The 420-acre, high-altitude and organic James Ranch, ten miles north of Durango in the Animas Valley, raises cattle on grass, the diet that nature intended.

"It tastes like the traditional beef our grandparents grew up eating," says David James, patriarch of the family ranch. "Nature intended humans to eat grass-finished meats and dairy products," says James, whose family enterprise practices sustainable farming techniques. One happy result: The grass-finished beef and grass-based dairy products feature an abundance of omega three and CLA (conjugated linolineic acid) — two essentials for a balanced diet.

James Ranch grass-fed beef and dairy products have been a weekly summertime presence in Telluride over the last two summers at the Telluride Farmers Market; their beef was on the menu at the sold-out Harvest Festival dinner in September.

Soon after that end-of-the-season sustainable-food extravaganza, David and Kay James flew to Turino, Italy, as guests of the Terra Madre International Slow Food Festival, which ran concurrently with the beginning of Salone Del Gusto, a bi-annual, five-day, edible extravaganza. The events gathered together farmers, ranchers, fishermen, bakers, cheese and cider makers, brewers, vintners, confectioners, and coffee roasters from dozens of nations.

When you mentioned "slow food" in Turin, Italy, last month during the Terra Madre International Slow Food Festival, everybody knew what you were talking about – in seven different translations! The Palazzo del Lavoro, a huge old building used now as a convention center in Turin, was the site of the first-ever international meeting of food producers, distributors, chefs, and consumers dedicated to the promotion of locally grown, marketed and consumed foods. This was not a small gathering of hopefuls. Registered participants numbered 4,888 farmers and food producers, from 129 countries, representing 1,202 communities.

The Slow Food movement is not about producing as much food as possible as fast and cheap as possible. Rather, it draws attention to sustainable agriculture, traditional preparations, and the health and happiness that come from eating food from the farm instead of the factory. The mantra heard throughout the four-day meeting was strong and clear: Terra Madre, our Mother Earth, needs her children to understand that only by respecting the earth and its environment can man sustain it and himself. The "old ways" were not "bad ways." The industrial revolution brought much good to mankind, but our food and the earth it depends upon are not "widgets," created in a sterile factory and then stored and distributed en masse. Nutritious, tasteful, healthy food produced in local communities using environmentally responsible growing practices can and will meet the demands of the local populace while sustaining the farming and ranching community and the land.

It is time for the pendulum to swing back. Fast food, with its homogenized taste and low nutritional value, supported by huge industrialized agricultural companies and their practices of monoculture cultivars, heavy use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, has had its day. Our corporate agricultural practices are not sustainable; they are destroying the land, the farmers and the diets of our children. At Terra Madre, it was noted, justifiably, that corporate farms continue a model begun with World War II, but with herbicides and pesticides (instead of defoliants and gases) and huge farm equipment (instead of tanks). This corporate model jeopardizes human health as well as the health of the environment, and has all but killed off the family farm.

Thank goodness we are waking up!

Day One

Wednesday, October 20

Seated in front of us were five ladies from Argentina, and it was good they were short! We had to see over their Madeleine-like hats to view one of the four huge video screens that brought the faces of the opening plenary session to the people seated in the main hall of the Palazzo de Lavoro. Each one of us had received a battery-operated headset to tune into their appropriate translation. Music from local musicians filled the hall with joy, and the festivities began with the address of the President of Slow Food International, Carlo Petrini.

Dr. Petrini spoke from his long-held convictions and championing of the Slow Food movement that originated in Italy. He spoke of producers and buyers as "sons of the earth," a brotherhood.

"Brotherhood," he said, "is a value, but it is also a method to overcome violence in the world. Agriculturalists need peace to do their work!" His message was that respect for life, for the earth, the environment, human rights, equality of women, education and adequate healthy food links us all in this brotherhood, and this was the theme of all of the opening-session speakers.

We heard from local and national Italian officials (who helped foot the majority of the $5 million bill for this gathering), from Alice Waters of Chez Panisse fame, who is vice president of Slow Food International, and from officials and farmers from large and small countries. A representative from each country was introduced and took their place on the platform – a colorful representation of the world of gastronomy!

Things will not change overnight; however, the return to responsible farming and ranching must begin and grow to share the marketplace of the world. And begun it has!

Day Two

Thursday, October 21

Yesterday in the opening remarks we heard the issues that would be repeated today in the discussion of the unique experiences of the delegates – their lives and livelihoods. Sample subjects were natural pest management; high-altitude agriculture; sustainable pig farming; globalization and the destruction of rural economies; as well as recounting experiences with sustainable tourism, growing pixie tangerines and on and on.

