| |
May 2009
Print
version 
 |
In
this edition: |
 |
Slow Food
key words
|
Terra Madre
Terra Madre is a network made up of people wanting to
preserve and promote sustainable methods of food production
in harmony with nature, landscape and traditions. There
is a particular focus on local areas, plant varieties
and animal species which over the centuries have adapted
to different natural environments. The Terra Madre family
is continually growing and striving to defend local products
and gastronomic cultures. The Terra Madre food communities
put Slow Food’s ideas about quality into practice,
based on the three concepts of good, clean and fair.
Terra Madre is a Slow Food project created to protect,
support and give a voice to small producers. It also aims
to change the system which is causing such damaging effects
by harnessing the efforts of those who can influence future
policies through their everyday decisions and choices:
consumers, chefs and cooks, schools, research bodies,
non-government organizations, associations, young people
etc. A significant impact can only be achieved by propagating
local actions within a global vision.
For more information:
www.terramadre.org
< Return
to Index >
|
From land to table... |
 |
Grandmother's
Day
Slow Food Ireland
sets the example |
Ireland – We all celebrate Mother's
Day - but what about grandmothers? And grandfathers? There
has never been a day to honor them. Until now... As proposed
by myself and Alice Waters at the last Terra Madre gathering
in Turin, the first Slow Food Grandmothers’ Day
was held, on April 25, to get children together with granny
for a day in the kitchen.
Ten Irish convivia held a celebration. East Cork Slow
Food, for example, linked up with The Irish Examiner (a
national newspaper that enthusiastically embraced and
supported the idea) to run a competition where grandchildren
sent in the favorite recipe they like to cook with their
grandparents. The winners came to the Ballymaloe Cookery
School and grandparents showed their grandchildren how
to cook. An art competition was also organized, with six
local schools, where children had to draw or paint a picture
of "Cooking with Granny". There was a huge response:
the pictures gave a wonderful glimpse into the very special
and precious bond with grandparents.
In Waterford, a whole group of grannies and grandchildren
joined The Four Rivers Convivium. They reminisced about
their childhood and passed on recipes, having lots of
fun.
Even national television gave us an opportunity to encourage
parents all over the country to gather their grandchildren
around them to pass on inherited skills, bake a cake,
catch a fish, sow a seed, knit, crochet, sing a song,
play a tin whistle…but particularly how to cook.
I am myself a grandmother of 6 precious grandchildren.
Together, we dug the first of the new potatoes, pulled
some baby carrots and little beets the size of table tennis
balls. We washed and cooked the vegetables, roasted a
duck and peeled some apples to make sauce. Then we all
sat down around the kitchen table and had a delicious
convivial supper where the children ate every single scrap.
Finally, they drew a picture of digging potatoes with
grandma and we wrote down the recipes for our simple supper
- we plan to make this a monthly event.
We’ve started the ball rolling here in Ireland -
I have no doubt that the idea will continue to gather
momentum and that next year Grandmother’s Day will
be bigger, better and truly international.
Darina Allen
Slow Food Councilor for Ireland
info@slowfoodireland.com
< Return
to Index >
|
From
the University of Gastronomic Sciences to Cuba
A Terra Madre
Cuba community welcomes 15 students
|
Cuba - The
Cuban community Proyecto Comunitario Conservación
de Alimentos and the Faculty of Agriculture of Havana
University (also part of the Terra Madre network), organized
a visit to Cuba in March for 15 students from the University
of Gastronomic Sciences (Pollenzo, Italy).
Proyecto Comunitario was set up in 1996 in a
western district of Havana. It aims to introduce and promote
sustainable natural methods that are suitable for local
conditions and respect the environment—methods which
encourage a healthy lifestyle and the democratic participation
of local communities.
The volunteers working on the project are mainly involved
in the production, transformation, preservation and consumption
of food. They manage small and medium-sized family and
community vegetable gardens, use solar driers and make
preserves. The organic gardens grow more than 120 plant
species: vegetables, tubers, small fruits and medicinal
herbs. The Project also endeavors to improve the standard
of local food culture. The work carried out by this Terra
Madre community has become an example for the urban agriculture
movement throughout Cuba.
The students from the University of Gastronomic Sciences—from
Germany, Kenya, Switzerland and Italy—were able
to exchange information with producers, teachers and coordinators
involved with local gastronomy in five of the country's
provinces, from Pinar del Rio in the west to Santiago
de Cuba in the east. As well as learning about the island’s
gastronomic situation, they were able to visit places
of historic, social and cultural interest.
