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May
2010
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Slow Food
key
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Neo-Gastronomy
Neo or ‘new’ gastronomy is a concept of gastronomy
as a multidisciplinary approach to food that recognizes
the strong connections between plate, planet, people and
culture. The term was coined to correspond with the evolution
of the Slow Food movement, which began with an initial
aim to defend good food, gastronomic pleasure and a slower
pace of life (eno-gastronomy), and then logically broadened
its sights to embrace issues such as the quality of life
and the health of the planet that we live on (eco-gastronomy).
Neo-gastronomy adds a further holistic element to this:
a neo-gastronome has a responsible, comprehensive approach
to food, combining an interest in food and wine culture
with a desire to defend the environment and food biodiversity,
and considers eating as not only a biological necessity,
but also a convivial pleasure to be shared with others.
A neo-gastronome is aware that their food choices have
a direct effect on the market, and therefore food production,
and that everyday-choices can be made for the benefit
of our palate, the environment and society.
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Campaigns |
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Slow
Fish
Peixe em Lisboa in
Portugal |
Portugal – Lisbon’s annual
food festival dedicated to fish, Peixe em Lisboa, was
the ideal chance to launch the international Slow Fish
campaign in Portugal last month. The four Portuguese
convivia joined forces to create a Slow Food stand focused
on sustainable consumption of fish, aiming to make the
festival visitors aware of the importance of responsible
choices, and inspiring them to start choosing fresh,
local fish caught using environmentally friendly methods.
Held for the third time in 2010, the festival is organized
by the Lisbon tourism association and the city council.
Two Pirogues for Senegal
Senegal – Two brightly colored
pirogues, small flat bottomed boats, decorated with
the Slow Food snail have been donated by the Piedmont
Regional Authority and the Slow Food Foundation for
Biodiversity to communities of women from three islands
in the Saloum delta, Dionewar, Falia and Niodior. However,
these boats are not for the purpose of fishing. To help
lower the pressure on fish stocks in the area, where
fish are becoming smaller and catch volumes are declining
every year, Slow Food is working with local women to
increase the production of syrups and jams made from
local fruits, herbs and spices like karkadè (hibiscus),
baobab, ginger, tamarind and ditakh (sweet detar).
The initial problem to be resolved in order to get this
project off the ground was a matter of transport. The
women depended on the goodwill of fishermen to let them
use their pirogues when they needed to move between
the three islands and this was leading to problems in
gathering and transporting the fruit and high costs.
The two boats not only give the women autonomy, but
open up a much larger area in which they can range to
gather fruit and transport their products, and represent
a symbolic step in the communities cooperating and working
together..
Russia’s Last
Guardians of Wild Salmon
Russia – In the far east of Russia,
the 29 active volcanoes in the region of Kamchatka have
earned it a reputation as a spectacular land of fire
and ice. Here, the Terra Madre Tarja food community
of native Itelmens has long practiced the sustainable
fishing of wild salmon, a tradition they still continue
today with special permits that allow them to fish only
a certain quantity of salmon using particular techniques.
However, this year has been crucial for fishing communities
across the region, with the local authorities announcing
a plan for redistributing the fishing lands between
the indigenous groups for the next 20 years. More than
half of the local communities did not receive any fishing
rights, and have been left without an autonomous way
to support themselves financially.
Thanks to their traditional fishing practices and their
continuity of fishing Lake Bolshoje Sarannoj, the Tarja
fishing community did obtain permission to continue
their trade, which is not only a way of life but also
an inseparable part of their culture, based almost entirely
on hunting and fishing.
Being able to continue fishing means being able to continue
many other activities that help protect the Itelmen
tradition. To ensure younger generations are involved
in this process, the Kamchatka Convivium, in collaboration
with the Pacific Centre for the Protection of the Environment
and Natural Resources, is organizing the “Guardians
of Wild Salmon” summer camp, which will involve
the youth of the community and visitors from the rest
of the peninsula.
For more information:
Oleg Posvolskiy
Slow Food Kamchatka Convivium Leader
tarya1@yandex.ru
Click
here for the full article on the Slow Fish
site.
Slow Fish Challenge
Remember that you can now participate in the Slow Fish
Challenge: Choose a local species of sustainable fish,
find or create a recipe and send us the information
to help create a collective recipe book of good, clean
and fair fish and seafood from around the world.
Click
here for more information on the Slow Fish
Challenge.
For more information on the Slow Fish campaign:
www.slowfood.com/slowfish
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From Land to Table... |
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Full
Heart, Full Belly
Slow Food Quetzaltenango
celebrates flavor and responsibility in Guatemala |
Guatemala – Local foods, culture,
land, work and good government policy: These were the
ingredients for the second edition of the Barriga Llena,
Corazón Consciente (Full Heart, Full Belly) event,
held at the beginning of the month in Quetzaltenango and
organized by the local convivium and Movimiento Emergente.
