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The
newsletter for all members of the Terra Madre
network, defenders of sustainable
agriculture, fishing and breeding
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Projects
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A Presidium to Defend Rimbàs Black Pepper (Borneo,
Malaysia) |
Babu Sedebau is a small village in the Rimbàs region in
the interior of Sarawak, one of the two Malaysian states
on the island of Borneo. A small treasure is grown in
this fertile area far from any towns: Kuching black pepper,
a particularly aromatic Malaysian variety. Black pepper
is perhaps the best known and most widely used spice in
the world, making up a quarter of the world spice trade.
But for the Ibans, the native people of Sarawak, pepper
is not a very profitable crop, since it requires a lot
of time and is not a prime commodity. Plants are therefore
only tended in any spare time families have available.
In order to safeguard the production of this precious
variety of pepper, the local community, which attended
the Terra Madre meeting in 2006, has set up a
Presidium project in partnership
with the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity. The Presidium
will help selected growers to improve the processing of
the pepper. The Babu Sedebau community will soon be building
a new workshop to dry and package the product.
To contact the producers of Rimbàs black pepper, write
to:
Mulokanak Saban
Mail: tfanfare@tm.net.my
- tfanfare@gmail.com
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Presidium:
Presidia are local development projects supported
by the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity
in order to defend small-scale quality products
at risk of disappearing. The Presidia directly
involve the producers to promote local areas,
revive traditional skills and processing techniques,
and save native breeds and ancient varieties
of cereals, fruit and vegetables from extinction.
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Food for Thought |
Where can we begin to change society’s relationship with
food? Schumacher College (Dartington, UK) is addressing
the issue with a course examining the role of universities
and educational institutions in promoting sustainable
food and transforming our food supply system. The idea
of Food for Thought began to take shape when
Program Coordinator Inga Page attended the Terra Madre
meeting in Turin in 2006. ‘Hearing Carlo Petrini speak
about the ideals Slow Food strives to achieve and how
important it is for universities to co-operate in changing
the food system was an inspiration,’ she says.
Food for Thought will be held from October 29
to November 2 2007 at Schumacher College. The teachers
on the five-day course will be Roberta Sonnino (Cardiff
University), Tom Kelly (University of New Hampshire),
Victor Kuri (University of Plymouth) and Cinzia Scaffidi
(Slow Food). They will bring a combination of different
experiences and perspectives to help participants establish
a new approach to food supply systems in their institutions,
thus creating and spreading a new food culture in society.
Another important Schumacher College initiative is involving
students in the preparation of daily meals. Following
recipes suggested by teachers, students use seasonal ingredients
bought at the nearby organic Riverford Farm, South Devon,
thereby creating a strong link with the local food community.
For information about Food for Thought and enrolment:
http://www.schumachercollege.org.uk/
Focus on...
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the variety of forms of plant and animal
life present in global ecosystems. Biodiversity includes
genetic diversity within species and diversity in ecosystems,
as well as cultural diversity which can be expressed in
various ways (diversity of language, culture, food and
so on). It is a way of ensuring that life can survive
in changeable environments.
Biodiversity is the result of long evolutionary processes.
It is also a reservoir which evolution draws on to carry
out the genetic and morphological modifications that generate
new living species. Biodiversity is a safeguard for the
life of our planet. But all this is at risk of disappearing,
wiped out by the rules of industry and large-scale standardized
agriculture. Losing this valuable resource means relinquishing
forever a unique and unrepeatable genetic heritage, the
flavors of an area, the culture and traditions of a community.
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Tackling Poverty through
Sustainable Agriculture, Biodiversity and Fair Trade
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To show that poverty can be reduced through sustainable
agriculture, responsible consumption and an approach
to rural development that respects local cultures: this
is the aim of a three-year project co-funded by the
European Union and led by the Italian NGO CEFA, the
Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity and the Fairtrade
Italia consortium.
On September 7 next, the project will stage an important
event in Warsaw, Poland, in which cooks, producers,
NGOs, fair trade organizations and journalists will
discuss the protection of agro-biodiversity and fair
trade practices to promote effective interaction between
European and developing countries. The event will also
present visitors with a range of natural products and
honey, resources that are often undervalued but are
capable of providing a significant source of income
in areas where it is impossible to grow crops or keep
livestock.
