The Slow Food Movement originated in Italy in 1986, founded by Carlo Petrini and a group of activists in Bra as a direct response to the opening of a McDonald's near the Spanish Steps in Rome, which they saw as emblematic of the growing dominance of fast food and the industrialization of food production .

The movement’s inception was driven by a desire to preserve traditional food cultures, protect regional culinary heritage, and counteract the negative impacts of fast food culture, such as the loss of biodiversity, environmental degradation, and the erosion of local economies .

**Carlo Petrini** remains a central figure in the movement, advocating for the protection of local food systems and the enjoyment of food as a communal, cultural experience .

The movement quickly expanded beyond Italy, becoming an international organization by 2003 and now encompassing around 100,000 members in over 150 to 160 countries .

The **core tenets** of the Slow Food Movement are encapsulated in the motto "Good, Clean, and Fair." "Good" refers to food that is high-quality, flavorful, and nutritious; "Clean" means food production should not harm the environment; and "Fair" emphasizes accessibility for all and fair conditions for producers .

The movement also prioritizes the preservation of biodiversity, supporting heirloom varieties and traditional farming methods, and encourages the consumption of local and seasonal foods to support local economies and reduce the environmental impact of long-distance food transportation .

**Education** is a key pillar, with Slow Food promoting food literacy to help people understand where their food comes from and how it is produced, fostering informed and conscious food choices .

The movement also seeks to protect and celebrate local food cultures and traditions, recognizing their importance in community identity and social justice .

Globally, the Slow Food Movement has adapted to and integrated with diverse local food cultures, manifesting in unique ways across different regions.

In **Italy**, the concept of *cucina povera* (peasant cooking) aligns closely with Slow Food principles, focusing on seasonal ingredients and minimizing waste, a tradition now celebrated even in high-end culinary contexts .

Social dining events like *apericena* in Piedmont offer authentic Slow Food experiences rooted in local specialties .

In **India**, there is a growing appreciation for artisanal food and traditional cooking techniques, with chefs like Ankur Gulati emphasizing handmade, locally sourced ingredients .

**Uganda**’s Slow Food initiatives focus on promoting traditional food cultures and food sovereignty, with events like the Agroecology Week of Action highlighting indigenous agricultural practices and biodiversity .

In the **Mediterranean**, the movement is intertwined with traditional diets such as the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes olive oil, fresh vegetables, and seafood, reflecting local agricultural practices and promoting health and sustainability .

Other cultural manifestations include the **Caribbean**, where intuitive cooking based on seasonal ingredients and cultural practices aligns with Slow Food values , and **Malaysia**, where vibrant street food culture provides quick, affordable meals that foster community and shared dining experiences .

Fermentation practices worldwide, such as Korean kimchi and German sauerkraut, are also celebrated within the movement for their links to health, biodiversity, and cultural identity .

The Slow Food Movement is not a purely Western construct; rather, it has been adapted and embraced by diverse cultures, each infusing the movement with local traditions, ingredients, and social practices .

For example, in **Malawi**, the Slow Food Coffee Coalition supports sustainable coffee production and the preservation of indigenous coffee varieties .

In **Ukraine**, Slow Food communities have provided humanitarian aid and supported local biodiversity during conflict, organizing workshops to showcase Ukrainian cuisine and help local producers maintain agricultural practices .

In the **United States**, the movement has inspired farm-to-table dining and sustainable agriculture, with chefs like Alice Waters and Dan Barber advocating for organic, locally sourced food and sustainable farming .

**Current proponents** of the Slow Food Movement include a diverse array of chefs, farmers, activists, and organizations worldwide.

Notable figures are Alice Waters, who pioneered the farm-to-table movement in the U.S.; Dan Barber, known for his focus on sustainable agriculture; and Chris Newman, who promotes affordable, accessible, and sustainable food through Sylvanaqua Farms in Virginia .

Pope Francis has also shown support for the movement, particularly through initiatives aimed at biodiversity and sustainable agriculture, such as the European Citizen Initiative to reduce pesticide use, which includes Slow Food as a key NGO participant .

Local chapters, such as Slow Food Uganda and Slow Food Ukraine, play vital roles in promoting agroecology, food sovereignty, and community resilience .

The movement’s influence extends to food policy and legislation, particularly in Europe, where it has supported initiatives like the European Citizen Initiative calling for a 50% reduction in synthetic pesticide use by 2030 .

Slow Food advocates for policies that prioritize local food systems, organic farming, and the rights of small-scale farmers, shaping discussions around food sovereignty and agroecology .