< Return
to Index >
|
Earth
Markets
An agreement between
Lebanon and Tuscany signed in Beirut |
Lebanon - Hamra lies in the heart of
Beirut, surrounded by large buildings of concrete and
glass, shopping malls, Western brands (from Nike to Radio
Shack) and oppressive traffic, but there is a small oasis:
a street just a few hundred meters long where small farmers
from the surrounding area come to sell their products
every Thursday morning. Here you can find Arab bread,
kechek (ground corn seasoned with herbs in olive oil),
sumac (a dark red spice with a lemony taste), mwaraka
(a thinly rolled pastry filled with walnuts, almonds and
honey), cedar honey and aromatic herbs...
This is the Hamra Earth Market, the pride of Slow Food
Beirut. On Tuesday April 28, Hamra hosted producers from
three Tuscan Earth Markets who had come to Lebanon to
present their products (including extravirgin olive oil,
wine, pecorino cheese and Orbetello bottarga) and conclude
an international agreement.
The agreement (involving the Tuscan and Lebanese Earth
Markets together with Slow Food Tuscany and Slow Food
Beirut) was officially signed on April 29 at Horeka (the
most important food fair in the Middle East). Underlining
the importance of this agreement, representatives of Lebanese
and Italian institutions attended the ceremony: the Italian
Ambassador in Beirut, the Director of ICE (the Italian
Institute for Foreign Trade), the Director of the Lebanese
Ministry of Agriculture, together with representatives
of the Tuscany Regional Authority and the municipality
of Montevarchi (location of the first Earth Market), the
NGO UCODEP, Italian Cooperation and the Slow Food Foundation
for Biodiversity.
The main objective of the agreement is to maintain continuous
cooperation and assistance between Tuscan and Lebanese
Earth Markets through the exchange of information and
common promotional initiatives. A further demonstration
that Slow Food projects always have strong local roots
but a global perspective and vision.
< Return to Index >
|
The
Influence of Arab Sweets
The Zaragoza
convivium explores the roots of its traditional
regional pastries
|
Spain - During May,
thirty people attended eight courses organized by the
Zaragoza convivium to study the Arab origins of traditional
local pastries and confectionery. In the Middle Ages -
when Zaragoza was called Medina Albaida - honey, flour
and dried fruit were the basic ingredients of its sweet
pastries. The city now has one of the three most important
remaining examples of Hispano-Islamic architecture in
the country: the Aljafería Palace. It should therefore
be no surprise that the pastries and confectionery of
the Maghreb closely resemble Zaragoza’s traditional
products. The convivium asked Fátima Zerargui,
owner of the Arab pastry shop Las tres estrellas
(situated in the Avenida Conde de Aranda, the most multicultural
part of the city) to illustrate the basics of traditional
Zaragoza pastries through some classical Arab recipes
such as almond and walnut pastry, gazelle horn and oriental
brik pastries. The courses also included a program of
Arab music.
For further information
contact Jorge Hernandez, leader of the Zaragoza convivium:
jhernandez@aragon.es
< Return to Index >
|
A
Peasant Meal of the 1830s
The Maltese
convivium gives its members a taste of the past |
Malta – Carmel Cassar was one of
the academics at the last Terra Madre gathering in Turin.
Focused on the idea of passing traditional knowledge on
to younger generations, he and a lecturer from the ITS
(Institute for Tourism Studies) brought three students
with them from Malta. Once home from the event, Carmel
decided to put his ideals into practice locally and, together
with a small group of other dedicated and passionate people,
founded the new Slow Food Malta Convivium. They are now
proud to announce their first activity: “A Peasant
Meal of the 1830s – the experience”. The menu
chosen for the occasion offers a taste and an insight
into the culinary practices of Maltese peasants in the
first half of the 19th century. The food being especially
prepared for the occasion includes maslin bread, which
is a type of coarse bread made using a mixture of several
grains normally eaten by Maltese country people. The activity
aims to highlight local Maltese food, most of which used
to be produced locally by the peasant farmers. The meal
is being held in conjunction with the Centre of Cultural
and Heritage Studies (Institute of Tourism Studies). Research
on the original ingredients and food preparation was carried
out by Prof Carmel Cassar himself and Noel Buttigieg,
together with other members of Slow Food Malta and lecturers
of the Institute of Tourism Studies. The meal is being
prepared by student cooks of the Institute of Tourism
Studies under the supervision of their lecturers, some
of whom are members of Slow Food.