We heard from so many; most presentations had to be less than ten minutes, which caused the presenters to be succinct. The questions were penetrating. We heard from such notables in North America as Michael Pollan, Alan Savory and Joel Salatin, and received glorious introductions to the movers and pushers as well as the humble producers who had never addressed a group of people and who movingly explained the processes and problems of their livelihoods. Over and over the messages came: Defeat Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) to protect our right of choice; human rights above animal rights; globalized food involves expensive transportation and is not sustainable; free market versus subsidies; chemicals and poisons are not sustainable; stop subsidizing industrial agribusiness; educate children to understand "sustainability;" stop desertification with sound grazing and farming practices.

Midday, a banquet of locally produced foods was provided for the consumption of this brightly dressed gathering – pasta, meats, baskets of apples, plums, green grapes, huge rounds of parmesan cheese, vegetables and fresh bread and desserts. They efficiently fed thousand of people each day, providing tables with fruit juices and water where we could sit with each other and talk. We met and commiserated with people from Kenya, Iceland, Ireland, Alaska, Israel, and Argentina – sharing of the English language being the only requirement for us.

After the day's session, all delegates were guided to their respective buses or automobiles and shuttled to their accommodations. All meals, accommodations and transportation were provided by Slow Food International – at no cost to the delegates. What a huge undertaking, financially and logistically! Some were boarded in hotels, others in private homes and farms, others in dormitories, monasteries or convents, all within a one hour drive of Turin. Because of Slow Food's generosity, people were attending who otherwise could never have afforded to come.

Day Three

Friday, October 22

Relationships were growing each day as we ate, roomed and traveled with those in our respective lodgings. Cultures, business cards and conversations were all about food, environment and sustainability – with a smattering of politics thrown in.

Dave and I attended the session on "Saving the Dairy Tradition from the Sirens of Modernity" – listening to cheesemakers from Romania, England, Italy and New Zealand, sampling their cheese and hearing of their challenges. Next I attended "Heavy and Light Agriculture: Can They Co-Exist?" The overwhelming theme was the abhorrence felt in most countries about the use of genetically modified organisms being promoted by Western chemical companies. Could we co-exist? Only with shared values, and those values must come from the bottom up, not the top down – from the people.

Competing for our attention was the Salone del Gusto, the Slow Food and Piedmont Region's fifth presentation of food and wine displays from all over the world. In another presentation, they discussed opportunities for rediscovering flavors and cultures, and reflected upon the serious problems surrounding the whole world of food production. This was a huge presentation, and it took days to do it justice! Our feet gave out at about the same time as did our taste buds from sampling all the cheese and salami!

Day Four

Saturday, October 23

The delegates representing each country were on the platform again; the video screens were recording the streams of people as they entered the auditorium, and the closing ceremonies were about to begin. We heard from delegates from Native America, Mexico, Kenya, India, Tuscany, and Russia; we heard again from the mayor of Turin, the Italian Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, and Dr. Patrini. Patrini graced us with an analogy of the Terra Madre gathering; he likened it to the overture of an opera, with the story itself to follow – the story being the activity of all the delegates returning home with new ideas and strength.

This was not to be all, however! Secret Service men became visible and the introduction was made of His Highness, Prince Charles of Great Britain. This dapper man, with long-held organic predispositions, shared heartfelt support and enthusiasm for the assemblage and its mission. His speech was excellent and enthusiastically received (it can be read on the web at <www.slowfoodusa.org>).

His closing statement was as follows: "All of you represent genuine, sustainable agriculture, and I salute you!"

I have found that perspective is important when thinking of any serious topic. The perspective out the window of our jet flying home at 38,000 feet above earth gives one a different perspective than of the man living in a cottage in the Alps, seen as a dot from my window. Our perspective must be elevated by our understanding of relationships. We are not singular; we are a part of a great brotherhood that must learn to make the right decisions to harmonize and bless the earth and its inhabitants for future generations.

We were elated to have been invited to attend Terra Madre and glad that we made the effort to be there. Thank you, Slow Food International! We will be joining a local Slow Food group, to share in the pleasure of good food and the brotherhood of our neighbors, producers and customers; and, who knows?

Together we may make a difference!

Kay James and her husband David James are the founders of James Ranch Grass-Finished Beef, in Durango, Colo.