For travelers seeking **authentic Slow Food experiences**, several destinations stand out.

**Italy** remains the quintessential destination, especially regions like Piedmont, Tuscany, and Emilia-Romagna, where traditional cooking and local ingredients are celebrated in restaurants, agriturismos, and food festivals .

The **Causeway Coast and Glens** in Northern Ireland is recognized as a Slow Food destination, promoting local suppliers and sustainable practices through initiatives like Taste Causeway .

In **Uganda**, engaging with Slow Food Uganda’s initiatives offers insight into traditional food cultures and sustainable practices in an African context .

**Lyon, France**, often called the gastronomical capital of France, is home to numerous Michelin-starred restaurants and a rich culinary heritage aligned with Slow Food values .

In the **United States**, restaurants such as Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York are renowned for their commitment to local and sustainable food practices .

Other notable Slow Food restaurants and regions include **Salsify in Cape Town, South Africa**, which focuses on seasonal ingredients and has received accolades for culinary excellence , and **Leeds, England**, known for its vibrant food scene and emphasis on local and sustainable dining options .

In **Mexico**, chefs like Enrique Olvera incorporate indigenous ingredients and support local farmers, reflecting the movement’s influence beyond Europe .

To experience authentic Slow Food cuisine, travelers are encouraged to visit local markets, artisanal restaurants, and community-supported agriculture initiatives.

Participating in food festivals, farmers’ markets, and Slow Food events offers opportunities to taste traditional dishes made from locally sourced ingredients and engage with local Slow Food chapters .

These experiences are generally authentic and rooted in local food cultures, as the movement actively seeks to preserve and celebrate culinary heritage rather than impose a homogenized Western model .

The Slow Food Movement’s adaptability and respect for local traditions are evident in its global reach and the diversity of its initiatives.

It has inspired and intertwined with local food movements worldwide, supporting indigenous food sovereignty, sustainable agriculture, and community-based food systems .

The movement’s educational initiatives, community engagement, and advocacy for food justice and sustainability have made it a vital force in promoting resilient and equitable food systems globally .

In summary, the Slow Food Movement began in Italy as a reaction to fast food and industrialized food systems, founded by Carlo Petrini in

The Slow Food Movement originated in Italy in 1986, founded by Carlo Petrini and a group of activists in Bra as a direct response to the opening of a McDonald's near the Spanish Steps in Rome, which they saw as emblematic of the growing dominance of fast food and the industrialization of food production .

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Wembanyama, Gobert headline stacked French squad for Paris Olympics

As host, the French Men’s National Basketball Team didn’t have to go through the qualification process for the 2024 Paris Olympics, but that doesn’t mean they are not a threat — France has a legitimate chance to medal (they took silver in Tokyo).

France unveiled a 19-man preliminary roster for the Paris 2024 Olympics, and it is stacked.

At the top of the list is NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama. The NBA Rookie of the Year averaged 21.4 points and 10.6 rebounds a game, but he was more impactful on the defensive end of the court, where he averaged 3.6 blocks a night. Wembanyama finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, which is almost unheard of for a rookie.

Rudy Gobert, who beat Wembanyama out for DPOY, is also on the French team. Together, they form a defensive backline that will challenge every opponent.

“The key to building the team will be establishing an uncompromising defense,” France coach Vincent Collet said at a news conference, via the Associated Press. We have profiles that excel in this area.”

A number of other NBA players are on the French roster including Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, Bilal Coulibaly, Ousmane Dieng and Killian Hayes.

France has drawn into Group B in the Olympics with Germany (which won last summer’s FIBA World Cup), Japan and one team that advances out of the upcoming qualifying tournaments later this summer.

This is going to be a loaded international tournament with NBA players filling out a lot of the roster spots. The USA — led by Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Stephen Curry — are the gold medal favorites, but will be pushed by Serbia (Nikola Jokic), Canada (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), Germany and others. Including France.

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Content: Breaking The Industrial Cycle With Slow Food

Where do you go to get your groceries? If your first thought was your local supermarket, you are not alone. Shopping in large grocery stores became the norm for many of us, and we rely on these outlets more than we realise. They are convenient, filled to the brim with seemingly every product you could imagine and have a price point that fits most pockets.

From afar it seems like the perfect solution, but we all witnessed what happened in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic turned life on its head and among many others, highlighted the fragility of our food economy and the part supermarkets play in it.