For more information, contact Carmel
Cassar, leader of Slow Food Malta convivium: carmel.cassar@um.edu.mt
< Return to Index
>
Voices
from Terra Madre
|
Travel
Notes
Giuseppe Gajarin,
coordinator of two Italian Presidia, describes
his visit to the Cape Verde Presidium |
 |
| |
Capo
Verde - At Cheese 2006 I met
Giuseppe Quaranta, a Turin university
academic who is advising the Bolona Goat
Cheese Presidium (Cape Verde). He asked
whether I could provide some technical
assistance, particularly on the use of
milk starter. Cape Verde stimulated my
imagination and gave me itchy feet. I
browsed through brochures, looked at photos,
listened to friends talking about their
visits. But none of it could describe
what I would see. From March 3 to 10,
2008 I had the chance to see the Presidium
with my own eyes. The archipelago. The
people...... |
|
| |
|
|
| |
Giuseppe
Gajarin
gaiarin.giampaolo@trentingrana.it
Click here to
read Giuseppe Gajarin
|
|
|
 |
< Return to Index >
Food
Traditions
|
Reed
salt from the Nzoia River
|
Kenya – In
some areas of western Kenya - historically cut off from
the main salt routes - local communities have developed
a distinctive method for extracting salt from an aquatic
plant.
This plant is a thin reed that grows in water from September
to March and is cut at its base with sickle when mature.
After harvesting it is placed to dry on rocks along
the river for three or four days. It is then gathered
and burned on a slow fire while still on the rocks.
The residual ash is mixed with hot water and then filtered
to remove sand and other impurities. The liquid is then
poured into a large pan and boiled on an open fire.
When it has completely evaporated, a pure greyish salty
mixture is left on the bottom. It is collected and packed
into banana leaves. This “salt” is dried
inside the leaf packages by placing them under hot ashes
overnight.
After the British arrived and built roads connecting
the area to Lake Victoria, sea salt was introduced and
the traditional product - obtained by a long and complex
process - was gradually abandoned. It is still used
in a few villages, mainly by diabetics and those with
blood pressure problems.
Click here to read the full story on the Terra
Madre site.
< Return to Index >
In
Print, On Screen
|
Slow
Food on Film
Food, Inc.
wins the Golden Snail award for Best Documentary
|
A shock film about the American
food industry triumphed at Slow Food on Film. Food,
Inc. won the Golden Snail award and
€ 5,000 prize, collected by director Robert Kenner,
for Best Documentary Film at the second edition of
Slow Food on Film. According to the jury, “The
film brings a powerful message to discussions about
our disastrous global food situation. It tells the
story of a very complex international food production
system in a way that is understandable and informative
while being impressively dramatic”.
The award for Best Short Documentary (€ 2,000)
went to the Hungarian director Sándor Mohi
and his Imádság
(The Prayer), which describes five years in the life
of an elderly farming couple. The jury praised it
for “capturing the profound humanity of the
main characters, and the simple emotions expressing
their pain. It involves us in their lives and shows
their close relationship with the land, which we feel
to be ever more essential”.
The award for Best Short (€ 5,000) was won by
Thé Noir (Black
Tea) by French filmmaker Serge Elissalde. It was praised
“for its stylistic elegance, originality and
ability to develop a fascinating story with powerful
symbolism; while not lacking a certain irony and closely
portraying a dramatic everyday situation”.
The Food & Film Academy—the international
jury appointed to choose the best feature film—selected
Gianni Di Gregorio’s Pranzo di Ferragosto,
and the award for Best TV Series went to Report
by Milena Gabanelli.
Read the complete article on slowfood.com
< Return to
Index >
Food
for Thought
|
Men
Eating Fish
Extract from
an article by John Volpe |
You walk into your local food shop to gather some
ingredients for the evening meal. You don’t
have a menu in mind, you will build the meal around
whatever looks particularly fresh and appetizing.
Deciding to lead with the protein, you head to the
butcher’s counter first. He has an embarrassment
of riches on display; loin of Serengeti lion is on
sale, but the French-cut rack of Canadian boreal forest
wolf looks pretty special. Perhaps a roast owl would
be good, but they are out of everything but great
horned and that is too much for two. In the end you
opt for convenience and go with a couple of ground
polar bear patties ...
