A lot is going on this month, here and abroad.... The next Tasty Bites will be in November; have a great month!

Later this month in Turin, Italy, Slow Food is hosting two amazing semi-annual events for the international food and farming world.

If you are not familiar with Slow Food, they are an international organization (founded in Italy by a charismatic, poetic Carlo Petrini) that encourages slowing down from our fast-paced, fast food world, and embracing the culture and heritage of local foods and wine. "It opposes the standardisation of taste, defends the need for consumer information, protects cultural identities tied to food and gastronomic traditions, safeguards foods and cultivation and processing techniques inherited from tradition, and defends domestic and wild animal and vegetable species." That's right.

Both events are happening right next door to each other October 26-30th:

Salone Del Gusto
Close to 140,000 attendees will stroll through the lanes of the Salone Del Gusto, where artisan food and wine producers from around the world will be showcasing their heritage products and tastes. The Italy pavilion is the largest with the Meat Lane, the Oil Lane, the Cheese Lane, the Sweet & Spirits Lane, the Garden & Spice Lane, the Grain Lane, and the Beer Lane. An endless choice of products combining tradition, fantasy and attention to quality -- and whose producers follow the Slow Food Manifesto: Good, Clean and Fair.

To satisfy visitors' international gastronomic curiosity and evidence of cultural biodiversity, they'll just bop over to the other pavilions. Behind the stands will be the producers who have come from the four corners of the globe to tell their stories and introduce their products. Visitors can meet and chat, and taste and purchase their cheeses, cured meats, rice, breads, sweets, fish, coffee, vanilla, cacao, tropical fruit, vegetables and so on … For five days they'll have a veritable map of the world’s biodiversity at their fingertips.

Terra Madre
Gluttony aside, Terra Madre is an even more unique event where Slow Food has helped fund 5000 international farmers, breeders, fishermen, and traditional food producers, 1000 international cooks, and 200 universities to meet. Over the five days, they will share their experiences and discuss the development of a new concept of agriculture and food that is good, clean and fair.

At the first Terra Madre meeting in 2004, Alice Waters and Prince Charles both gave speeches. Click their names to read their inspiring words...

This year again, many of our local Bay Area farmers and chefs, and industry and media folks will be attending. Very exciting to be a part of this global community focusing on local economies and traditions.

Read more about:
Slow Food International
Slow Food USA
Your Local Slow Food Convivia

Check our organically-inclined Events page for more happenins as they are announced.

Frugal Foodies Tuesday Night Dinners
Tuesdays, 10/17/06-10/31/06, 6:30pm-9:30pm
A live-work studio in Southwest Berkeley; $7/person

Women in Sustainable Agriculture Lecture Series
Days of the week vary, 10/19/06-12/8/06, 6:45pm-8:45pm
UC Berkeley; College of Environmental Design, Wurster Hall room 106 in Berkeley; Free

East Bay Environmental Training
Saturdays, 10/7/06-11/11/06; 10:00am-4:00pm
Various locations throughout the East Bay. in East Bay; $75 - $150, sliding scale. (One year Ecology Center membership included.)

Film Screening: The Future of Food
Thu, 10/12/06; 7:00pm-9:00pm
Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave, near Dwight Way in Berkeley; Free

Apple Pressing at Blackberry Farm
Sat, 10/14/06; 10:00am
Blackberry Farm, 77 Olema/Bolinas Road in Bolinas; Free

Educational Adventure: Mini-Farmers
Sat, 10/14/06; 10:00am-11:30pm
Tilden Nature Area, in Tilden Park in Berkeley; $6 ($8 if not a resident of Alameda or Contra Costa County).

Vegetarian Cooking Class: "Comfort Foods for Chilly Nights"
Sat, 10/14/06; 10:00am-1:00pm
First Unitarian Church, 685 14th St. at Castro in Oakland; $45, plus $5 food/materials fee.

Annual Harvest Celebration at Slide Ranch
Sat, 10/14/06; 10:00am-4:00pm
Slide Ranch, 2025 Shoreline Hwy in Muir Beach; $15/person in advance; $20 at the gate; $60 for families of 4 or more; age 2 & under free.

Seasonal Cooking Demonstration - Amy Murray of Venus
Sat, 10/14/06; 10:30am-11:30am
North Arcade of the Ferry Building in CUESA's Dacor teaching kitchen. in SF; Free

Fundraiser: "Walk for Farm Animals"
Sat, 10/14/06; 10:30pm-12:30pm
Ferry Building, Embarcadero & Market in SF; Free

Pumpkin Patch Potluck/ Squash Fest at High Ground Organics
Sat, 10/14/06; 1:00pm-5:00pm (pumpkin picking); 5:00pm (potluck)
High Ground Organics Farm in Watsonville

Rogue Chefs Restaurant Pumpkin Fest Piano Bar
Sat, 10/14/06; 6:00pm-9:00pm reservations available
Rogue Chefs Restaurant, 730 Main Street in Half Moon Bay

Half Moon Bay Art & Pumpkin Festival
Sat-Sun, 10/14/06-10/15/06; 9:00am-6:00pm
Main Street. in Half Moon Bay; Free

Seasonal Cooking Demonstration for Kids & Parents
Sun, 10/15/06; 10:00am
North Arcade of the Ferry Building in CUESA's Dacor teaching kitchen. in SF; Free

Fundraiser for City Slicker Farms
Sun, 10/15/06; 2:00pm-5:00pm
Mama Buzz Café, 2318 Telegraph Ave, @ 23rd in Oakland; $15 (no one turned away)

A Russian River Heritage Harvest Feast: Renewing America's Food Traditions
Sun, 10/15/06; 3:00pm-7:00pm
MacMurray Ranch, Westside Road in Healdsburg; $65/person

About Slow Food! (or, everything you wanted to know, but were afraid to ask...)
Sun, 10/15/06; 5:00pm-8:00pm
38 Helens Lane in Mill Valley; $90 per person (Slow Food members: $80)

Farm Tour to Tierra Vegetables and Allstar Organics
Sun, 10/15/06; 9:00am-5:00pm
Meet at the Ferry Building. in Nicasio; $35 and the tour is geared toward adults and youth 12 and over.

