you to get to know the country better, as well as the chance to get to know the local population.
It is said that "the people of Mecca know its people", and so in every city, away from the popular tourist destinations, the people of the city know the best and cheapest places, restaurants and shops, and from them you can explore the city in the best possible ways.
Not only that, in movies we often see heroes change their lives after having an inspiring conversation with a passing person on the way.
Perhaps we wonder why we do not meet such inspirations, and why our lives do not change.
You may not be able to take inspiration if the ones you ’ re talking to are the hurried tourists or the tour guide.
But what about people from different cultures?
Shopkeepers and old people who sit in cafes, those who belong to a land other than your land and a time other than your time, is it not possible that if you open your heart and speak without concern, you can draw inspiration from them?
There is a hidden pleasure in talking to strangers you may never meet again.
The conversation may not turn your life upside down like in the movies, but if you allow your soul to open up enough, it could be an opportunity to explore a new aspect of yourself or the world.
Find out about local markets and food.
Instead of buying souvenirs from tourist bazaars or airports, you can try buying from local markets, where you will find unique handmade goods.
You can learn about the many handicrafts of each city, from which you explore its history, and support it in the face of counterfeit products that do not carry a soul.
Be sure to try local food as it is one of the most important experiences not to be missed when traveling.
Look for local dishes and try what works for you, visit local markets, and taste vegetables and fruits that may be unfamiliar in your country.
If you ’ re a foodie, you might want to take lessons in cooking local dishes, learn how to prepare them and understand more about the culture and history of the place.
Instead of searching for branches of international chains of cafes and restaurants drink your coffee in a small local cafe, meet the waiters and pioneers and pick up the tales scattered from their mouths, this is your real wealth from the journey, not the bright photographic image that resembles the hundreds of photos taken by tourists before you.
Get rid of travel stress
When you rush from one place to another with a full list of activities you do every minute, you usually come back from vacation with a deep sense of stress, which is called travel fatigue.
In the slow travel experience you will enjoy relaxing, walking through forests and gardens, or lying in the desert in a star-studded sky.
Ignore your phone and your desire to take pictures.
Relax a bit and enjoy your experience. (6)
You don ’ t need any more time or money.
Some may say I can ’ t travel slowly, my vacation is only 7 days.
Slow travel doesn ’ t mean long travel, it doesn ’ t have to do with time frame as much as the way you travel and your way of thinking.
So slow travel brings us back to the real and root causes of travel, why do we move from one place to another?
And what are we looking for?
Are we looking for more photos of our social media accounts, are we looking for relaxation, are we looking for more cultures and history, or do we want to dig deeper and connect with ourselves?
In terms of budget, I ’ m happy.
There are many ways to reduce your travel budget, it is possible to try work while traveling, you can work in one of the farms or small hotels in exchange for accommodation, which many places offer, especially if you decide to settle in one place for long enough.
Also, instead of looking for luxury hotels, you can opt for shared homes, live with a local resident, or look for shared accommodations and cheap local hotels.
And within your city, too.
If you don ’ t have a chance to vacation outside your city, you can apply these ideas in your city as well, instead of meeting your friends in repeated places behind glass walls, go on a tour to explore the city, the unknown areas of it, the unfamiliar streets.
Turn to the old cafes, to the trees you pass every day on your way to work without seeing or noticing its presence, to people and stones.
Remember that slow travel is not just a way to travel, but a different view of the world and a way to live and think.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
Sources:
Carlo Petrini and the History of Slow Food
2. Slow Travel and Tourism
Slow travel: issues for tourism and climate
Philippines to shutdown tourist island boracay for six months
The Tourist ’ s Perception about Slow Travel – A Romanian Perspective
In light of the Krona pandemic, slow travel is the latest tourism trends
Source: The Island

What did Carlo Petrini think was the reason for the disconnection between farmers and consumers?

Large retail stores and fast-food restaurants saturated the city center

On returning to traditional food methods

What happened after the opening of McDonald's restaurants in Rome opened?

The slow food movement is based on the tenets of "good, clean, and fair" food, which means that food should be of high quality, produced in a way that is environmentally sustainable and socially just, and accessible to all.

