…the Slow Food Movement has sought to build stronger connections between producers, farmers and consumers.
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Laloo's ® very own goatherder and artist in residence is also the co-founder and Capo di Capi* of the farm. This fall the series of photographs "SLOW: Life in a Tuscan Town" can be seen on display at the Italian American Museum in San Francisco as part of the Slow Food Nation Exhibition* at Fort Mason. Click to view more of SLOW: Life in a Tuscan Town Please visit www.slowfoodnation.org for more details The Slow Food Movement was born as a rebellion against the world-wide homogenization of food and the undermining of regional farmers. The Movement was started by writer, Carlo Petrini, in response to the opening of the first MacDonald’s in Rome, Italy in 1986. Over the past nineteen years, the Slow Food Movement has sought to build stronger connections between small food producers, farmers and consumers. Slow Food has also worked to help preserve and educate people about organic farming practices and local culinary traditions and culture. In the process of sharing these healthful and cultural practices Slow Food helps people explore the experience of taste and sensation in response to food.
I founded Laloo’s ® Goat Milk Ice Cream Company in the rolling hills of Petaluma, California because I wanted to live and work inside the culture of slow food. Throughout my career as an entertainment executive in Los Angeles yoga was my outlet, my sanctuary from a hectic schedule. And, through yoga I learned how to be mindful but it was only part of the picture. Finally, a beloved yoga teacher introduced me to nutrition as part of my yoga and everything changed. After a few years of healthy eating I was aware of just how unaware I was of where most of the ingredients in my shopping cart came from. Ultimately I realized, (over a bowl of ice cream no less!) that the shorter the journey from the earth to the table, the better the food would be. Looking at the list of ingredients on a premium pint of ice cream, I wondered how could artificially flavored, partially hydrogenated ingredients be healthy? Most dairy farms hold thousands of cows. There must be a way to be kinder to the animals and the planet without sacrificing taste and style. As an epicurean, I knew that I might never become a vegan. But, after my yoga teacher I embarked on a special diet that promised to clear the clutter from body, mind and spirit. For one year the only dairy allowed was goat’s milk. A former pint of ice cream a week (or 2 or 3) habit was in peril, and so it wasn’t long before I locked myself in my kitchen and began experimenting with ice cream made from goat’s milk. I founded Laloo’s ® on goat's milk because it is as close to a perfect food as possible in nature. Its chemical structure is amazingly similar to mother’s milk. It is a complete protein containing all the essential amino acids without the heavy fat content and catarrh producing materials of cow's milk. Developing the perfect recipe was the result of uncountable hours of learning, mixing, tasting (the best part!), and sourcing the finest ingredients. This path led me to the heart of the natural food revolution in Sonoma County, California and the birth of Laloo’s ® Goat Milk Ice Cream Company. Laloo’s ® goats play on 350 acres of lush hills where they graze on green grass in the warm Pacific breeze. It’s the good life, and the good life makes magical ice cream that is naturally low in fat and lactose and spoon-lickingly delicious to the last scoop. Laloo’s ® is "Slow Farmed & Kitchen Fresh™".
Laura Howard is a member of the Sonoma County Slow Food convivium, and a business leader in Ben Cohen’s Business Leaders for Sensible Priorities organization.
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SLOW: Life in a Tuscan Town