The University of Oxford describes our food system as “a complex set of interconnected practices and relationships that ultimately deliver food from farms, processing facilities, factories, warehouses, and retailers, to the dinner table.”

Slow Food

The industrial food system is built for scale and efficiency with an aim to maximise production, reduce cost, and function much like factories.

Although many supermarkets and producers are taking steps to include the origins of their products on their labels, there is still not enough transparency around where our food actually comes from. This industrialised structure offers customers accessibility to a wider range of products at more affordable prices but has economic and environmental impacts that many are not aware of.

Industrial agriculture is notorious for using a range of fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides in their processes to maximise output, some of which stays present in the soil long after the crops are harvested. The products are then processed in factories, stabilised with preservatives and packaged in plastic, all occurring before they are loaded onto long haul freights, planes, lorries to arrive in distribution centres and eventually to supermarket shelves.

BBC Good Food reported that “DEFRA estimates that moving food is responsible for 25 per cent of all miles covered by heavy goods traffic in the UK. Transporting food within, to and around the UK produces 19 million tonnes of CO2 annually – equivalent to around 5.5 million typical cars.”

The length of the supply chains involved in industrial food systems result in a fragile structure as any slight disruption throughout the intricate process can halt the supply chain at any time.

However, this industrial food system is not the only one available to our economy. While our modern supermarkets heavily rely on large-scale agriculture, large scale production and precise, uninterrupted international food trade and fast turnaround times, the alternative slow food system focuses on a more resilient structure.

As the resilient alternative to this industrial cycle that many in the industry are championing, Slow Food is focused on returning to the traditional methods and celebrating all things local.

The not for profit grassroots organisation, Slow Food was set up in Italy in the late 1980s in a bid to promote traditional food preparation methods and locally sourced ingredients, going against the arrival of the American fast-food chain McDonald’s in Rome. The eco-gastronomic organisation now has around 100,000 members in over 150 countries.

Recognising and raising awareness of the negative impact the industrial food system had on society, the economy and the environment, the organisation ignited a Slow Food movement: a new way of conscious consumerism that takes seasonality, locality and tradition into account.

A slow, or resilient food system can take on many forms, starting with us as individuals making a conscious effort to engage with producers, venues and outlets that are aligned with the slow food values, to foraging, growing our own produce and going to local farmers’ markets.

Any involvement in the movement can make a significant difference in local communities and build a more sustainable, resilient and eco-friendly food system.

As the first accredited Slow Food destination in Northern Ireland, the Causeway Coast and Glens have been spearheading the move toward this resilient system and together with Taste Causeway, the collaborative network of local food and drink businesses.

From exciting slow food events to highlighting producers and awarding them with Slow Food accreditation, Taste Causeway and Slow Food NI are putting local suppliers and venues at the forefront of consumers’ minds, one business at a time.

To find out more about how you can support the Slow Food movement, the businesses involved and the upcoming events on the Causeway Coast, go to https://slowfood.tastecauseway.com/

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Paris' 14th Arrondissement Embraces Urban Village Concept with Unique Cheese Sharing Event

In Paris' 14th arrondissement, a grassroots movement led by Patrick Bernard aims to revolutionize urban living, fostering a sense of community through unique gatherings like the Talking Cheese.

Mahnoor Jehangir
New Update

It was a warm night in mid-July as 70 or so residents from surrounding neighborhoods walked ever so slowly along the Rue de Aude in Paris' 14th arrondissement. No one stopped to stare. No one wondered why. They just nodded an occasional greeting. Those who passed on the busy street and those seated in the early evening at the outdoor cafes were not puzzled by the slow brigade. They knew why their pace was cautious, their steps deliberate. They knew where they were headed.

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Grassroots Movement for City Revitalization

No one murmured that the slow walkers were "revolutionaries," but I think one could argue that they were. They were all coming from different directions, and they were all headed to the same place, a simple loft space where many chairs had been set up with a few long tables on a typically quaint side street. They walked slowly for a reason: couples held a substantial wedge of cheese or wheels of cheese on plates. They did not wish to drop their precious cargo.

Building a Sense of Community

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Each cheese selection came with a personal story, and that is why they were meeting. They are believers in the goals of Patrick Bernard, a journalist who lives in the 14th, who has taken on a rather daunting task: Bernard wants to start a grassroots movement to change the entire concept of city living. He has loosely formed a "Republic of Super Neighbors" because he believes that living in a city like Paris, New York or Tokyo is breeding isolation and fear. Big city living, he believes, can be better. And his way of making it better is to urge his neighbors to stop thinking of themselves as big-city dwellers but rather as neighbors in a village that is just a part of something larger containing many local villages.

