Terra Madre

There are many examples to illustrate the close links between the cinema and food. There is nothing surprising about this relationship, which allows the world of gastronomy to be described through films, documentaries and other audiovisual means. At the prestigious Berlin Film Festival in Germany, the culinary world is the main focus of a special section (Eat, Drink, See Movies – Celebrating Culinary Cinema) organized in conjunction with Slow Food International. You can talk about food in many different ways and Slow Food recognizes the communicative power of audiovisual approaches. In collaboration with the Cineteca di Bologna and the City of Bologna, Slow Food is now organizing Slow Food on Film, a festival that aims to promote a new critical awareness of food culture through films, shorts, documentaries and TV series which present original perspectives on food, the problems of agriculture and food memories as a heritage to be defended.
Films have addressed these issues for some time and sometimes they clearly focus on products and producers, as is the case with two documentaries made during 2007:

Semillas sagradas, by Andrea Mendez Brandam, Juan Nicolas Broens and Maria Teresa Morresi, is a journey through the senses and taste in the Quebrada de Humahuaca, a wide valley in north eastern Argentina. The film portrays people who recognize and are recovering the most valuable thing the earth can offer: seeds, the custodians of biodiversity and future food sovereignty.

M. Bené goes to Italy, by Manuel Lampreia Carvalho (to be presented at the Berlinale festival), describes the life and the experience at Terra Madre 2006 of Benedito Batista da Silva, a 60-year-old producer of manioc flour in the Amazon region, in Brasil.

These productions are inspired by the exemplary efforts of all those who strive constantly to ensure the survival and recognition of plants, animal species and traditional agricultural methods in the areas where they live.

For more information:
www.berlinale.de
www.slowfoodonfilm.it

Semillas sagradas:
www.noticiaspositivas.org

M. Bené goes to Italy:
Manuel Lampreia Carvalho, director
manuel@email.iis.com.br
Teresa Corsão, Terra Madre Cook, producer of the documentary
tcorcao@terra.com.br

Focus on...

Underutilized species

There are thousands of plants in the ‘neglected and underutilized’ category that have a significant, largely unexploited, potential to contribute to food security and to improve the quality of life. Underutilized plant species are characterized by their good adaptability and ability to survive in marginal areas, for their local production and consumption importance, their significant nutritional and medicinal properties, and their many varied uses. Since they have been used for centuries, we are not talking about introduced plants, but indigenous ones which play a central role in the cultural identity of local communities. For this reason efforts to protect them will be of fundamental importance in defending the ancient traditions and culture associated with them.

These plants are unfortunately neglected because they are more difficult to cultivate, transform and commercialize. This has discouraged their use.

Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species

Since 2002 the Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species (GFU) has operated with the objective of encouraging wider use of these plants. Activities will focus on networking and exchanging information by means of an internet portal, together with practical initiatives to raise awareness and promote the inclusion of these species in national and international development plans. The GFU analyzes government policies and makes recommendations that can generate suitable environments for their sustainable use. It also strives to create an awareness of the importance of underutilized species for improving the quality of life. Creating a favorable environment so these treasures of nature are better known and sustainably used will benefit everyone!

Paul Bordoni
Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species
underutilized-species@cgiar.org
www.underutilized-species.org

Slow Food
key words

The Ark of Taste

The Ark of Taste is a project created by the Slow Food association in 1996. It is a metaphorical vessel traveling around the world, helping small-scale products of high gastronomic value threatened by industrial agriculture, environmental degradation and standardization. The Ark seeks out, catalogs and nominates flavors that are endangered and need protection, but are still alive and have real potential. With the help of monitoring carried out by Slow Food Convivia around the world, the Scientific Ark Commission evaluates cured meats, cheeses, cereals, vegetables and local breeds using specific selection criteria: gastronomic excellence, a connection with the local area, artisan production, a sustainable approach by producers, and products at risk of extinction.

Japan is a country where the Ark project has been welcomed with particular enthusiasm. The Japanese Ark was formed in 2005, when the commission selected the first nine products: the tankaku cattle breed, etari in brine (anchovies macerated and fermented in brine using traditional artisan methods), the roasted and smoked goby yakihaze from Nagatsura Bay, two local types of turnip (hanazukuri daikon and akkajidaikon), yukina (a leaf vegetable grown in the area of Yonezawa), Amarume leek, hachiretsu corn and unzen kobu takana (an ecotype of takana, distinctive for the ‘knots’ on its leaves). There are now 20 Ark products and over time the project has strengthened the links between Japanese Ark producers and the Slow Food network, which is actively involved in presenting and promoting them.

For more information:
Ark of Taste project
www.fondazioneslowfood.it
Slow Food Japan
www.slowfoodjapan.net

Voices from Terra Madre