| |
June 2008
 |
In
this issue: |
 |
Local
food in Senegal |
As in many other countries around
the world, Senegal has suffered a significant reduction
in the consumption of healthy and natural local agricultural
produce. A loss of purchasing power has pushed many Senegalese
to prefer Asian or European fast foods. The continual
growth in imports of rice, corn, wheat and other staples
damages the local economy and weakens the country’s
agricultural base. The negative consequences of the situation
include an impoverishment of Senegalese small farmers,
a loss in agrifood biodiversity and cultural identity
including the gradual loss of traditional recipes and
ingredients.
Within this context, the “Mangeons local!”
(Let’s eat local!) project is of particular significance.
It was launched in Dakar by Slow Food Lek Mégnef
Sénégal conviviul ,
in collaboration with the press and communications agency
Jade /Syfia Senegal and Terra Madre chef Bineta Diallo
from the restaurant Le Point d’interrogation (Question
Mark).
Thanks to this initiative, each year around one hundred
students will learn about eating local products. The project
addresses many issues: from enriching the students’
understanding of agriculture (with a particular focus
on traditional fruit, vegetables and leafy greens, as
well as cultivation areas and types and methods of production),
to cooking courses and Taste Education workshops concerning
Senegalese food (with guided tastings of specially prepared
dishes).
At the end of the program, interested students are able
to do an internship with the restaurant, with the goal
of forming a small team to provide training courses in
schools and women’s associations.
For more information:
Seck Madieng
Convivium leader of Slow Food Lek Mégnef Sénégal,
Senegal.
madiensec@yahoo.fr
Bineta Diallo
Terra Madre Chef
restaurantmdioh@yahoo.fr
 |
Rock
for Nature |
It seems it was not enough for the German farming community
of Schwäbisch Hall to save two animal breeds that
had been on the brink of extinction for 20 years - “Boeuf
de Hohenlohe” beef cattle and the “Schwäbisch-Hällischen
Landschwein” pig. With Rock
for Nature, the community aims to revive the spirit
of Woodstock with an open-air festival to protest against
genetically modified agriculture. From August 22 - 24,
2008, thirty national and international stars of the caliber
of Nena, the Scorpions and Joe Cocker will perform to
an expected audience of more than 50, 000 visitors.
Tickets cost €88 and cover entry, camping and parking
for the three days, as well as a €5 donation to landless
Indian farmers who have suffered the negative consequences
of GM farming.
Slow Food Germany, Greenpeace, Natural Life International
and IFOAM are partners in the event.
|
I
say “Tomato”,
you say “TomAto” |
What is the best way to teach children how to grow food?
How do you involve and stimulate them through activities
they can do themselves? Slow Food Spokane River Hall (Washington,
United States)
attempted this in early June with their event Kids
growing plants.
The children brought along their own pots and were assisted
by organizers to plant tomato and basil seedlings. The
convivium worked together with a local association (The
Transitional Living Center), which provides assistance
for single mothers, and provided use of the garden where
the event took place. It is hoped this will make a difference
for a group of people who would not normally participate
in a Slow Food activity. The plants were grown from seeds
collected by a convivium member from last season’s
tomato plants (their cultivation was part of a project
run by RAFT
- Renewing America’s Food Traditions Alliance).
During a refreshment break, Slow Food members explained
the movement’s purpose and projects and encouraged
those present to get involved where possible, maybe starting
by simply buying fresh produce at local farmers’
markets.
The convivium asked its guests to share their experiences
of summer vegetable growing through photographs and stories
written by the children, which were then used to make
a group poster.
For more information:
Jennifer M. Hall
Convivium leader of Slow Food Spokane River Hall, Washington,
USA.
sf.spokaneriver@gmail.com
|
Cultivating
the Future in Modena! |
The city of Modena in Italy will become
the world capital of organic agriculture when it hosts
the 16th Ifoam
Organic World Congress (International Federation of Organic
Agriculture Movements) over June 16-20,
2008. At the heart of the event is the second IFOAM conference,
Cultivating the future based on science, held over June
18 - 20 to discuss four basic principles of organic agriculture:
health, ecology, fairness and care.
Vandana Shiva, Carlo Petrini, Evo Morales and Serge Latouche
will participate in the event along with a range of other
high-profile figures, experts, and producers from developed
and developing countries.
Key issues will be:
- Regional Values and Indigenous Knowledge,
where we derive our experience and inspiration;
- Innovation - in all fields for a sustainable
future;
- Cooperation between different parties,
such as producers and consumers, public and private sectors,
scientists and practitioners, south and north, communities,
regions and countries.
Complementing the conference proceedings, a fair-trade
market held in Modena’s historic center will add
a festive atmosphere, with organic produce from around
the world and traditional local products.
Consult the complete
program.
|
Expo
Zaragoza 2008:
Water and sustainable development |
Slow Food Zaragoza
is participating in Expo
Zaragoza 2008, the largest event ever organized
around the theme of water and sustainability. The 93-day-expo
(June 14 - September 14,
2008) will feature nine themed weeks in which scientists,
experts, politicians, legislators, artists and writers
will reflect and discuss on water-related issues from
different perspectives. The scale of this event is impressive:
32 000 participants and 2000 experts from 102 countries
around the world will take part.
