This past Labor Day weekend, more than 60,000 people flocked to San Francisco to celebrate Slow Food Nation, a festival billed as "the largest celebration of American food in history." Hosted by Slow Food USA, an organization working to preserve and protect traditional foods and agricultural biodiversity in America, the festival aimed to connect consumers to the farmers and artisans who produce their food. Lucky for us attendees, the head-spinningly diverse lineup had a unifying theme: putting the message where our mouths are. 

Carving a path through the weekend was overwhelming, to say the least. Did I want to tour the Victory Garden, a temporary urban plot blooming with herbs and vegetables in front of City Hall? Or join the 8-mile 'slow hike' to an organic garden in Marin County? And then there were the 24 mouth-watering 'taste workshops,' which covered everything from Slow Food Meals on a Budget to pairing Heritage Pork and Sparkling Mead. 

Seeking some big-picture perspective, I headed to the stately Herbst Theater for a panel discussion featuring a handful of Slow Food superstars, including Carlo Petrini, the effusive Italian founder of Slow Food International, who declared that that "the themes here are the themes of the next century" -- issues related to fuel, climate change, human rights, and public health, among others. Eric Schlosser, the author of "Fast Food Nation," brought up the plight of the migrant workers -- who keep agriculture going in this state, but are some of the country's most destitute workers. "There cannot be sustainable agriculture without a humanely treated workforce," he said, to thunderous applause. Alice Waters -- who helped fuel the local and seasonal food movement in the 70's with her Berkeley restaurant, Chez Panisse -- fired up my imagination with her dream of planting a garden on the White House lawn. Michael Pollan, the author of "The Omnivore's Dilemma," insisted on a return to "a diversified, solar-based agriculture" (versus the current, largely pesticide-based industrial model) and a reinvigorated regional food economy. Petrini had the last word, practically levitating out of his seat in excitement as he made an impassioned plea: that we all "consume a little less, waste a little less." After all, "in sobriety, there's pleasure, too."

I was on board, ready to honor his mandate -- just not that weekend. The next morning, I ate my way through a cavernous warehouse at Fort Mason, a former military base on the bay, where cheese-makers, professional olive oil tasters, and charcuterie experts stamped my Taste Pavilion entrance ticket and piled my plate with a bounty of flavors: molasses ice cream, slivers of five artisanal cheeses, generous glasses of micro-brews and sustainability harvested wine, handmade buffalo jerky, spoonfuls of local honey. The flavors and textures were a revelation. Taste buds afire, I vowed to search out more local products in the future -- be it at a local grocery store, farmer's market, or online. Call it a small victory, for a delicious revolution.

By Jaime Gross

Slow Food Recipes

Roasted Pepper, Feta, and Basil Bruschetta

Marinated Beet Salad

Green Bean, Corn, and Tomato Salad

Apple, Leek, and Butternut Squash Gratin

Vegetable Market Salad

Striped Bass with Tomatoes, Corn, and Basil

Chickpea, Tomato, and Spelt Soup

Strawberry Granita

Blueberry-Yogurt Fool