After Turmoil, Departure of Slow Food Leader Slow Food USA, which focuses on preserving biodiversity and traditional foods, announced on Thursday the departure of its president, Josh Viertel, who has led the organization since 2008. Slow Food International has been growing steadily since its founding in 1986 as a response to the global spread of fast food. But the American wing has been dogged by accusations of elitism since it was formed in 2000, and recently roiled with conflict over whether its primary mission was preservation of tradition, or activism for new models of healthy eating, sustainability and better food for the poor. Mr. Viertel, who came to Slow Food from the Yale Sustainable Food Project, seemed to lean towards the latter; under his leadership, the group's most high-profile national initiative was the $5 Challenge, an effort last year to "take back the value meal" by making healthy food for the same price as a McDonald's Happy Meal. In a news release from the organization, Mr. Viertel said it was a good time for new leadership. The organization said his departure was by mutual decision. In May, a new board chairwoman was installed, Katherine Deumling, who said in an email interview last night that no candidates to replace Mr. Viertel have been identified. "We're seeking a leader with proven skills in scaling and implementing national programs, and one who can chart the course for celebrating, reclaiming and creating local food cultures," she wrote. Slow Food USA has more than 200 chapters; one of the most active, the New Orleans group, has sparred frequently with Mr. Viertel and the Brooklyn-based Slow Food USA staff since Hurricane Katrina. Poppy Tooker, one of the New Orleans group's leaders, said on Thursday that the change in leadership meant that "just in time for Terra Madre, Slow Food USA may find its way back to the international mission." Terra Madre, or "Mother Earth," is an international meeting of farmers, food policy experts and food artisans which gathers every two years in Turin, Italy, where Slow Food was founded by Carlo Petrini. It is scheduled for October 25-29 2012. Slow Food USA has not held a full-scale national gathering since 2008"s Slow Food Nation in San Francisco.