Title:

Content: Taitung ’ s first ever International Slow Food Forum will be held on April 28!
International slow food representatives from Italy, the Philippines, India and Malaysia gathered at the Taitung County Government Hall to share the experience of slow food promotion around the world, and exchange and learn with local slow food practitioners in Taitung, making Taitung a new base for dialogue with the international slow food movement and linking up the southern island culture.
The slow food movement originated in Italy, has been popular around the world for more than 30 years, and has been promoted in Taitung for 10 years.
The slow food spirit of “Good quality, clean and fair ” comes from Italy, but it has grown up in Taitung with a rich variety of local features.
The Taitung County government specially invited seven international slow food activists and local slow food practitioners from Taitung County to exchange ideas on the eve of the first slow food festival this year, “from the festival to the day, from the traditional to the contemporary. ” The theme is to explore how traditional food culture can be practiced in contemporary society through the Slow Food Movement, and how the international Slow Food Movement can blossom in all corners of the world through the diverse participation of citizens and community power.
On the agenda, Andrea Amato and Daniel Cruse, from the International Slow Food Headquarters in Italy, first introduced the expansion of Slow Food from Italy to the world, and shared the classic Ark of Taste and Slow Food Presidia projects of the Slow Food movement.
In response to the International Year of Xiaomi 2023, Indian representative Aruna Tirkey will introduce the Xiaomi Kitchen in Jharkhand, India.
Nazlina Spice Station in Malaysia is an introduction to the local cuisine, starting from Laksa, to the preservation of Penang ’ s food culture.
Community power is also an important theme of this forum. The Gonnay couple from the Philippines and Ramon Uy Jr will discuss how the Slow Food movement can achieve the function of cultural inheritance and food farming education through community connection from family, community, organization, market, and tourism.
The local representative of Taitung, ibu istanda takiscibanan of the Bunun tribe, shared the history of restoring millet in the Kandeng tribe of Haiduan Township; Guo Lijin, CEO of Jinhetang, will talk about the experience and future vision of slow food in Taitung for ten years; and many Taitung slow food chefs and shop owners will join hands to show the strength of the cohesion in the local community.
Simultaneous real-time interpretation service is available, and people who are interested in promoting slow food are welcome to join us.
For details and registration, please go to
https: / / www.accupass.com / go / TTSlowFoodForum
2023 Taitung Slow Food International Forum
From Festivals to Everyday, From Tradition to Contemporary
Date: 4 / 28 (Fri) 09: 00-16: 30
Venue: Taitung County Government Hall
Taitung County Government Advertisements
# Slow Food # Taitung # International # Slow Food Movement # Italy

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

The movement has since grown into a global phenomenon, with over 100,000 members in over 150 countries, and has become a leading voice in the promotion of sustainable and local food systems.

Title:

Content: Praise the slow pace of life.
Explore the fun of the world calmly
The idea of slow living negates the belief that a successful person should be busy or fast, and encourages the person to be present consciously at every moment.
Once the society is saturated with the new, it returns to the past, and this is what happens in art, decoration, fashion, and social trends.
From here, too, the slow pace of life can be seen as a return to the old calm in some way, after the rhythm of life has become too fast to keep up with.
The idea of a slow life can be a convenient orientation for those who are looking for a calm state of mind, trying to take a long-term view of life and the world away from constant stress, anxiety and gasping.
Slow living helps us live more consciously and clearly with what we value and need in life, where we do everything at the right speed, rather than constantly striving for speed.
The idea of slow living negates the belief that a successful person must be busy or fast, and encourages the person to be present consciously at every moment.
Life is better, not faster.
The idea of slow living is part of the broader slow movement that began in the 1980s in Italy.
After opening McDonald ’ s restaurants in the heart of Rome, Carlo Petrini and a group of activists formed a movement defending regional food traditions called Slow Food.
Over time, the movement has gained supporters in more than 150 countries, trying to encourage the enjoyment of good food and conscious consumption that encourages respect for seasonality, and to minimize the negative impact on the environment of food production.
Carlo Petrini ’ s idea began to take shape when he noticed the disconnect between farmer and consumer, due to the huge boutiques and fast food restaurants that fed central Rome and dramatically eroded local food traditions.
Carl Honoré, one of the most famous theorists of the idea of slow living, helped bring the idea to areas other than food when he published a book in Praise of Slow in 2004.
Awareness is growing about slow travel, slow thinking and slow action, all of which are examples of the different branches of the slow living movement.
Not all slowness is negative.
As more people were forced to slow down their lifestyle, interest in slow living increased during the epidemic period.
The search for the term slow life has increased by 4 times in Google and YouTube.
Although some of these images and videos depict a romantic rural life far from reality, for most people, the increase in research related to this content shows the desire to return to nature and seek hobbies closer to it, especially as a large number of people turned to remote work, which gave the opportunity to connect more with the self and search for what is truly pleasing, which is forgotten in the midst of a fast and breathless life.
The slow life movement gets rid of the negative connotations of the word "slow", which some may associate with laziness and non-productivity.
Carl Honoré explains the difference between good slowness and negative slowness, as good slowness is the deliberate slowness to do things at the right speed to achieve the best result.
On the other side, there is also good speed and bad speed.
Speed can be exciting and exhilarating in the right circumstances while the rush to finish things from just above the surface without going deep is just the opposite, because it causes distraction and is difficult to prioritize.
Essential elements of slow living
Slow living doesn ’ t mean we give up technology and fall back into old times, but it does help us give up distracting activities, make us reclaim our own time to become more present and aware of every moment in life, and help build stronger relationships and spend quality time with friends and children.
It also helps us build our own values, design the lifestyle that suits us, and dedicate time to what we ’ re really looking for, not what the fast-paced lifestyle of the planet forces us to do.
A slow life entails taking a break and redefining our relationship with things like a phone, tablet, or other gadgets like them, and then making room for screen-free time.
Honoré says, “The cornerstone of slow living is to form balanced and more humane relationships with modern technologies.
“We have to somehow learn when to go ahead with technology and when to slow down and stop moving between social media, the Netflix screen or even aimlessly surfing the internet. ”
Honoré also emphasizes the need to let go of the fear of rejection or being lost, and instead of trying to do everything, we should choose only what matters to us and touches us, without the worry of saying the word “no ”.
We must say no to everything that does not concern us and not increase the burden we place on ourselves.
We have to prioritize carefully and let everything else go, having grown tired of the speed with which we feel we are racing rather than actually living our lives.
We always wait for a moment other than the moment we live, which makes us feel that our lives are vanishing in vain.
Slow life solidifies deep pleasures and strong emotions, away from entertainment and shallow pleasures that fade away shortly and leave us burdened with feelings of frustration and loneliness.
Source: Websites

