Abstract
As of January 2011, the Slow Food movement, a group started in Italy by Carlo Petrini in 1989, boasted over 100,000 members worldwide. A non-profit member supported association, Slow Food worked towards developing a movement that would counter the fast food and fast life lifestyles by reviving local, traditional foodways that are environmentally friendly, economically sustainable, and socially responsible. Slow Food publishes a variety of literature that encourages people to become part of the movement by adopting a slow identity, one that is presented by Slow Food as being inclusive. Analyzing some of Slow Food’s major literary works using various rhetorical lenses, this thesis examines the effect that various types of rhetorics utilized in Slow Food’s texts actually generate an identity based on exclusion. This thesis aims to document the overarching function of these rhetorics and what their effects and outcomes are both for those who can be included in the movement and those who are intentionally and unintentionally excluded. Additionally, this thesis reviews and offers possible solutions and outcomes for Slow Food’s literature and rhetoric in order for it to become more inclusive.