The event will be attended by representatives of the
Terra Madre network in eastern Europe: Ukrainian beekeepers,
Slovenian gatherers of wild berries, Belarus producers
of infusions and Polish producers of a traditional alcoholic
beverage known as ‘drinking honey’.
For further information contact:
Paolo Bolzacchini
Mail: p.bolzacchini@slowfood.it
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Slow Food
Dictionary |
Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity
The Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity
defends food biodiversity and gastronomic traditions around
the world. It promotes sustainable agriculture that respects
the environment, animal wellbeing and people's cultural
identity; it demands food sovereignty, or the right of
individual communities to decide what to grow, produce
and eat to make them self-sufficient in terms of their
food requirements. It supports projects around the world,
but its most important commitment is to small artisan
producers in developing countries.
Founded in Florence, Italy, in 2003, the Foundation survives
thanks to the efforts of the Slow Food movement, and through
support from public institutions, private companies and
whoever is interested in assisting projects in defense
of biodiversity.
Voices from
Terra Madre
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Slow Food is knowing where the food you eat
comes from, savoring the pleasure of food,
enjoying it while sitting around a table with
your family. |
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Linda
McCallum-Jackson
farmer,
member of the Slow Food Otago Convivium,
Dunedin, New Zealand
Mail:
havoc.farm@xtra.co.nz
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Food Traditions
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The
Biodiversity of Corn |
7,000 years of history separate the first wild plants
with small bitter grains (ears less than 3 cm) from the
corn varieties of today. The Mayan sacred book chronicles
that humans were born from an ear of corn and still today
corn is the main staple food in Mexico. In Mexico City
alone 600 million tortillas are eaten every day.
Corn is not only grown on plains; in tropical areas it
can grow at altitudes of up to 2,000-3,000 meters. It
is the most important ingredient in Central American cooking.
It can be drunk hot or cold in the form of atole;
like bread it can accompany other dishes in the form of
tortillas, and it is the basis of tamales,
tacos, and enchiladas. In Mexico, Guatemala
and the Andean regions of Peru and Argentina, corn is
not only yellow or white. The grains can be red, pink,
purple, black or blue and come in a variety of diverse
shapes. This extraordinary heritage is gradually disappearing,
so much so that Mexico, the country where corn originated,
is forced to import 40 percent of the cereal from the
United States. Since market demand is only for modern
hybrids, flour is thus bought from American multinationals
to make tortillas, while local varieties disappear
from the fields. Small farmers are now buying seeds and
chemical products, while their land produces less and
costs more.
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TELL US ABOUT YOUR TRADITIONS!
Describe your community, your regional
dishes and the occasions on which you eat
them. We’ll post the best entries in
this section:
communication@slowfood.com
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From
Biofuels to Collective Memory, Everything Is Connected
The domino effect:
when the first piece falls, it brings all the others
down with it.
The governments of industrialized countries, with
the US in the lead, no longer want to depend on
foreign oil. So they have decided to give massive
incentives for the production of biofuels, frequently
involving significant subsidies and international
agreements. For example, corn growers will try to
increase yields using all possible means, including
GMOs—which is easier since they are not being used
for food crops—chemical pesticides and fertilizers.
Farmers who had never grown corn before are now
beginning to do so, sometimes abandoning other food
crops. De facto, food is being put in engines.
The price of corn has already risen as a result,
and is sure to reach record levels in what is now
a global market. The price of other cereals, such
as wheat or rice, will also increase. China, whose
reserves are falling dramatically, is already beginning
to import these foodstuffs, upsetting global balances
and causing significant repercussions at a local
level.
But if one day we find another source of energy,
entire countries —particularly developing countries
that are trying to pay off their debt in this way—
will have abandoned their traditional food crops
and will no longer be able to feed themselves or
sell their produce as biofuel.
One day, perhaps, the land’s resources will be exhausted
by this new intensive monoculture. One day...