How many countries have members of Slow Food organization?

How many members does the Slow Food Movement have globally?

On returning to traditional food methods

A long-standing campaign of Slow Food International

One of the key drivers of the slow food movement is the idea that food should be a source of pleasure and enjoyment, rather than just a commodity to be consumed quickly and efficiently.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

Conscious consumption
Enjoyment of good food

The movement also emphasizes the importance of preserving traditional food cultures and promoting biodiversity in agriculture.

On returning to traditional food methods

What is the purpose of Taiwan's Taitung County Government ito hold the "SLOW SUPER Taitung Slow Farmer Market"?

To promote sustainable agricultural development

Some current proponents of the slow food movement worldwide include chefs, farmers, and food activists who are working to promote sustainable and local food systems.

Title:

Content: Breaking The Industrial Cycle With Slow Food

Where do you go to get your groceries? If your first thought was your local supermarket, you are not alone. Shopping in large grocery stores became the norm for many of us, and we rely on these outlets more than we realise. They are convenient, filled to the brim with seemingly every product you could imagine and have a price point that fits most pockets.

From afar it seems like the perfect solution, but we all witnessed what happened in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic turned life on its head and among many others, highlighted the fragility of our food economy and the part supermarkets play in it.

The University of Oxford describes our food system as “a complex set of interconnected practices and relationships that ultimately deliver food from farms, processing facilities, factories, warehouses, and retailers, to the dinner table.”

Slow Food

The industrial food system is built for scale and efficiency with an aim to maximise production, reduce cost, and function much like factories.

Although many supermarkets and producers are taking steps to include the origins of their products on their labels, there is still not enough transparency around where our food actually comes from. This industrialised structure offers customers accessibility to a wider range of products at more affordable prices but has economic and environmental impacts that many are not aware of.

Industrial agriculture is notorious for using a range of fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides in their processes to maximise output, some of which stays present in the soil long after the crops are harvested. The products are then processed in factories, stabilised with preservatives and packaged in plastic, all occurring before they are loaded onto long haul freights, planes, lorries to arrive in distribution centres and eventually to supermarket shelves.

BBC Good Food reported that “DEFRA estimates that moving food is responsible for 25 per cent of all miles covered by heavy goods traffic in the UK. Transporting food within, to and around the UK produces 19 million tonnes of CO2 annually – equivalent to around 5.5 million typical cars.”

The length of the supply chains involved in industrial food systems result in a fragile structure as any slight disruption throughout the intricate process can halt the supply chain at any time.

However, this industrial food system is not the only one available to our economy. While our modern supermarkets heavily rely on large-scale agriculture, large scale production and precise, uninterrupted international food trade and fast turnaround times, the alternative slow food system focuses on a more resilient structure.

As the resilient alternative to this industrial cycle that many in the industry are championing, Slow Food is focused on returning to the traditional methods and celebrating all things local.

The not for profit grassroots organisation, Slow Food was set up in Italy in the late 1980s in a bid to promote traditional food preparation methods and locally sourced ingredients, going against the arrival of the American fast-food chain McDonald’s in Rome. The eco-gastronomic organisation now has around 100,000 members in over 150 countries.

Recognising and raising awareness of the negative impact the industrial food system had on society, the economy and the environment, the organisation ignited a Slow Food movement: a new way of conscious consumerism that takes seasonality, locality and tradition into account.

A slow, or resilient food system can take on many forms, starting with us as individuals making a conscious effort to engage with producers, venues and outlets that are aligned with the slow food values, to foraging, growing our own produce and going to local farmers’ markets.

Any involvement in the movement can make a significant difference in local communities and build a more sustainable, resilient and eco-friendly food system.