Berkeley Farmers' Market Annual Fall Fruit Tasting
Tue, 10/17/06; 2:00pm-7:00pm
Derby St. at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way in Berkeley; Free

Oliveto Polenta Dinners
Wed-Fri, 10/18/06-10/20/06
565 College Ave. in Oakland

Fair Trade Dinner Gala at Samovar - From the Farmer To You
Wed, 10/18/06; 7:00pm-9:30pm
Samovar Tea Lounge, 730 Howard Street (upstairs) between 3rd and 4th in SF; $40

Sustainable Cotton Project Farm Tour
Thu, 10/19/06; 7:00am-5:30pm
In Fresno; Free

Bioneers Conference
Fri-Sun, 10/20/06-10/22/06
Marin Center- 10 Avenue of the Flags in San Rafael

Berkeley Farmers' Market Fall Fruit Tasting and Cooking Demo with Amy Murray of Venus and Mary Vance, Nutrition Consultant
Sat, 10/21/06; 10:00am-3:00pm
Center St. at Martin Luther King, Jr. Way in Berkeley; Free

Seasonal Cooking Demonstration - Susan Beach of isimmer.com
Sat, 10/21/06; 10:30am-11:30am
North Arcade of the Ferry Building in CUESA's Dacor teaching kitchen. in SF; Free

EcoFarming Fun - East Bay - Greenbelt Outing
Sat, 10/21/06; 9:30am-2:30pm
EcoVillage Farm in Richmond

Fall Harvest Cooking Class at Millennium Restaurant
Sun, 10/22/06; 10:00am-3:00pm
Millennium Restaurant, 580 Geary St./Jones in SF; $125 (tax not included)

Autumn Harvest Slow Food Feast of Fools and Friends, a benefit for CounterPULSE
Sun, 10/22/06; 7:00pm-11:00pm
CounterPULSE, 1310 Mission St. (near 9th) in SF; $50-100 sliding scale per person.

Grower's Dinner at Jack Falstaff - Allstar Organics
Tue, 10/24/06
Jack Falstaff, 598 Second St. at Brannan in SF

Get your Eurail Pass Here - European Wine Dinner at Millennium Restaurant
Wed, 10/25/06; 6:00pm-9:30pm (sparkling wine reception 6-6:30pm; dinner served at 6:30)
Millennium Restaurant, 580 Geary St./Jones in SF; 5-course prix-fixe menu, $75/person

The Future of Food: a Free Eco Film Night
Wed, 10/25/06; 7:00pm-9:00pm
Varnish Fine Art, 77 Natoma St. in SF; Free

Ferry Building Fall Harvest Festival
Thu-Sun, 10/26/06-10/29/06
Ferry Building Marketplace and Farmers Market in SF; Free-$5

CCOF's Organic Beer, Wine and Spirits Tasting
Thu, 10/26/06; 4:00pm-8:00pm
Ferry Building in SF; Free admission; $25 for 10 tastes

Cooking Class with Rosetta Costantino: "A Taste of Southern Italy"
Fri, 10/27/06; 6:30pm
Paulding & Company, 1410-B 62nd St. in Emeryville; $85/person

Lunny Ranch and Drakes Bay Oysters
Sat, 10/28/06; 10:00am-2:00pm
Historic G Ranch, on the right, 6 miles past the village of Inverness on Sir Francis Drake Blvd in Inverness; $20 MALT member/ $25 non-member

Farm Bill Community Forum
Sat, 10/28/06; 9:00am-5:00pm
YWCA 1515 Webster St in Oakland; $5 suggested donation/no one will be turned away for lack of funds

The Business of Organic: Certification, Operations, and Marketing
Mon-Tue, 10/30/06-10/31/06; 8:00am-5:00pm (Mon); 8:30am-3:00pm (Tue)
Sheraton Sonoma County in Petaluma; $1295 Early Bird (until Sept. 18th), $1495 Standard Rate (after Sept. 18th)

Mystery Night at Maverick Restaurant
Tue, 10/31/06
Maverick, 3316 17th St. in SF; Three-course meal: $35 per person; with wine pairings: $55

Oliveto Truffle Dinners
11/1/06-11/30/06
565 College Ave. in Oakland

Even a little snack! If you use these newsletters, use our website, or simply enjoy having delicious, organic food in the Bay Area, please support our programs that serve local, organic farms and the community. Om Organics is a project of the San Francisco Foundation - Community Initiative Funds, and can only continue with the help of contributions from conscientious people like you!

Any amount is appreciated!
You can make a donation:

• via Paypal.com: to donate@omorganics.org
• by credit card: via the SFF CIF donation page
• by check: "Om Organics: Project of SFF CIF", 225 Bush St. #500, SF, CA 94104

THANK YOU!