Thanks to Slow Food Zaragoza convivium, the Terra Madre
project will be presented on the morning of July 4 and
its guidelines for producing sustainable food will be
described, including the vital aspects relating to water.
This meeting will conclude with an organic lunch, with
those invited including 250 Spanish mayors.
The theme of the Expo is particularly relevant for Spain,
where there have been water shortages for the past four
years. Last year’s rainfall was down by 40% and
importing water appeared to be the nation’s best
solution. A few weeks ago, a tanker load of water arrived
by sea at the port of Barcelona. Further shipments are
planned until November. Other “crisis” relief
plans being investigated include importing water by
train (too expensive), digging new wells, desalination
of seawater, and controversial idea to divert the Ebro
River.
For further information contact:
Jorge Hernandez
Slow Food Zaragoza convivium leader, Spain.
zaragozaslowfood@telefonica.net
|
The
mill of solidarity |
Ferdinando Marino, owner of the
Marino
di Cossano Belbo mill in northern Italy, is working
to assist Peruvian kañihua producers in an international
cooperation project organized by Slow Food Foundation
for Biodiversity. Two years ago during the Salone del
Gusto in Turin, a delegation of Andean farmers told
Ferdinando about their problems in grinding this ancient
cereal - which grows high in the Andes at around 4000
meters. Rich in protein, it has always been a staple
in local people’s diet, and its flour is used
to make baked products and beverages. Thanks to donations
from millers in Cossano Belbo and Slow Food Foundation
for Biodiversity, a mill is now being constructed in
Peru which will be used by around fifty farmers, allowing
a whole village to grind the cereal. “It is the
first time I have been involved in an initiative like
this and it has been an amazing experience. It was incredible
to live with these farmers and their families”,
Ferdinando told us on his return from the Andes.
 |
The
train whistles three times |
The
famous yellow train of the Cerdagne (a French region
on the Mediterranean side of the Pyrenees mountains)
is the means of transport chosen by the Roussillon convivium
to show its members the riches of the wonderful area
around Saillagouse.
The train dates back to 1903 and travels on 63 kilometers
of track climbing uphill from Villefranche du Conflan.
In summer when it is fine, the train travels with an
open top. It is an ideal way for Slowfooders to take
a gastronomic excursion to a celebrated artisan producer
of mustard and vinegar, to the Cal Guillemet farm to
savor local cheeses such as reblochon cerdan, or to
discover great pork butchers like Bonzon and Marty who
raise and process tira-Boixó pigs. The trip ends
with a convivial open-air barbecue utilizing these and
other local products.
Ireland is the scene for another train trip later in
the year, this time bringing producers to the Terra
Madre Ireland. The train leaves from Belfast and
will arrive at Waterford for the meeting
of Irish food communities on September 4,
picking up anyone attending the event along the way.
What better way to get to know each other and create
lasting relationships!
For more information about the French excursion,
write to:
Jean Lheritier
Slow Food Roussillon convivium leader, France.
LheritierJean@aol.com
For information on Terra Madre Ireland and related
events:
info@slowfoodireland.com
|
The
Slow Food Foundation
in New Caledonia |
In 2007 the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity initiated
a project in New Caledonia, an archipelago in the South
West Pacific Ocean.
Covered in rainforest and surrounded by the largest
closed coral lagoon in the world, New Caledonia has
been classified by the United Nations as one of the
10 most biodiverse countries in the world. In addition,
New Caledonia is home to an incredible variety of languages
and cultures: the Kanak, the aboriginal population who
speak 28 different languages, as well as people of European,
Asian and Middle Eastern origin.
The project aims to carry out research on local products
to promote and defend the amazing food biodiversity
on the islands (ranging from taro, yam,
local varieties of banana, mango and coconut to the
vast seafood resources).
Some food communities will be attending Terra Madre
2008 and a Presidium project is in the process of being
set up.
 |
Ladies
and gentlemen, we give you...the Slow Burger! |
When University of Gastronomic Sciences alumni Jan Bahr
and Barbara Kunze arrived in Colorno in 2005 to join
the first edition of the Food Culture and Communications
Masters program, they probably did not expect to find
themselves running a burger joint two years later. Today,
however, these partners in love and life are also partners
in Die
Burgermeister, un nuovo locale a Vienna.
their newly opened hamburger restaurant in Vienna.
The meals features high-quality meat sourced from organic
producers, locally baked buns, hand-cut fries, and homemade
ketchup and mayonnaise. As Barbara says, “With
the right ingredients, passion and effort you can remake
the fast food icon into a delicious Slow treat!”
Barbara's own food photography adorns the walls of the
café, and the beer fridge is kept well stocked
with 20 different brews.
|
Terre
d'Acqua:
Lagoons, deltas and lakes.... |
Terre
d’Acqua (Water Lands) was an event organized
by Slow Food Italy, with the support of the Veneto Regional
Authority, that was held over June 7 – 8 to focus
on Italian brackish-water environments. Through displays,
technical meetings, educational sessions and tastings
in customary Slow Food style, it highlighted the nature,
culture, economies and traditions of these ecosystems.