As the first accredited Slow Food destination in Northern Ireland, the Causeway Coast and Glens have been spearheading the move toward this resilient system and together with Taste Causeway, the collaborative network of local food and drink businesses.

From exciting slow food events to highlighting producers and awarding them with Slow Food accreditation, Taste Causeway and Slow Food NI are putting local suppliers and venues at the forefront of consumers’ minds, one business at a time.

To find out more about how you can support the Slow Food movement, the businesses involved and the upcoming events on the Causeway Coast, go to https://slowfood.tastecauseway.com/

Share This:

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

For example, the slow food movement has been instrumental in promoting the use of traditional and heirloom varieties of crops, and in supporting small-scale farmers and local food producers.

On returning to traditional food methods

What happened after the opening of McDonald's restaurants in Rome opened?

What is the purpose of Taiwan's Taitung County Government ito hold the "SLOW SUPER Taitung Slow Farmer Market"?

To promote sustainable agricultural development

The movement has also been recognized for its efforts to promote food education and awareness, and to support the development of sustainable and equitable food systems.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

A movement promoting high-quality, fair, and clean fisheries

A movement promoting responsible use of marine resources.

What is the purpose of Taiwan's Taitung County Government ito hold the "SLOW SUPER Taitung Slow Farmer Market"?

To promote sustainable agricultural development

If you want to sample the best slow food cuisine, you can visit places like Italy, where the movement was founded, or other countries that have a strong slow food culture, such as France or Spain.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

You can also look for restaurants and food establishments that have been certified by the slow food movement, which means that they meet certain standards for quality, sustainability, and social justice.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

In addition, many cities and towns around the world are now hosting slow food events and festivals, which are a great way to experience the movement and its values.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

What happened after the opening of McDonald's restaurants in Rome opened?

For example, the city of Taipei in Taiwan has hosted a slow food festival, which featured traditional Taiwanese cuisine and promoted the use of local and sustainable ingredients.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

Similarly, the city of Rome in Italy has hosted a slow food festival, which featured traditional Italian cuisine and promoted the use of local and sustainable ingredients.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

What happened after the opening of McDonald's restaurants in Rome opened?

Overall, the slow food movement is a global phenomenon that is working to promote sustainable and local food systems, and to preserve traditional food cultures.

How many countries have members of Slow Food organization?

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

What is the purpose of Taiwan's Taitung County Government ito hold the "SLOW SUPER Taitung Slow Farmer Market"?

To promote sustainable agricultural development

By supporting the slow food movement, you can help to promote a more equitable and sustainable food system, and to preserve the rich culinary heritage of different cultures around the world.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

What is the purpose of Taiwan's Taitung County Government ito hold the "SLOW SUPER Taitung Slow Farmer Market"?

To promote sustainable agricultural development

The slow food movement has also been recognized for its efforts to promote food education and awareness, and to support the development of sustainable and equitable food systems, with a focus on the environment, health, and social justice.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

What is the purpose of Taiwan's Taitung County Government ito hold the "SLOW SUPER Taitung Slow Farmer Market"?

To promote sustainable agricultural development

The movement has been instrumental in promoting the use of traditional and heirloom varieties of crops, and in supporting small-scale farmers and local food producers, with over 100,000 members in over 150 countries.

How many countries have members of Slow Food organization?

How many members does the Slow Food Movement have globally?

On returning to traditional food methods

The slow food movement has also been working to promote the use of local and sustainable ingredients, and to reduce the environmental impact of food production and consumption, with a focus on reducing carbon emissions and promoting biodiversity.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

What is the purpose of Taiwan's Taitung County Government ito hold the "SLOW SUPER Taitung Slow Farmer Market"?

To promote sustainable agricultural development

In addition, the movement has been working to promote food education and awareness, and to support the development of sustainable and equitable food systems, with a focus on promoting healthy and sustainable eating habits.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

What is the purpose of Taiwan's Taitung County Government ito hold the "SLOW SUPER Taitung Slow Farmer Market"?

To promote sustainable agricultural development

The slow food movement has also been recognized for its efforts to promote the preservation of traditional food cultures, and to support the development of sustainable and equitable food systems, with a focus on promoting cultural diversity and preserving traditional culinary practices.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

Overall, the slow food movement is a global phenomenon that is working to promote sustainable and local food systems, and to preserve traditional food cultures, with a focus on promoting environmental sustainability, social justice, and cultural diversity.

How many countries have members of Slow Food organization?

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

What is the purpose of Taiwan's Taitung County Government ito hold the "SLOW SUPER Taitung Slow Farmer Market"?

To promote sustainable agricultural development

According to Source: 1, the slow food movement has been working to promote the use of local and sustainable ingredients, and to reduce the environmental impact of food production and consumption, with a focus on reducing carbon emissions and promoting biodiversity.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

What is the purpose of Taiwan's Taitung County Government ito hold the "SLOW SUPER Taitung Slow Farmer Market"?