Embracing the 15 Minute City Concept

His idea is not, of course, particularly unusual. There are movements in several parts of the world to "neighborize" city living. The goals of the new age of urban planners is to decentralize everything and to help people to think of their home as a place whose scale they can readily identify with rather than a huge city landscape of millions of people. Soon, the "cheese walkers" arrived at their destination. They greeted fellow "villagers," placed their cheese on the tables and waited for their turn to explain the meaning of the cheese they brought. It might involve a childhood story or something from a war. It could be farm-related or a take on a restaurant discovery. Called the Talking Cheese, this is just one of 60 or 70 such unique gatherings of those living in the 14th. Several times a year, long, long tables may be set up along the Rue des Thermopyles or the Rue Cremieux so that residents of the 14th can dine with one another, exchange stories and create that sense of place and purpose that every city-dweller seeks. Traffic is barred during these dinners, and shops are closed. Conviviality and new friendships come ahead of profits for just a few hours.

What is happening within the 14th is part of an interpretation of the urban design concept pioneered by the French-Colombian planner Carlos Moreno, called the 15 Minute City, in which virtually all of a resident's needs are in close proximity -- an urban village.

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Content: For a Model in Sustainable Sushi, Look No Further Than Oregon

From albacore to unagi, here’s how to spot responsibly sourced seafood on menus.

Normally, a casual night out for sushi doesn’t require much thought. The allure is being able to grab whatever salmon nigiri glides your way on the conveyor belt or trusting the omakase menu to guide you toward your next roll loaded with freshly sliced fish.

But in Oregon, every step of the seafood process has been meticulously thought out, from policy to plate, ensuring the most sustainable seafood option ends up on your table.

This can all be traced back to Portland Mayor Vera Katz, who drafted and adopted a first-in-the-nation set of urban sustainability principles nearly 30 years ago. The Sustainable City Principles continue to shape the city’s environmental policies to this day and, yes, make an impact on what’s inside your unagi and crab roll.

Her guidelines met the moment globally—adopted at a time when world governments first mobilized to respond to the threat of climate change—but also served as the guiding blueprint for the city’s efforts to mitigate harm on local wildlife and, in turn, permeated its sprawling food and bar scene.

Seafood, of course, has become increasingly vulnerable to climate change and overfishing, according to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). And, as one of the greenest cities in America, Portland is a mecca for the sustainable seafood movement—from being the starting grounds for restaurants like Bamboo Sushi, the world’s first MSC-certified sushi restaurant, to pioneering local programs like the Endangered Species Act Program. What began as local policy has transformed a so-called “parochial backwater” into an all encompassing, globally known food culture that lives and dies by the mantra “local, organic, and sustainable.”

“Portland really blew me away,” says Top Chef star and James Beard nominee Gregory Gourdet, who moved from New York City to head Portland’s Departure Restaurant + Lounge more than a decade ago. “I was amazed with the produce, from the bounty of berries, hazelnuts, mushrooms, and seafood. We are so directly connected to the people who grow our food here. It makes a difference when you know who your farmer is and you’re having honest conversations about what they’re growing or can’t grow because of the heat waves or a snowstorm.”

For Gourdet—who’s opening his own restaurant, Kann, this summer in Portland—the decades-long push for more sustainable seafood, from its sourcing to transportation, is responding to the larger, urgent global issue of overfishing.

According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, more than 35 percent of global fisheries are fishing at unsustainable levels, leading to rapidly depleting populations of seafood mainstays like bluefin tuna and salmon across the world.

With the global demand for seafood at historic highs, and with a growing number of fish populations on the brink of extinction, Gourdet says that both chefs and diners have a responsibility to heed the call to save our ocean’s ecosystems. “As chefs, there is an extra level of responsibility we all should have to help inform our guests,” he says. “It’s our responsibility as stewards of the land to offer options that are good for you and the planet.”

Hardly anywhere is this more evident than Portland’s own Bamboo Sushi, which now has expanded to nearly 10 locations in Seattle, Denver, and California. “It’s a finite resource, but we’re treating it like it’s an infinite resource,” says Bamboo chef Jin Soo Yang “We’re going to have to wake up to the day that this is not going to be ok.”

What does sustainable seafood actually mean?