Does this seem surreal or over the top? Perhaps. Consider
though that instead of the butcher’s counter,
you make your way to the fishmonger’s instead…
Extract from an article by John Volpe, published
in the Italian magazine Slowfood n°39.
Click
here to read the whole article
.
< Return to
Index >
Campaign
International Slow Fish Campaign
Don't forget the Slow
Fish Challenge: send us your recipes
which use local sustainable fish!
For further information on the Challenge
click here.
More information on sustainable
fish:
The
End of the Line
International Documentary
Feature Films winner at Sundance Festival
Sound the global alarm. Scientists
predict that if we continue fishing at the
current rate, the planet will run out of
seafood by 2048 with catastrophic consequences.
Based on the book by Charles Clover, The
End of the Line explores the devastating
effect that overfishing is having on fish
stocks and the health of our oceans. With
Clover as his guide, Sundance veteran Rupert
Murray (Unknown White Male) crisscrosses
the globe, examining what is causing the
dilemma and what can be done to solve it.
Industrial fishing began in the 1950s. High-tech
fisheries now trawl the oceans with nets
the size of football fields. Species cannot
survive at the rate they are being removed
from the sea. Add in cofactors of decades
of bad science, corporate greed, small-minded
governments, and escalating consumer demand,
and we’re left with a crisis of epic
proportions. Ninety percent of the big fish
in our oceans are now gone. Murray interweaves
glorious footage from both underwater and
above with shocking scientific testimony
to paint a vivid and alarming profile of
the state of the sea. The ultimate power
of The End of the Line is that
it moves beyond doomsday rhetoric to proffer
real solutions. Chillingly topical, The
End of the Line drives home the message:
the clock is ticking, and the time to act
is now.
See the complete Sundance Festival
review here.
Film website: www.endoftheline.com
|
|
The
Future of Seeds in Europe
Open letter for agricultural biodiversity
and farmers’ collective rights
The governing
body for the FAO ITPGRFA (International
Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food
and Agriculture) will meet in Tunis from
June 1 to 5. Discussions will focus on the
sustainable use of agricultural biodiversity
and farmers’ rights: their rights
to keep, use, exchange and sell their seeds,
preserve traditional knowledge, be involved
in national and international decisions
affecting biodiversity etc. These rights
are not respected in most European countries.
We are making an appeal to farmer and consumer
organizations, as well as environmental,
civil rights and political associations
to sign the open letter to be sent by May
20 to European governments, the European
Commission and the Treaty Secretariat.
The initiative is promoted by various organizations
involved in preserving traditional European
seeds (Heritage Seed Library – UK;
Interessengemeinschaft für gentechnikfreie
Saatgutarbeit – Germany and Austria;
Protect the Future - Hungary; Red de Semillas
- Spain, Réseau Semences Paysannes
- France, Rete Semi Rurali – Italy).
Download
the complete text of the letter (in Italian)
To sign the open letter,
click
here.
For further information on the FAO
Treaty, click
here.
|
|
An
Appeal to Defend Rosé
European regulations
covering winemaking practices (CMO wine
reform) have until now prohibited the mixing
of white and red wines. With the revision
of these rules this provision has now been
removed, allowing white and red wines to
be mixed to obtain a rosé-colored
wine. Genuine "rosé" is
produced through rapid and skilful pressing.
Grape skins give the wine its color: the
less time they are left in the juice, the
lighter will be the resulting rosé.
Every winemaker can then express their skill
and terroir to achieve a high quality product.
Allowing wines resembling rosé to
be made using surplus whites, but at lower
cost than a genuine rosé and at any
time of the year, very much seems to be
an opportunistic maneuver. Mixing white
and red wines, which are generally experiencing
weak demand at present, allows an attack
on the market for rosé, which is
currently growing.The sale of these blended
wines, which can easily be confused with
proper rosé, could destabilize the
economies of traditional rosé producing
regions.
There is a lot at stake and the
rosé producing regions are presenting
a common front through this
petition. You are invited to sign it
in order to defend rosé wine. |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| |
In April this year, the International Commission
on the Future of Food and Agriculture produced an
important new manifesto on the very important issue:
the future of traditional knowledge After producing
manifestos on the future of food, on seeds and on
climate change, the International
Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture,
instigated in 2003 by the president of the Tuscany
Regional Authority Claudio Martini and by Vandana
Shiva - and which I am proud to be involved with.