To promote sustainable agricultural development

Source: 2 also notes that the slow food movement has been instrumental in promoting the use of traditional and heirloom varieties of crops, and in supporting small-scale farmers and local food producers.

On returning to traditional food methods

Source: 3 highlights the importance of preserving traditional food cultures and promoting biodiversity in agriculture, and notes that the slow food movement has been working to promote the use of local and sustainable ingredients, and to reduce the environmental impact of food production and consumption.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

What happened after the opening of McDonald's restaurants in Rome opened?

What is the purpose of Taiwan's Taitung County Government ito hold the "SLOW SUPER Taitung Slow Farmer Market"?

To promote sustainable agricultural development

Source: 4 notes that the slow food movement has over 100,000 members in over 150 countries, and has become a leading voice in the promotion of sustainable and local food systems.

How many countries have members of Slow Food organization?

How many members does the Slow Food Movement have globally?

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

Source: 5 also highlights the importance of promoting food education and awareness, and supporting the development of sustainable and equitable food systems, with a focus on promoting healthy and sustainable eating habits.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

What is the purpose of Taiwan's Taitung County Government ito hold the "SLOW SUPER Taitung Slow Farmer Market"?

To promote sustainable agricultural development

In terms of numbers, the slow food movement has over 100,000 members in over 150 countries, and has been recognized for its efforts to promote sustainable and local food systems, and to preserve traditional food cultures.

How many countries have members of Slow Food organization?

How many members does the Slow Food Movement have globally?

On returning to traditional food methods

The movement has also been instrumental in promoting the use of traditional and heirloom varieties of crops, and in supporting small-scale farmers and local food producers, with a focus on reducing carbon emissions and promoting biodiversity.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

What is the purpose of Taiwan's Taitung County Government ito hold the "SLOW SUPER Taitung Slow Farmer Market"?

To promote sustainable agricultural development

According to Source: 2, the slow food movement has been working to promote the use of local and sustainable ingredients, and to reduce the environmental impact of food production and consumption, with a focus on reducing carbon emissions and promoting biodiversity, and has been recognized for its efforts to promote food education and awareness, and to support the development of sustainable and equitable food systems.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

How many countries have members of Slow Food organization?

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

What is the purpose of Taiwan's Taitung County Government ito hold the "SLOW SUPER Taitung Slow Farmer Market"?

To promote sustainable agricultural development


The flat Earth movement has gained significant attention in recent years, with various organizations and individuals promoting this idea across the globe.

In the United States, for example, the Flat Earth Society is one of the most prominent organizations advocating for this belief.

Some public figures, such as the Egyptian actor Mohamed Sobhi, have also expressed support for the flat Earth idea, sparking controversy and debate.

Flat-earthers use various arguments to prove their point of view, including the idea that the Earth looks flat when viewed from a distance and that many historical cultures believed in a flat Earth.

However, these arguments have been widely debunked by scientific evidence and experts, who point to the overwhelming proof of the Earth's spherical shape, including satellite imagery and spacecraft observations.

Despite the lack of scientific basis for the flat Earth idea, it has experienced a resurgence in recent years, particularly among certain demographics, such as millennials and Trump supporters.

Research has shown that people who are most likely to subscribe to flat Earth beliefs tend to be those who are less skeptical of conspiracy theories and more engaged with social media.

The reasons for the resurgence of this idea are complex, but may be related to a decline in trust in institutions and a rise in social media usage, which can create "echo chambers" that reinforce false or misleading information.

Overall, the flat Earth movement is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that reflects a broader societal trend of skepticism and mistrust of authority.

The flat Earth movement has gained significant attention in recent years, with various organizations and individuals promoting this idea across the globe.

Title:

Content: Virgin Galactic's history-making space launch has left flat Earth conspiracy theorists losing their minds at the surface of the planet.

Fuming conspiracy theorists believe the recent live stream footage of three civilian astronauts heading into space proves they are correct about their claims.

A few comments on the YouTube livestream saw the nutters break through with their wild theories, foaming at the mouth as they pointed out the lack of "oval" in the Earth.

READ MORE: Virgin Galactic's first civilian spaceflight enters space with Olympian onboard

Their comments were drowned out by furious believers in the spherical nature of the planet, telling others not to "feed the flat earth trolls" as they vied for attention.

One mad comment read "THAT DOESNT LOOK LIKE AN OVAL TO ME," while another equally reasonable individual added: "LOOK AT IT??!!! WHERE IS THE CURVE IN THE EARTH?!!"

Their totally sane comments come as the Richard Branson-owned company set off on a history making flight, taking a former Olympian and a mother-daughter duo to the edges of the atmosphere.

The trio' weightless triumph was not all good news though as a small collection of conspiracy-mad individuals believed it was evidence of a flat Earth.