While the term “sustainable” has become a nebulous marketing term, slapped on everything from laptops to fast fashion, Yang is clear-eyed about what it means for seafood. “It’s become too marketable. Now, everybody’s ‘sustainable.’” he says. “I want to stop using the word ‘sustainability.’ Let’s talk purpose. Let’s talk about the actions that we’re taking.”

At Bamboo Sushi, he’s crafted a research-heavy process to source ingredients for his chefs’ sushi creations, one that involves independent research, personal outreach to fishers on the scene, and cross-referencing certifications and endangered fish species from the Monterey Bay Aquarium (MBA), Asian Seafood Improvement Collaborative, and MSC.

The process is so intensive that Yang has created a supply chain and sustainability director position within the company, someone who directly communicates with fisheries and fishers to make sure that Bamboo Sushi is serving “the most sustainable product at the best price.”

“Let’s discuss different life cycles of fish, how long does it take for them to rebound, how long does it take for them to get to sexual maturity,” Yang explains. “Let’s look into the fisheries—who’s managing their fishery appropriately? Even if it’s scary or expensive, it’s a mission right? We’re here for a purpose.”

Gourdet says that he also deploys a similarly all-encompassing vetting process that utilizes resources like MSC and MBA, and considers the sustainability of the whole of the process, from the sourcing to the packaging to the carbon emissions generated from the transportation. “Oftentimes, I question shipping fish from all over the world, even if it is the most sustainable,” he says. “Do I really need to fly in salmon from New Zealand and what’s the impact of that on the environment even through it’s ‘sustainable seafood?’”

But, even research has its limits. When it comes to imported seafood from fisheries abroad, particularly Japan, Yang says there’s a frustrating lack of public information available on supply chain traceability and farming standards.

Take, for example, unagi or eel, which has been broadly deemed unsustainable because of opaque farming standards abroad and its rapidly depleting populations both in the U.S. and Japan. Yang says he’s been working for years to find sustainable sources of eel to serve at Bamboo Sushi—efforts that went unanswered until last year with the opening of American Unagi, the nation’s first glass eel farm. (The product is used in Bamboo’s Zig Zag Roll.)

“You’d be amazed at how much of a lack of information there is out there, depending on what fisheries in different countries feel comfortable telling us,” Yang says.

For both Gourdet and Yang, sourcing their ingredients locally from fishers and farmers is an integral part of their approaches to sustainability. Part of it is practical—it’s easier to vet fishing or farming practices when you directly know and interact with the fisher. Plus, there are lower carbon emissions involved with local transport and processing.

The menu at Bamboo Sushi heavily features albacore from Oregon—whether diners opt to drape it atop the popular Green Machine Roll or have it gently seared as nigiri. Other popular items include kampachi from Hawaii served with yuzu juice and truffle sauce and coho salmon from Alaska rolled alongside avocado and crispy kaiso. All told, Yang estimates that about 80% of the seafood served at the restaurant is domestic.

Sustainability beyond the menu

The other part of the sustainability ethos is philosophical. Both Yang and Gourdet believe that a true sustainability effort starts locally, and, true to Katz’s principles, is defined by how they support their local community, from their workers to the residents.

“We are a smaller community and we have direct relationships with so many of the people who grow food here,” Gourdet says. “It’s been extremely important to me that I am connected with the people who helped organize all of our great resources. Local is definitely the best choice when we talk about the bigger picture of sustainability.”

Yangs says that sustainability, for him, is also defined by how Bamboo Sushi treats its workers. While the nuts and bolts of sustainability as it relates to seafood matter, Yang says that he approaches the term “holistically” within his company. The restaurant offers one fully-paid eight-hour shift for employees to volunteer in the local community, whether that be at a soup kitchen or a trash pickup.

“Sustainability for us is not a gimmick, it’s an ethos,” Yang explains. “Our sustainability is the way we treat our people. We want to make sure that people understand that our sustainability is not just for the product we serve to our guests.”

It’s an ethos that Gourdet says that he hopes to create at Kann, his ode to Haitian cuisine (“The most delicious food in the world.”) and the bounty of Oregon. “Sustainability just means creating systems where everyone can thrive for a long time,” Gourdet says. “That means team mental health and having an equitable workplace. That’s a big part of it, too.”

How to prioritize sustainable seafood as a consumer

Both Gourdet and Yang recommend using the Marine Stewardship Council as a resource for vetting sustainable fish and fisheries, and for good reason.

Founded in 1997 following the collapse of the Grand Banks cod fishery in Canada, the MSC has spearheaded global efforts to curb overfishing through its sustainability standards and fishery certification program.