We are very aware how traditional ancestral knowledge
about food is seriously endangered, together with
biodiversity, ecosystems and the cultures which
have been molded by them over the centuries.
This knowledge is of fundamental importance. It
has too often been dismissed as nonscientific and
of minor significance but in fact it describes a
harmonious relationship with nature, showing us
how to produce food sustainably and use resources
in ways that respect limits. It tells us about practices,
such as using renewable energies or recycling, which
are extremely relevant in our current critical situation.
So I firmly believe that the food communities will
be key players in a third industrial revolution
focused on clean production, and that they still
have a lot to teach us.
An equal and respectful dialog needs to be established
between traditional knowledge and official science
so it can receive the dignity it deserves and its
survival can be assured. The food communities teach
us that remembering also means caring. The manifesto
on the future of traditional knowledge aims to introduce
the new concept of knowledge sovereignty, similar
to food sovereignty, so that communities have the
inalienable right to practice, pass down and evolve
their traditional knowledge, while respecting their
identity and culture without anyone being able to
interfere. This is another fundamental civil achievement
which the Terra Madre food communities and the Slow
Food network can proudly present to the world..
Carlo Petrini
President of Slow Food International
|
|
|
|
 |
| Join
a great international |
community
that defends sustainable agriculture, fishing
and breeding.
Celebrate the pleasure that the finest foods in
the world offer us in all their variety.
servicecentre
@slowfood.com
|
|
| |
.........................................................................
| |
CALENDAR
Terra
Madre Tanzania
May 29 - 30, 2009
Dar Es Salam, Tanzania
Savoirs
et Saveurs de Montagne
May 13-14, 2009
Gap, France
Journées Gastronomiques
Nord Sud
June 18-20, 2009
Libreville, Gabon
Terra Madre Argentina
August 13-16, 2009
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Cheese
September 18 - 21, 2009
Bra, Italia
Slow Food Nippon
Octpber 23 - 25, 2009
Yokohmama, Giappone
Terra Madre Austria
October 28 - 29, 2009
Vienna, Austria
Slow
Fisch
November 6 - 8 2009
Brema, Germania
EURO
GUSTO & Terra Madre for Young Europeans
November 27-30, 2009
Tours, France
Vignerons d'Europe
December 5 - 8, 2009
Firenze, Italy
ALGUSTO
– Saber y Sabor
December 11-14, 2009
Bilbao, Spain
|
|
.........................................................................
| |
Slow Food Almanac
The Slow Food Almanac 2008 has been
published recently in English, Italian, Spanish,
German, French. you can view an electronic version
of the Almanac here.
communication
@slowfood.com
|
|
.........................................................................
| |
Slow Food and
Terra Madre
in figures
Members: 100.000
Convivia: 1.000
Countries: 150
Presidia: 306
Ark of Taste products: 813
Earth Markets: 9
School gardens: 300
|
|
.
........................................................................
| |
12 Ways to Eat Slow from Slow Food France
1. Give yourself
(some) pleasure.
Take the time to taste and pay attention to your
senses: this is the best way to eat well.
2. Bring the seasons to the table.
Each season rediscover the pleasure of tastes
you haven’t experienced for a year.
3. Think global, eat local.
Choose products from farmers and growers near
to your home: you will help to strengthen the
local economy and the links between people living
in your area.
4. Eat something you have grown…
…and grow something you eat. This
is the best way to get in touch with nature.
5. Meet farmers, growers, artisans and
specialized sellers in person.
Buy products with a short chain (through farmer’s
markets, purchasing groups) or from artisans (bakers,
cured meat and cheese makers) or from specialized
competent sellers.
6. Be Inquisitive.
When in a shop, restaurant, bar or supermarket,
ask questions about product quality.
7. Choose products of animal origin with
particular care.
When you eat meat, always choose grass
pasture products (veal, lamb) or free range products
(pork, poultry).
8. Vary your diet to defend agricultural
biodiversity.
Try rare and unusual varieties of potatoes, cereals,
fruit and vegetables.
9. Eat natural wholefoods, choose non-processed
products.
Processed ready-to-eat foods contain
many modified food products and fats of low nutritional
value.
10. Cook!
This is the best way to save money and
know exactly what you are eating. It is a daily
pleasure you can give yourself and those you love.
11. Spend better, spend less.
Eating better does not necessarily mean spending
more, don’t cut down on quality.
12. Become a taste explorer.
Educate children, friends and acquaintances about
the true pleasure of eating.
|
|
|
| |
 |
|