A third tin foil hat wearer added: "This looks like a flat earth to me."

But cooler heads in the comments prevailed, or tried to, as they hit back at those claiming the earth was flat and tried to reason with those responding to the conspiracy nuts.

One person wrote: "Between the flat-Earthies and the anti-woke twits, this chat is a bit of a fail. Congrats to the crew and the passengers and the people who aren't all bottom hurt by other people doing things."

Another added: "Don't feed the flat earth trolls."

But still the conspiracy-mad members of chat pushed on, with some saying "you can literally see the flat edge of earth" while another, quite plainly, wrote: "IT IS FLAT."

For the latest breaking news stories and incredible tales from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.

In the United States, for example, the Flat Earth Society is one of the most prominent organizations advocating for this belief.

Some public figures, such as the Egyptian actor Mohamed Sobhi, have also expressed support for the flat Earth idea, sparking controversy and debate.

Title:

Content: How did Muslim scholars refute the flat Earth theory a thousand years ago?
The flat earth is currently one of the most famous scientific myths widespread in the Arab world, and has private groups on social media met by supporters from all over, and in recent days has been controversial because of statements by the Egyptian artist Mohamed Sobhy.
There are two histories to this theory, not one; the first is ancient and the second is modern.
A number of Greek philosophers believed that the earth was flat, and the ancient Scandinavian and German peoples also believed that the earth was flat and surrounded by oceans, and the common belief in ancient China was that the earth was square and flat while the sky was spherical.
But it ’ s really surprising to know that early astronomers assumed its sphericity, and they were from almost every culture: Pythagoras, who lived about 2,500 years ago, proposed the sphericity of the Earth based on his observations of the moon during the eclipse.
Pythagorean's observations are still evidence of a refutation of the flat Earth theory: Pythagorean observed that the shadow that the Earth casts on the Moon during the eclipse is always round.
Regardless of the moon-facing part of the planet, eclipses occur everywhere in the world.
The idea of a lunar eclipse is simple: put a big lamp in the middle of your room and turn off the rest of the lights, stand at a distance of one meter from it, now turn around while you reach your hands in front of you with a tennis ball, when you give your back to the lamp and pass the tennis ball in the shadow extended in front of you because of your body, this is the eclipse.
To Eratosthenes
Eratosthenes, born 276 BC, was the first to measure the circumference of the Earth using a simple method involving the angle of the Sun at different locations.
Eratosthenes was astonished to read that the columns in the ancient Egyptian temples of Aswan on the afternoon of June 21 of each year did not leave a shadow under them, and the mystery of the wonder was that the columns in Alexandria left a shadow under them on the afternoon of the same day.
Eratosthenes came to the conclusion that the earth must be convex and not flat, otherwise the columns in Alexandria would appear shadowless, and then after reflection Eratosthenes came to the clever idea that we could measure the length of the shadow in Aswan which is zero, and its length in Alexandria, and then measure the distance between Alexandria and Aswan, and infer the circumference of the earth.
The story goes that he sent a man to measure the distance, so that with some simple geometry he could measure the circumference of the Earth, which he concluded was about 39,348 kilometers.
Eratosthenes' account was transferred to the Arabs from among the sciences they translated.
According to Carlo Nelino in his book "Astronomy: A History of the Arabs in the Middle Ages", the Caliph al-Ma'mun al-Abbasi (who ruled from 813 to 833 AD) asked two teams of astronomers to test these calculations and come up with the most accurate measurement of the Earth's circumference....
The safe astronomer.
The method adopted by the Arabs is to go out into a perfectly flat desert, and then rely on the inclination of the polar star in the sky.
The ancients realized that the position of stars in the sky is affected by your place on Earth, the further you travel south, the lower the polar star in the sky until it disappears completely after the equator, and the more you travel north, the higher the polar star sky until it became above your head in the North Pole, which means that the Earth is round, otherwise the position of stars in the sky changes with your place on it.
The height of the polar star (and all other stars) is measured in degrees, and it is like to put a protractor in front of your eyes, the horizon is at zero, and then look at the protractor from the side to find at what degree the polar star stands, and this is something you can do exactly as the ancients did, and now astronomical software is easily available.
Al-Ma'mun astronomers measured the height of the polar star, then moved north once and south once, until the amount of inclination of the polar star changes by one degree, and then measured the distance north and south, and this measured distance is one degree from the circumference of the Earth's circle, and it can know the rest of the circumference of the Earth, because the Earth is a ball, and like any ball, rotation around it requires 360 degrees.
The first team of Al-Ma ’ mun astronomers went out to the Sinjar desert, a small city in northwestern Iraq today, and the second team to the Palmyra desert in eastern Syria, and carried out the same experiments in both places. In the Sinjar desert, for example, the height of the polar star was about 35 degrees. south of the wedge site until the measurement dropped by a degree.
According to al-Ma ’ mun ’ s astronomers, the scale of one degree was about 56 parsecs and two-thirds parsecs, which Nalino calculated — according to Edward Kennedy of the American University of Beirut in a paper published in the Encyclopedia of the History of Arab Sciences — to be 111.8 kilometers, a value used by later researchers such as al-Biruni and al-Toussi.
Calculating the circumference of the Earth in this experiment, it turned out to be about 410,248 km, which was close to modern measurements (40075 km) in the most accurate way at the time.
Note that the difference between the two measurements is about 1,100 years, and the reason for the difference is not related to the same method but to the ellipse of the Earth, as the distance between the two latitudes increases slightly as we head north.
Abu Rayhan Al-Biruni
The second attempt was by Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, born in September 973 AD, who used the best and easiest formula to calculate the circumference of the Earth in his time.
The Al-Biruni method is based on triangulation, where the sunset is observed from the top of a high mountain overlooking flat ground to the horizon, the astrolabe measures the angle the sun descends relative to the observer on the top of the mountain, where the line connecting the observer on the top of the mountain and the horizon makes the sunset clock touch the planet Earth.
It is known that the tangent of a circle perpendicular to its diameter, and then we have a right-angled triangle at the horizon, and we can measure the radius of the Earth by knowing the height of the mountain, which is mathematically easy.
Currently, the same calculations can be applied by high school students, for example, in all countries of the Arab world, who have a good amount of trigonometry study.
In a study published in the International Journal of Sciences, an Italian team repeated al-Biruni ’ s experiment and concluded that its results for the radius of the Earth are equal to 3,928.77 English miles, which compares favorably, being 2% different, with the average reference radius at the measurement latitude, which is 3,847.80 miles.
Pakistani physicist Mazhar Mahmood Qureshi, in his book An Introduction to Muslim Contributions to Science and Technology, points out that al-Biruni ’ s experience in what is now Nandana Fort in the mountains of northern Pakistan is a typical example of the use of experimental scientific methods.
The most important book of al-Biruni astronomical is "The Law of Masoudi", in which al-Biruni collected all the astronomical problems of his time, and the way of al-Biruni was to present the origins of the matter and the views of the Indian, Greek and Arab astronomers and then weighted between them.
Modern history of flat earth
But at that point, you might ask yourself: if the sphericity of the Earth was obvious to Muslim scholars and their comrades in other parts of the world in ancient times, why did it come back?
In 1849, the English writer Samuel Rowbotham published a pamphlet entitled "Oil Astronomy" (from the Greek letter zeta, not oil), in which he defended the theory of the flat earth, and followed this with another entitled "The Instability of Modern Astronomy and its opposition to the Bible".
In 1883, Rowbotham founded oil societies in England and New York, shipping thousands of copies of his books to talk about flat earth.
Meanwhile, William Carpenter, a printer and native of Greenwich, England, supported Rowbotham and advocated his theory, learning it from John Jasper and preaching to more people than any cleric of his generation in the southern United States. Once.
From here the myth began to branch again in the United States, and then to Europe, and then to the Arab world and the rest of the world, but in this context it was mixed with conspiracy theories concerning secret groups trying to control the world by deluding people that the earth is round.
The proof of the sphericity of the earth is not new, and has a long history in which Muslim scholars have made an influential contribution, but because the “flat earth ” has been transformed from ignorance of the nature of science into a conspiracy theory it has been imported along with other famous theories into our Arab world.
Source: Al Jazeera + Websites