According to Dan Averill, MSC’s senior fisheries manager, the certification process is multi-pronged and intensive, taking place over a 12-month span and conducted by a third-party assessor. Averill says that a MSC-certified fishery must meet three requirements: it must fish from sustainable populations that can remain productive and healthy into the future, minimize its impacts on marine ecosystems, and maintain effective, adaptable fishery management that meets local, state, and federal fishing regulations.

Fisheries that meet the MSC’s certification standards can earn the nonprofit’s blue fish product label—a sign that a seafood product is ecological, from the fishery to the grocery store.

“The fishery must also undergo annual audits and re-certification every five years,” Averill says. “Fisheries are resilient and dynamic, so a fishery whose populations are struggling one year can be flourishing the next. So, that’s why there are checks and balances in the MSC program to make sure that fisheries are under regular surveillance for changing conditions.”

Beyond looking for the blue seal, if you’re at a restaurant and unsure of whether or not you’re engaging in sustainable consumption, Gourdet recommends using apps like Seafood Watch to see what fish populations are endangered and directly asking restaurants where they source their seafood.

“It’s important to not be afraid to ask your servers where your fish is from and whether it’s sustainable,” says Gourdet. “I think that’s a fair question and we as people who operate in hospitality should have those answers for you. It’s also important that people know what they’re putting in their bodies and where it comes from.”

The impulse to invest and participate in sustainable forms of consumption is natural. After all, Yang says, “our dollar is our vote,” but he implores consumers to directly engage with policymakers in charge of local, state, and federal policies, and to vote based on their convictions. After all, Portland’s sustainability culture didn’t just come out of nowhere: it was born from city policy crafted by Katz back in 1994, and built on by successive administrations.

“People always joke, ‘Write your local representative,’ but it works! They work for us,” Yang says. “If you want change, you have to be involved. You can’t let other people change it for you.”

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Anthony Berteaux is a Japanese and American writer based in Los Angeles.

On returning to traditional food methods

What happened after the opening of McDonald's restaurants in Rome opened?

What is the birthplace of the slow food movement?

When did Carlo Petrini launch the Slow Food Movement?

Who is founder of the Slow Food Movement?

Carlo Petrini
An Italian sociologist and activist

On returning to traditional food methods

What happened after the opening of McDonald's restaurants in Rome opened?

What is the birthplace of the slow food movement?

When did Carlo Petrini launch the Slow Food Movement?

Who is founder of the Slow Food Movement?

Carlo Petrini
An Italian sociologist and activist

On returning to traditional food methods

What happened after the opening of McDonald's restaurants in Rome opened?

What is the birthplace of the slow food movement?

When did Carlo Petrini launch the Slow Food Movement?

Who is founder of the Slow Food Movement?

Carlo Petrini
An Italian sociologist and activist

On returning to traditional food methods

What happened after the opening of McDonald's restaurants in Rome opened?

What is the birthplace of the slow food movement?

When did Carlo Petrini launch the Slow Food Movement?

Who is founder of the Slow Food Movement?

Carlo Petrini
An Italian sociologist and activist

The movement’s inception was driven by a desire to preserve traditional food cultures, protect regional culinary heritage, and counteract the negative impacts of fast food culture, such as the loss of biodiversity, environmental degradation, and the erosion of local economies .

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

**Carlo Petrini** remains a central figure in the movement, advocating for the protection of local food systems and the enjoyment of food as a communal, cultural experience .

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

Conscious consumption
Enjoyment of good food

On returning to traditional food methods

Who is founder of the Slow Food Movement?

Carlo Petrini
An Italian sociologist and activist

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

Conscious consumption
Enjoyment of good food

On returning to traditional food methods

Who is founder of the Slow Food Movement?

Carlo Petrini
An Italian sociologist and activist

The movement quickly expanded beyond Italy, becoming an international organization by 2003 and now encompassing around 100,000 members in over 150 to 160 countries .

How many countries have members of Slow Food organization?

How many members does the Slow Food Movement have globally?

How many countries have members of Slow Food organization?

How many members does the Slow Food Movement have globally?

How many countries have members of Slow Food organization?

How many members does the Slow Food Movement have globally?

The **core tenets** of the Slow Food Movement are encapsulated in the motto "Good, Clean, and Fair." "Good" refers to food that is high-quality, flavorful, and nutritious; "Clean" means food production should not harm the environment; and "Fair" emphasizes accessibility for all and fair conditions for producers .