The convivium brought these various themes together in
Taste Workshops led by local chefs, seminars, a produce
market, cultural activities and areas dedicated to eating
and socializing.
“Within the ancient Guatemalan cultures, the act
of eating and gastronomy are constantly growing in importance,”
explained one of the organizers. “For this reason,
today, the new revolution must be based on the creation
of conscientious communities that produce high quality
foods while respecting Mother Nature and workers.”
During the fair the Quetzaltenango convivium presented
the results of their year-long educational project, Cultivando
Vida, which the convivium implemented in local schools
with the support of Slow Food International.
Click
here for more information.
or email Ramínez De León Pablo
teco125000@hotmail.com
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Young
Wines, Ancient Traditions
Presidia wine
producers at a wine festival in Georgia |
Georgia – Wine producers, vineyard
owners, journalists, local politicians, wine experts and
enthusiasts had the opportunity to try a new vintage of
a very old tradition last month, offered by producers
from the Georgian Wine in Jugs Presidium. This new Presidium
brings together producers in the Kakheti and Imereti regions,
who are continuing an ancient winemaking technique using
two-handled ceramic jars similar to those used by the
ancient Greeks. Representatives of the Presidium offered
a tasting of their particular wine, offering a unique
insight into a traditional Georgian production at risk
of being lost.
The Presidium producers were participating in the New
Wine Festival, which included a tasting of the 2009 vintage
from across the country, accompanied by food, music and
traditional singing. According to Malkhaz Kharbedia, president
of the wine club that organized the event, "the aim
of the festival is to bring together people who love Georgian
wine and want to improve and promote it."
For more information:
Maka Samatelli
Slow Food Tbilisi Convivium Leader
mszgc@access.sanet.ge
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From
Bean to Bean
Cacao brings
Ecuador and Mexico together |
Ecuador – Three representatives
from the Chontalpa Cacao Presidium in Mexico recently
visited the production sites for the Ecuadorian Cacao
Nacional Presidium. For a week the Mexican producers had
the opportunity to visit the cacao plantations, see the
fermentation and drying structures and tour the artisanal
chocolate factory. They also met with the cooperative’s
leaders and looked closely at how they organize deliveries
and investments.
The Ecuadorian Presidium is an interesting case because
it is one of the few projects in which an indigenous community
cultivates cacao and produces chocolate, managing the
whole production chain without middlemen. It has also
been very successful, and the Kallari cooperative’s
chocolate has become famous worldwide and is exported
to many countries.
The visit to Ecuador was an excellent opportunity for
the Mexican Presidium representatives to study their Ecuadorian
counterparts in detail so that they can further develop
their own project in the Tabasco region.
“We are very pleased to have had the opportunity
see the Kallari experience first hand. It is an admirable
example of productive work that is well organized and
sustainable,” said Alma Rosa Medina Garcés,
the director of ACTO (Asesoría Técnica en
Cultivos Orgánicos), the local association that
has been supporting the producers since 2000. “This
visit will really help the work we’re doing with
the Chontalpa Cacao Presidium in Mexico.”
For more information:
Alma Rosa Garcés Medina
Chontalpa Cacao Presidium
atcovillahermosa@yahoo.com.mx
Elias Alvarado
Cacao Nacional Presidium
eliasala@latinmail.com
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Voices
of Terra Madre
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30
Years of Resistance
France
- The annual festival of French Presidia was held
in April. Part of a weekend dedicated to biodiversity,
the Presidia Day was an occasion for producers
and people working to promote good, clean and
fair food to meet, share experiences and exchange
new ideas. Marie-Lise Broueilh,
a producer from the Mouton Barèges-Gavarnie
Presidium, shares her experience… |
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It
has been a 30-year struggle to maintain
the breeding of Barèges-Gavarnie
sheep in our valleys, a breed highly resistant
to the harsh geoclimatic conditions we
suffer. In the 1970s, several producers
realized the need to protect this native
breed. The mouton requires a long time
to mature, about two years at this high
altitude, and other more productive breeds
were threatening its survival. To tackle
this situation a group of about ten producers
decided to protect the Barèges-Gavarnie
mouton by exclusively raising this local
breed...
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Click
here to read Marie-Lise ’s full
story on the Terra Madre website.