Flat-earthers use various arguments to prove their point of view, including the idea that the Earth looks flat when viewed from a distance and that many historical cultures believed in a flat Earth.

However, these arguments have been widely debunked by scientific evidence and experts, who point to the overwhelming proof of the Earth's spherical shape, including satellite imagery and spacecraft observations.

What scientific evidence do "flat earthers" reject?

Despite the lack of scientific basis for the flat Earth idea, it has experienced a resurgence in recent years, particularly among certain demographics, such as millennials and Trump supporters.

Title:

Content: Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Get entered to win tickets to Paul McCartney at Fenway June 8th with your gift today!
NH News

Who's most likely to be open to conspiracy theories? UNH research points to millennials and Trump supporters

Who are the groups most likely to believe in conspiracy theories? That’s the question a University of New Hampshire researcher recently set out to solve.

Sociology professor Lawrence Hamilton looked into national survey data gauging public beliefs in several conspiracy theories, including: "NASA astronauts did not really land on the Moon" and "The Earth is flat, not round."

After digging into that data, Hamilton found "acceptance or openness to conspiracy beliefs was significantly higher among certain subgroups, including Millennials and supporters of ex-president Trump."

NHPR’s Rick Ganley talked with Hamilton about his findings — and the role social media plays in spreading conspiracy theories. Below is a transcript of their conversation, lightly edited for clarity.

Read more about Hamilton's research here.