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

Conscious consumption
Enjoyment of good food

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

Conscious consumption
Enjoyment of good food

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

Conscious consumption
Enjoyment of good food

The movement also prioritizes the preservation of biodiversity, supporting heirloom varieties and traditional farming methods, and encourages the consumption of local and seasonal foods to support local economies and reduce the environmental impact of long-distance food transportation .

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

What is the purpose of Taiwan's Taitung County Government ito hold the "SLOW SUPER Taitung Slow Farmer Market"?

To promote sustainable agricultural development

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

What is the purpose of Taiwan's Taitung County Government ito hold the "SLOW SUPER Taitung Slow Farmer Market"?

To promote sustainable agricultural development

**Education** is a key pillar, with Slow Food promoting food literacy to help people understand where their food comes from and how it is produced, fostering informed and conscious food choices .

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

The movement also seeks to protect and celebrate local food cultures and traditions, recognizing their importance in community identity and social justice .

On returning to traditional food methods

On returning to traditional food methods

Globally, the Slow Food Movement has adapted to and integrated with diverse local food cultures, manifesting in unique ways across different regions.

Globally, the Slow Food Movement has adapted to and integrated with diverse local food cultures, manifesting in unique ways across different regions.

Globally, the Slow Food Movement has adapted to and integrated with diverse local food cultures, manifesting in unique ways across different regions.

In **Italy**, the concept of *cucina povera* (peasant cooking) aligns closely with Slow Food principles, focusing on seasonal ingredients and minimizing waste, a tradition now celebrated even in high-end culinary contexts .

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Content: Culture Mexico Life
Farmer Javier López in the Sierra Mixe mountains of northeastern Oaxaca looks over his crops of Oloton maize, a self-fertilizing variety. Allen Van Deynze/University of California-Davis

Two new books on vanishing foods examine Mexico’s maize

Mexico's diversity of corn varieties is in danger, but there are also strong efforts to preserve them

Widely considered the birthplace of maize, Mexico features in two new books about this ancient, beloved and important crop, which has been the focus of controversy and polemic here in recent years.

Used in multiple ways, from tamales to beer to popping corn, maize is nevertheless at risk of losing its diversity.

Endangered Maize: Industrial Agriculture and the Crisis of Extinction, by University of Cambridge scholar Helen Anne Curry, is a deep dive into preservation efforts. BBC food journalist Dan Saladino’s Eating to Extinction: The World’s Rarest Foods and Why We Need to Save Them, which examines foods imperiled around the globe, looks at the unusual Oloton self-fertilizing maize that grows in the mountains of Oaxaca.

Each author approaches their narrative from the perspective of loss of indigenous food varieties and attempts at conservation.

“Even though I focus on one … unique and distinct global commodity — corn — the story I tell here about maize is actually relevant to understanding this broader story,” said Curry, the Peter Lipton Lecturer in History of Modern Science and Technology. “It’s not just varieties of maize cultivated in different parts of the world, especially Latin America – there are threats that bear on many different crops in many different parts of the world.”

Saladino is also concerned about endangered foods – of which there are 5,000 from 130 countries, according to the Ark of Taste catalog on the website for Slow Food USA.

For the book, he picked 35, including a sweet honey rich in protein because of the larvae within it, and an unpasteurized cheese from Albania with a lemony taste from wild bacteria. Individuals he interviewed included a Palestinian activist named Vivien Sansour, who was inspired to create a seed library in the West Bank after attending a conference in Mexico and learning Subcomandante Marcos’ maxim, “sin maiz, no hay pais” (without maize there is no country).

Saladino said that there are different reasons why foods are becoming endangered. “Some foods are being impacted because land use has changed,” he said. “Some are being impacted by lost skills, others because of climate change, others because of conflicts.”

“Many people are surprised to learn that one-third of the world’s wheat globally today originates in the Black Sea region of Ukraine and Russia,” he said by way of example. “Even if the war does not directly impact the supply of the wheat, global food production will be heavily influenced.”

Global production of corn goes back to the 19th and 20th centuries: the crop was hybridized in the U.S. In Germany, the Haber-Bosch process created synthetic fertilizer. More recently, transgenic varieties have been introduced. It’s all added up to skyrocketing production.

“Part of it is the significant breeding that’s occurred, and the resulting change of yield we’ve seen over time. Genetic changes achieved through various breeding practices have created the best possible combination of genetic material to survive in varied conditions.” She listed other, more specific factors – “what kind of fertilizer, how often they’re irrigated … It’s not all about genetic changes.”

