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Triumph of the Locavores To appreciate the Slow Food philosophy, you’ve got to start thinking outside the plastic fast-food box. Most people have become so conditioned to processed foods that it’s hard for them to get past that comfort level. If you’re trapped in a conventional way of thinking, it’s easy to throw a chunk of emulsified cheese or packaged hamburger into the grocery cart or feel satisfied with an after-dinner verdict of “Well, that tasted pretty good.”That status-quo attitude is hard to overcome . So the activists who are working to bring food back to a higher standard are some of the twenty-first century’s true innovators, entrepreneurs, and risk takers. And among them stands Patrick Martins. Patrick helped to found Slow Food USA, importing the concept from Italy, where he worked with Carlo Petrini, who had established the parent organization, Slow Food International, in the mid-1980s. But Patrick went beyond the idea of simply bringing the movement to America. He figured out how to translate it into practical reality. In other words, he answered the question: how do you get a sustainable local food supply from its source to America’s dining tables? In 2001 Patrick established Heritage Foods USA, which began as the sales and marketing arm of Slow Food USA. It’s the distribution network that moves fresh, sustainable local products from farms and local growers to restaurants, mom-and-pop stores, farmers’ markets, and beyond. In 2004, Heritage Foods USA became an independent company and added another mission: to save many of the country’s traditional livestock breeds, which are in danger of extinction. The Food Fighter from Brooklyn Patrick directs Heritage Foods USA from his Brooklyn apartment. I don’t know quite how he does it, but the system works. In the process, he has become an icon for foodies everywhere. He’s been featured in publications ranging from Esquire to the New York Times Magazine, which gave him the nickname “Food Fighter.” But for 8  75  all his celebrity, Patrick remains a real working guy. If you call his office, the assistant who answers the phone is liable to say, “He’ll be with you shortly; he’s hanging pork jowls at the moment.” To other people, Patrick can feel like a force of nature: you get swept up by his energy. That’s what happened to me when I first contacted him. At the time he was living in Italy and working with Carlo Petrini. Introducing myself, I told him I was interested in developing our Slow Food chapter in New Jersey. A native New Yorker to the core, Patrick’s immediate response was to hoot at the notion of linking Slow Food to New Jersey, which the Empire State thinks of as its poor cousin. But once he realized that New Jersey has long been the source and champion of farm-to-plate food, he changed his tune—especially once I sent him the press clippings about our popular Slow Food events. When he learned that membership in Slow Food Central New Jersey was at three hundred and growing, Patrick was flabbergasted. He said they would have to dedicate one of the drawers in the file cabinet in the Slow Food International office in Bra to our chapter. After this first contact, we quickly went from being colleagues to friends. Over the phone, I had imagined a tall, wiry academic with glasses and short hair. In person , Patrick’s rumpled and wild-eyed, like the kid from science class who enjoys explosions and computer games. But it’s easy to see how I got the egghead idea: Patrick can riff for hours about sustainability, genetic diversity, and establishing a fully traceable food supply. He sees the Slow Food movement as a solidarity struggle . According to Patrick, when you agitate for something to exist that’s outside the norm (in this case, authentic, fresh foods versus the processed, corporate variety ), “that’s a subversive act.” He appreciates people who fight for those principles, and he thinks that’s why he and I get along. “Jim has that activist gene in him,” Patrick likes to say. “That’s why we’re connected spirits.” An Underground Railroad When he came back from Italy, Patrick wanted to put our “connected spirits” to work. He had an idea; and when Patrick has an idea, brace for impact. He was starting up Heritage Foods...

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