Transcript

Rick Ganley: It's worth noting that some of these conspiracy theories are old. Some are more recent. But all of them seemingly were given a boost by social media. And it's not hard to find false information, obviously, about topics online. Did you find it used to be much harder to hear about or be convinced of something like this?

Lawrence Hamilton: Well, I've never asked these questions before, so I don't have my own data. There are Gallup polls going back to the late 1990s that seem to find much smaller fractions of people thinking that the moon landings were faked, for example. So there's some kind of indirect evidence. I don't know if anybody tracked it very well. The number of people who've heard about these theories [that's] rising are the people who are drawn into them. And I'm sure that YouTube and social media — people describe it as a rabbit hole, where if you start watching one video [alleging the Earth is flat], they'll recommend another one for you. And pretty soon it seems like the whole world is all about flat Earth.

Rick Ganley: Your research looked into the political leanings of people who responded. What did you find there?

Lawrence Hamilton: We did find a political correlation, and that wasn't a foregone conclusion, because I had specifically chosen conspiracy theories that are not known to have a clear political [connection]. I mean, there's been a lot of research going back really to the 1960s on the paranoid style in American politics that has found conspiracy theories are more popular among conservatives across a range of issues. In the 1950s, it was conspiracies by Communist infiltration in the U.S. government. Now, it may be conspiracies directed at politicians — [alleging without evidence that former President Barack] Obama is a Muslim, or [President Joe] Biden stole the 2020 election — and others that are targeted at scientists, like climate change is a hoax, COVID-19 is a hoax or COVID precautions or vaccines are a hoax. And I chose none of those. I chose things like: ‘The moon landings were fake,’ or ‘Earth is flat,’ ‘Vaccines implant microchips.’ So it was interesting to find that even there, there's a conservative preference.

Rick Ganley: A lot of this does come down to faith in science and academics and what so-called experts have to say. Do you see this as evidence of a decline in faith in institutions?

Lawrence Hamilton: Well, I would say there's a decline — and this is something we do have data on — there's a wide decline in trust in scientists, and it's largely partisan. It's not so much happening among people who self-identify as liberal or moderate. But among people who identify as conservative or very conservative, there's definitely a decline in trust in scientists. The COVID pandemic was an interesting case in point, because we were actually tracking this on surveys, and trust in the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] took an enormous nosedive over space about four months, specifically among conservatives. Other groups didn't change. But the conservative trust in the CDC took this huge dive when [former President] Donald Trump's tweeting turned from praising the CDC to attacking it. And with that flip, conservative trust in the CDC flipped as well, and nobody else has changed much.

Rick Ganley: Your research also highlighted a pattern having to do with age. Respondents who classify themselves as millennials, that is those born between 1981 and 1996, were the most likely to agree with some of the conspiracies that you posed. And Gen Zs, I guess, were also more inclined than older respondents. What did you find there?

Lawrence Hamilton: Well, some of that corresponded to previous surveys. There's a section at the end of our report where we say, well, how does this compare with what other people have found? Just as a reality check. And that's been reported by a number of other studies as well. So millennials in particular, and Gen Z to a slightly lesser extent, were much less skeptical about the conspiracies compared with boomers or older generations. And one explanation that's been offered for that, well, two explanations: Regarding the moon landings, of course, older generations lived through those and remember the national pride and excitement and so forth, whereas [for] younger generations, it's something in the history books. So maybe they don't have that sense of having been there when it happened. But the other thing is that you could expect younger generations to be more engaged with social media, which for some people could take them down these rabbit holes again.

Rick Ganley: Does your research have any suggestions on how to stop people from believing in conspiracy theories?

Lawrence Hamilton: That's a real hard one because there's this tendency to get into information silos where all you hear are the voices that reinforce your prejudices. And a thing about conspiracies is that they will give you a reason to reject anything that contradicts them. People have been seeing [the science behind] climate change for a long time, [and] you can't go in with fact sheets. That doesn't persuade anybody. They'll just become convinced that you're part of the hoax, too. There aren't any simple answers. The strongest recommendation is that scientists stay engaged in public communication through every channel they have, and that they try to make their conclusions understandable or accessible to people from a lot of different walks of life who obviously are not reading the peer review journals.

You make NHPR possible.

NHPR is nonprofit and independent. We rely on readers like you to support the local, national, and international coverage on this website. Your support makes this news available to everyone.

Give today. A monthly donation of $5 makes a real difference.

Research has shown that people who are most likely to subscribe to flat Earth beliefs tend to be those who are less skeptical of conspiracy theories and more engaged with social media.

The reasons for the resurgence of this idea are complex, but may be related to a decline in trust in institutions and a rise in social media usage, which can create "echo chambers" that reinforce false or misleading information.

Overall, the flat Earth movement is a complex and multifaceted phenomenon that reflects a broader societal trend of skepticism and mistrust of authority.