In the meantime, plant biodiversity is disappearing
at an ever increasing rate. Day by day, the number
of plant varieties is diminishing. This trend is
exacerbated by the use of GMOs which dazzle us with
the promise of laboratory-created ‘super cereals’.
These GMOs are presented as a natural response to
feed the world’s population once ‘food’ crops are
no longer sufficient. This will cause us to lose
the plant heritage that has naturally adapted to
local conditions, whose variety provides safeguards
in the event of disease and famine due to natural
events.
In the meantime, we are losing the knowledge of
foods which have fed us for centuries, and people
are losing the ability to feed themselves. We must
recover or preserve this knowledge. People with
knowledge and memories should look after them. That
variety of yam that grows —or grew— in northern
Mali, whose taste is so different from yams from
other regions, how was it used?
Tell me, grandma...
Carlo Petrini
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Your Questions Answered
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What can we do to oppose
GMOs?
Sylviane
Reina
Producer of organic essential oils
La Tour, France
Mail: sylviane.reina@wanadoo.fr
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The GMO
question is complex and difficult and there are no single
answers to it. Each of us can act at different levels, carefully
choosing what products to buy and informing people around
us about the harm caused by GMOs, frequently hidden behind
misleading arguments, such as the fact that such organisms
can solve the problem of feeding a continuously growing global
population.
We need to create greater awareness and form a collective
movement. Click
here to read replies to common misconceptions
about GMOs.
Josep Pamiès, a Slow Food convivium leader in Spain, brought
the problem onto the front pages of his country’s newspapers
newspaper when he uprooted some GM plants. Many people have
since demonstrated to support his action. To read the petition
and join the Pamiès support campaign, visit www.freepamies.org
You can discuss the problem and possible solutions and read
a contribution from Poland on the Terra
Madre blog.
Experts and academics from around the world can also sign
the
‘Responsible science for sustainable food’ Petition,
promoted as part of the ‘GMO-free’ campaign on GMOs and the
sustainability of the agrifood system launched by the ItaliaEuropa
Coalition.
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GMO
(Genetically Modified Organism):
an organism whose genetic inheritance has been modified
by genetic engineering techniques which enable sequences
of DNA to be isolated, modified and transferred
from one organism to another with the aim of obtaining
particular characteristics which would not have
developed naturally. Such an organism thus contains
within its own genetic material genes which in nature
belong to the DNA of other plant or animal organisms.
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Did You Know
that
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Better Food for More Democratic
Health |
The Farm Bill is a complicated US federal law that is reviewed
every five years. It elicits a general lack of interest even
though it dictates the rules of the American food system and,
to a significant extent, the world food system, determining
which crops will be subsidized and which not. At the present
time US doctors are asking Congress to vote ‘for health’ in
the 2007 Farm Bill. ‘Americans spend 1,800 billion dollars,
15 percent of national income, on treating heart disease, cancer
and diabetes—chronic diseases whose incidence could be reduced
by increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables and decreasing
that of fat, cholesterol and sugar. Yet less than 0.5 percent
of the Farm Bill goes to the fruit and vegetable sector, hence
growers of fresh fruit and vegetables can expect practically
no support.
Michael Pollan, an academic participant at Terra Madre, reminds
us that in the US the most obese people are also the poorest,
because a bad, fatty, high-calorie diet is more economic, an
industrially produced snack bar containing 39 ingredients and
transformed using complicated processes costing less than a
carrot.
Carol Havens is leader of the Skagit River Salish Sea Convivium
in the state of Washington. Together with other Slow Food members
and local farmers, she has organized an appeal to Congress that
the 2007 Farm Bill should focus more on small-scale local production,
bringing assured benefits for consumer health.
In the meantime, Slow Food Italy has signed a protocol agreement
with the Italian Ministry of Health to monitor and improve the
quality of food in hospitals, establishing direct links between
hospital catering managers, patients and local producers.
For more information on the Farm Bill and the appeal:
info@slowfoodskagit.org -
chavens@cnw.com
For more information on the Slow Food – Italian Ministry
of Health protocol agreement click
here (in Italian).
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