The event was a natural development from Alla
ricerca del Grande Fiume, the bicycle trip
undertaken by students at the University of Gastronomic
Sciences in autumn 2007 to investigate the health of
Italy’s largest river, the Po. Terre d’Acqua
opened with a conference open to the public, Alla ricerca
del Grande Fiume, with participation by fishing communities,
institutions, Slow Food Presidia representatives, scientists,
producers, cooks and consumers. The program included
taste trails, interactive and sensory seminars, a market
featuring a selection of high quality produce from these
environments, and an area to taste Veneto’s wines
and beers.
Terre d’Acqua provided a valuable opportunity
to find out more about these delicate ecosystems.
For more information, write to:
Gino Bortoletto
President of Slow Food Veneto, Italy.
presidente@slowfoodveneto.it
•
New
Convivia
The following convivia have recently joined
the Slow Food network:
Oberá
– Argentina
N’Djaména
– Chad
Loire et Loing
– France
Morelos
– Mexico
Grachtengordel (Amsterdam Centrum)
– Netherlands
Bran-Moeciu
– Romania
Lek Mégnef Sénégal
– Senegal
Gipuzkoa-donostia
– Spain
|
|
|
| |
EDITORIAL
.......................................................
Bad advisors for bad solutions
Usually when an institution, company or government
sets objectives and fails to achieve them, the people
at the top are replaced, managers are fired, or
the government is changed at an election. In 1996
the FAO set itself the objective of reducing the
number of people, then 800 million, suffering from
hunger by 2015: today, in 2008 famine effects 850
million people around the world and the current
food crisis threatens to increase this numbers by
100 million within a very short time.
The FAO summit held in Rome in early June, should
have taken the opportunity to consider not just
the current crisis, but also reflected on the real
purpose of costly mega-institutions such as the
UN food agency or the munificent World Bank which
throws money around as though it was enough to just
put your hand in your wallet to solve problems of
this size and importance. Jacques Diouf, the Director-General
of the FAO, has seen the situation get worse since
he first held the position in 1993: isn’t
it justified to wonder whether a drastic change
is necessary? Not only at the top, but among the
advisors and the influential, because those chosen
by Diouf to deal with the food crisis are producers
of GMOs, seed suppliers, junk food manufacturers
- those who more than anyone cause food to travel
around the world and, what’s more, are the
only ones to gain from this crisis. Just take a
look at their performance on the stock exchange.
Bad advisors have delivered bad solutions. What
we need is a transition to organic and ecological
forms of agriculture that are decentralized, democratic
and cooperative, i.e. carried out on a small scale
and not controlled by multinationals. Traditional
agricultural communities, from agro-ecologists to
generations of native peoples, practice such farming
based on the principles of diversity, synergy and
recycling. The solution lies in fostering a network
of local economies, which bring together tradition
and innovation and incentives should be provided
with the money collected by the FAO in Rome. The
people needing support are the small farmers who
produce food. It is outrageous that they represent
80% of those 850 million hungry people.
Asking the agribusiness system to resolve the problems
it has created, using the same means with which
it has created them, is pointless and damaging.
Soil pollution, genetically modified crops, monocultures,
subsidies and dumping, the loss of food sovereignty
and freedom to use their own seeds and to benefit
from local biodiversity are not the fault of small
farmers, nor of the climate. They are both the first
to suffer, and did not invent the things causing
them hardship. Unfortunately this was not said in
Rome. On the contrary, for a few days the news causing
the most excitement was that Iran’s President
Ahmadinejad was not invited to the gala dinner:
world hunger was the theme of the summit…
Carlo Petrini
|
|
|
 |
...............................................................................
| |
Terra Madre is the world
meeting of food communities, the largest
cultural event organized by Slow Food, which
brings together over 5,000 people from all
round the world. Terra Madre enables delegates
from food communities to exchange information,
ideas and solutions. This is the most effective
way of defending their work and agrifood
biodiversity. The event is crucially dependent
on donations and the many varied forms of
support which help us to organize this ambitious
project. We again need your help for this
edition of Terra Madre to allow delegates
from developing countries to take part.
If you would like to make a donation, please
contact:
Simona
Malatesta
tel. +39/0172/419 648
|
|
|
 |
What they
said
 |
| |
In
2002 I happened to hear a radio program talking
about Slow Food. I was so impressed by the
wonderful things people were doing that I
immediately wanted to start a convivium here
in Bedford. At first I wondered what I could
do, but soon realized that there were many
more artisan producers in the area than I
had thought. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Sue
Miller
Leader of the Slow Food Bedford Convivium,
UK |
|
|
 |
|
| |
All
the groups of children, of all ages and backgrounds,
were keen and focused for the whole lesson,
from beginning to end. They ate everything.
Even the small boy who had never eaten potatoes
prepared in this manner. At the end he declared
he would never again eat potatoes he hadn’t
made himself. |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Annette
Rudolf
after a lesson in the Slow
Mobile
Munich Convivium, Germany |
|
|
|
|
|
