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It now describes itself as an eco-gastronomy faction within the ecology movement, and some consider it also the culinary wing of the anti-globalization movement. It announced the opening of a new University of Food at Pollenzo, in Piedmont, Italy in 2004. Carlo Petrini and Massimo Montanari are leading figures in the setting up of the University, whose goal is to promote awareness of good food and nutrition.

Programs of the Slow Food movement include or have included:

• Seed banks to preserve native varieties, usually in cooperation with more local movements
• An " ark of taste" for each ecoregion whose "tastes" are preserved
• Preserving & promoting local & traditional food product know-how
• Organizing small-scale processing, e.g. slaughtering, of short run products
• Organizing celebrations of local cuisine within the region of production, e.g. the Feast of Fields held in some cities in Canada
• Taste Education
• Educating consumers about the hidden risks of fast food
• Educating citizens about the hidden risks of agribusiness and factory farms
• Educating citizens about the risks of monoculture and reliance on too few genomes or varieties
• Various political programs to preserve family farmThe family farm is a farm owned and operated by a family. It is the basic unit of the mostly-agricultural economy of much of human history and continues to be so in developing nations. Alternatives to family farms include those run by agribusiness or colls
• Lobbying for agricultural policyAn agricultural policy or agricultural subsidy is an incentive to engage in a particular form of agriculture. It often takes the form of tax reductions, favorable deals on equipment, and so on. Subsidies status Currently, economic studies place the averag changes to support organic farms
• Lobbying against genetic modification of foodstuffs
• Lobbying against the use of pesticideA pesticide is a chemical used to control, to repel, to attract or to kill pests, for example, insects, weeds, birds, mammals, fish, or microbes, that are considered a nuisance. Pesticides are usually, but not always, poisons. Examples of pesticides herbis
• Teaching gardeningFor the chosen plaintext attack used by the British during World War II, see gardening (cryptanalysis). Gardening is an activity—the art and craft of growing plants—most often taking place in or about one's residence, in a space referred to as the garden., especially to studentAlternate uses: Student (disambiguation Etymologically derived from study a student is one who studies. Also known as a disciple in the sense of a religious area of study, and/or in the sense of a "discipline" of learning. In widest use, student is used ts and prisoners
• Moral purchasing of foodstuffs produced by locals using methods that are morally acceptable to the consumer

From time to time, Slow Food intervenes directly in market transactions, e.g. preserving four varieties of native American Turkey by ordering 4,000 eggs of these and commissioning their raising and slaughtering and delivery to market.

Critics of the organization have charged it with being elitist, as it discourages nominally cheaper alternative methods of growing or preparing food. Slow Food responds by claiming to be working towards local production and consumption which will exploit "best practices" of science and professions worldwide but ultimately prove cheaper due to less reliance on transport and energy and chemical and technology intensive methods. These arguments parallel those of the anti-globalization movement, Greenpeace and green parties against global export of monocultured foodstuffs, especially GMOs. A central point related to these arguments is that transport prices are artificially low because the true cost of fuel (including the protection of shipping lanes and other military interventions around the world) are not factored into the price of goods, and are instead paid for indirectly through personal taxes.