Marie-Lise Broueilh
Mouton Barèges-Gavarnie
Presidium Coordinator
moutonbg@free.fr
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Food
Traditions
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Eat
the World
A globe-hopping
Portuguese couple discovers local food traditions |
A Portuguese chef-writer couple and friends of Slow
Food have embarked on a trip around the world to discover
different cultures through the pleasures of the table,
and share this experience with their home country. In
their project Eat the World, Maria and Francisco Martins
da Silva will travel through 23 countries in 365 days,
living with families and learning recipes and techniques
from local people - from housewives to renowned chefs.
These encounters will be documented on their website,
and published regularly in a national Portuguese newspaper
and a food magazine. “Our aim is to let Portuguese
society know what’s happening in different countries
in the world: what people eat, their traditions, where
our food comes from, etc.,” the couple wrote.
“We believe that cooking is the extension of our
cultural, historical and religious heritage...We want
to unveil local gastronomy, discover the world through
the kitchen and describe it on paper, revealing it to
others.”
Since departing from Portugal in February, the couple
has visited Mozambique, Zanzibar, the UK, Turkey, Syria,
Jordan, Lebanon, Israel and Dubai and will soon head
through Asia and North and South America. Their story,
photographs and video recipes can be followed on their
website Eat
the World.
Click
here for the full story on the Slow Food website.
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Food
for Thought
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Creative
Gardeners
Urban dwellers
come up with creative ways to grow their own |
UK - A desire to save money, an increase
in interest in where food comes from, and a growing
mistrust in food companies is inspiring artists and
city dwellers to look at alternative spaces and methods
for urban gardening, proving that being short of garden
space doesn't mean being deprived of home-grown produce.
In England’s higher density cities, many inner-city
residents are starting kitchen gardens on terraces,
balconies or rooftops, often sharing their experience
through blogs. “You don't need an allotment or
garden to grow your own food, [in the UK] we've got
the equivalent of 344 football pitches' worth of growing
space right on our windowsills,” says Fiona Reynolds,
from the National Trust, which launched a grow your
own campaign earlier this year.
Meanwhile in France, a designer-landscaper
team recently released a line of portable urban garden
bags made from porous textiles. The idea was conceived
by the company Bacsac as a solution to the constraints
of traditional rooftop gardens, with bags that can be
moved around easily and therefore provide endless possibilities
of functional growing spaces in urban areas.
Click
here for the full article on the Slow Food website.
Growing up
USA – Slow Food’s own San
Francisco convivium has also joined the trend, helping
to launch the city’s first vertical school garden.
The soil-less vertical garden at Sanchez Elementary
School is mounted on a chain-link fence, taking up no
playground space. Designed around a concept of sustainability,
the garden uses aquaponic technology and is powered
by renewable energy. The convivium is hoping that Sanchez
will become a model and open the door for other urban
schools to utilize unused vertical space as green learning
environments, particularly on campuses where space is
an issue.
Click
here to read more on the Slow Food USA blog
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Taste
of Hunger
Writer’s
famine diet brings awareness to world malnourishment |
In a demonstration to explore, examine,
and bring attention to the topic of world hunger, writer
Natasha Burge completed a seven-day World Hunger Exploration
project this month in which she mimicked the diet of
world’s hungriest people. Over the week, Burge
ate the staple foods of the regions hardest hit by food
insecurity and adhered to the typical dietary habits
of the 1.2 billion chronically undernourished men, women
and children. She also dedicated herself to researching
the causes and potential solutions to the devastating
phenomenon of chronic hunger, focusing on a different
topic for each day of her diet. In the week following
the diet, Burge reflected on her journey. “As
angry and heartbroken as this world hunger experience
made me, it also gave me hope and joy, because there
are thousands and thousands of people in the world who
have devoted their life to fighting this tragedy…
I truly believe that if every person on earth felt like
this for just one week in their lives, chronic hunger
would be completely eliminated… Once you experience
this stomach clenching emptiness and leg shaking weakness,
there really is no way you would willingly allow other
human beings to suffer like this.”
Click
here to read the full article
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In Print, On Screen
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Pig
Business
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In an exposé on the real
costs of cheap pork, the feature documentary Pig Business
by filmmaker Tracy Worcester reveals the shocking methods
used by factory farms to produce over a million tons
of pig meat for the UK market each year. Animal suffering,
threats to human health and the environment and undermining
the livelihoods of small-scale pig farmers are some
of the issues raised in the film, which was screened
by Slow Food North Yorkshire this month. A free DVD
is available for anyone arranging a screening.
Click
here to read the full article on
the Slow Food website
Visit the Pig Business website for more information
on the film, campaign, to watch the entire film online
or organize a screening: www.pigbusiness.co.uk.
