Slow Food USA Tells Stadiums to Up Their Game

You’re invited to join Slow Food USA in the next stage of the showdown between better meat and the industrial grid. Show your support with by hosting a #Nose2Tailgate this Sunday for the big game.

Richard McCarthy embodies the phrase “think globally; act locally.” He joined Slow Food USA opens in a new tab as Executive Director in January 2013, having previously served as Executive Director of Market Umbrella, an internationally recognized non-profit mentor organization for farmers markets, community building and sustainable economic development. 

As it turns out, foodies aren’t the only eaters who check out menus online before deciding on their weekend plans. Football fans are ranking their local stadium’s grub opens in a new tab, and stadiums are taking notice opens in a new tab. Feasting on game day is one of this country’s longest and most unique food traditions opens in a new tab. Consider the do-it-yourself engineering that goes into tailgating with the super-lounge effect of sofas, grills and full-bars outside football stadiums. This practice builds community by bringing together friends and family to root for a win — and that’s exactly what Slow Food USA opens in a new tab will be doing this Sunday.

What are we rooting for? A big change. We want sports stadiums to make a shift in their sourcing practices. We want them to follow the example of places like Levi’s Stadium opens in a new tab and bring more sustainable, delicious food to the bleachers. It’s all part of Slow Meat opens in a new tab, a nationwide call to break free from the culture of confinement that defines the modern meat industry. Stadiums have huge purchasing power. A small shift in their sourcing could mean a big change for animal welfare and rural livelihoods.

The history of Slow Food has taught us that big change can begin with a good party opens in a new tab, like it did in Rome in 1986 when the arrival of fast food was met with spaghetti street parties. This is why you are invited to join Slow Food USA in the next stage of the showdown between better meat and the industrial grid. Show your support by taking part in on our Nationwide Nose-to-Tailgate opens in a new tab this Sunday for the big game. Before Katy Perry roars on to the field, cook up a batch of grassfed beef burgers, fried chicken hearts opens in a new tab, or pan-fried porkchops opens in a new tab from a heritage breed.

Snap a picture of your game day grub, and post it to Twitter with #Nose2Tailgate for a chance to win a signed copy of influential butcher Adam Danforth’s seminal handbook, Butchering or lawyer-rancher Nicolette Niman’s climate-change case for raising of animals: Defending Beef.

Before the coin toss, we toss the purchasing power over to you: Together, we can start the drive for better meat inside sports stadiums by showcasing better practices in parking lots, backyards, and in front of the glow of the flat screen. Join the throng of people who proudly cook up joy and justice, on sports fields and in farm fields, on Astroturf and alfalfa.

Will you be hosting a #Nose2Tailgate party? What’s on the menu?

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