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Sweet
Honey, Bitter Lemons: Travels in Sicily on a
Vespa
|
More recently known for his frank
disapproval of the Italian government’s support
for McDonald’s McItaly burger, in Sweet Honey,
Bitter Lemons, journalist and Italophile Matthew Fort
recounts his travels around Sicily on a Vespa through
the food he encounters. Exploring the Mediterranean’s
biggest island, he stops to investigate and enjoy local
food wherever he can: antipasti in rundown villages,
lemon gelato on a spectacular coast or fishing for anchovies
beneath a star-scattered sky. Drawn to the intensity
of life in Sicily, and its dramatic landscape and traditions,
Fort discovers how the island’s vibrant food culture
is intertwined with its often turbulent past.
Sweet
Honey, Bitter Lemons: Travels in Sicily on a Vespa,
2008, Ebury Press.
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No
Impact Man
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The book tells of the adventures of a man with wife,
daughter and dog, living in the heart of Manhattan,
who tries to save the world by radically changing his
way of life. Readers can take away practical suggestions
for reducing their own personal impact on the environment.
The part dedicated to food is particularly illuminating:
Eating sustainably increases the pleasure of food.
No
Impact Man: The Adventures of a Guilty Liberal Who Attempts
to Save the Planet, and the Discoveries He Makes About
Himself and Our Way of Life in the Process,
2009, Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
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Virtue and
Neccesity
The tradition of the
“Virtù Teramane”, still celebrated
in early May each year in Abruzzo, central Italy,
is one of those popular rituals from the past
that pushes us to think about our present and
our future. The peasant society around Teramo
that created this virtù, a kind of stew,
no longer exists, but it still offers many lessons
for these wasteful and careless times we live
in. If back then they had to “make a virtue
of necessity,” today it is virtue that has
become a necessity.
This dish was skillfully prepared by local women
who created a complex soup from the bits and pieces
left in the store cupboard from the winter months,
like dried beans, different pasta shapes and scraps
of pork, which were not always easy to incorporate
into regular dishes. The first spring vegetables
from the garden were then added, along with fresh
legumes, fresh pasta and other meat such as pieces
of ham and fried meatballs. There is no single
recipe for virtù. The skill lies in turning
an endless list of ingredients into something
more than just a simple soup, something balanced
and delicious.
Virtù is illuminating because it teaches
us the value of saving, of reuse and recycling.
It is a hymn against waste, but also a symbol
of sharing and belonging to a community. In fact,
families would traditionally offer their virtù
to their neighbors and relatives. Forgetting someone
often led to quarrels and even the deterioration
of relationships.
When someone tells me that good food is expensive,
I like to tell them about Virtù Teramane,
because first and foremost it is a dish of rare
quality. And if once it was truly a zero-cost
dish, even now its ingredients are not going to
break the bank. But rather than trying to replicate
it perfectly, let’s grasp the meaning behind
this tradition. We need to go back to cooking
that incorporates leftovers, to being thrifty
with the food that we have and being prepared
to pay a fair price to farmers. Virtù teaches
us that food is precious and that we can create
wonderful meals from what’s left over. It
also takes us back to the social significance
of food, to a reciprocity that in times of global
crisis becomes a revolutionary economic force.
In our own small way, let’s seek to recreate
virtù at home, and let’s start now.
Let’s begin the fight against food waste.
Do it for yourself, for the planet and for those
in great need. Let’s renew tradition and
show just how modern it can be.
I would like those great creative chefs out there
to think for a moment about cooking with leftovers
and come up with some new recipes for us for reusing
the ingredients we have at home. But most of all
I would like the Terra Madre communities to tell
us about their traditional recipes using leftovers
so we can share them with the whole network. This
is how to move from making a virtue out of necessity
to understanding that virtue (and virtù)
is a necessity.
Carlo Petrini
Slow Food President
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Slow Food is working
to help communities around the world to rebuild
their local food systems in order to eat better,
protect the environment and maintain cultural diversity.
Help us further these concrete solutions for change.
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| Join
a worldwide |
community
that defends sustainable agriculture, fishing
and breeding. Celebrate the pleasure of food traditions
and quality foods around the world.
servicecentre
@slowfood.com
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CALENDAR
Terra Madre Argentina
Buenos Airies, Argentina
July 8-11, 2010
Terra Madre Balkans
Sofia, Bulgaria
July 8-10, 2010
Janecka Vecer
Mavrovo National Park, Macedonia
July 26 - 27 2010
Salone del Gusto
Turin, Italy
October 21 -25, 2010
Terra Madre
Turin, Italy
October 21 -25, 2010
Terra
Madre Day
International
December 10, 2010
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Slow Food and
Terra Madre
in figures
Members: 100,000
Convivia: 1,300
Countries: 150
Presidia: 314
Ark of Taste products: 903
Earth Markets: 10
School gardens: 300
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