While Saladino said that attempts to ramp up production have been done “for a good reason,” as a society, we’ve not “put the brakes on wanting more and more yield.”

“At the same time, we’ve ignored all the other factors at play, the impact by the system on diversity, soil, water use, the risk you embark [upon] in manufacturing very high-yield corn, the risk you find in terms of disease,” he said.

The Western world, he notes, has a history of ignoring the full picture: when the conquistadors arrived in Mexico, they were entranced with maize but ignored how it was grown. It was planted using the indigenous milpa system, alongside a nutritious complement of crops – squash and beans.

Europeans ate maize in isolation and as a result, suffered from the disease pellagra. “I think one of the big ideas in the book is the complexity that exists in indigenous traditions or food systems that many people fail to realize – in many cases, still fail to recognize or fully understand,” Saladino said.

One part of Mexico that Hernán Cortés found hard to conquer was the Mixe region of Oaxaca. Centuries later, the regional Oloton maize made headlines in scientific journals. “I was reading that a breakthrough had been made in understanding how a particularly unusual type of maize self-fertilizes,” Saladino said.

The variety drips with a mucus-like substance containing microbes that interact with the plant and air to provide fertilizer in the region’s nutrient-poor soil. “It’s one of the examples you can cite [to prove] that so much genetic diversity out there still exists,” Saladino said. “There’s so much we’re still learning.

“We don’t know if we’re going to need this in the future. So much is changing in terms of climate,” he said. Yet, he added, “Relying heavily on monocultures and [on] reducing diversity, it’s a risky situation to have arrived at.”

To date, Mexico has managed to hold onto diversity when it comes to this crop; Curry, familiar with sweet corn from growing up in the United States, was amazed by the many varieties of maize in Mexico. “I’ve only been privileged to experience a handful of other different kinds of maize in my life.” In that handful, she includes the corn on the cob she had in Mexico City.

“For obvious reasons, there’s a long history of experiences of far more varieties of maize and landraces of maize existing in Mexico,” she said.

A landrace is a crop variety that has localized characteristics due to adaptation over time to a region’s conditions.

Curry is pleased with Mexican initiatives to preserve maize diversity. “Mexico has a phenomenal history of work and research by Mexican agronomists, sustained by Mexican political institutions, in the development of maize culture from the 20th century onward,” she said. “Today, Mexican national agricultural research institutions continue to be central.”

She has visited many such institutions while researching her book, including the International Center for the Improvement of Maize and Wheat in Chapingo, México state. Mexican scientists she interviewed voiced concern about indigenous maize being crowded out by imported corn from the U.S.

“There is,” she said, “as many people surely know, a strong movement in Mexico from a variety of different groups – environmentalists, indigenous groups, campesino organizations and also scientists … They feel very strongly and rightly that the restriction of maize imports from the U.S., especially transgenic maize, is essential to maintain the integrity of Mexican native maize, varieties of criollo maize.”

Saladino noted the role of NAFTA in facilitating the imports of U.S. corn into Mexico: “A crop that had been domesticated in Mexico now travels from the States to Mexico in huge amounts, a commodity type of corn rather than original, ancestral Mexican maize. It’s a complicated story.”

He notes a positive development: Mexico City-based celebrity chef Enrique Olvera, whom he interviewed for the book, is incorporating indigenous maize into his menu.

“He pays [farmers] way above market price for the maize,” Saladino said. “He talks about maize in the same way people refer to the diversity of wine. Each one is a reflection of its place, of its people, of the different seasons as well.”

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What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

Social dining events like *apericena* in Piedmont offer authentic Slow Food experiences rooted in local specialties .

Title:

Content: 'Reviving Culinary Heritage- The Role Of Embracing Traditional Meals'

The traditional diets are very healthy for the reason that; most of them are nutrient dense. Real-life cooking classes and food festivals that teach people about traditional healthy meals.

As the world and fast food dominate the culinary world traditional foods are under threat of extinction. Nevertheless, people continue to make efforts to restore these flavors, mainly because they are spices that are rich in taste, but also valuable historically.

Rediscovering Regional Flavours

Gastronomy is inseparable from history, culture, and geographical location for it incorporates all these aspects in specific dishes. It allows people to experience traditional food for the specific region with spices and preparations inherited from the past.
For example, the use of olive oil, fresh vegetables, and seafood which are compounded in the Mediterranean diet not only has a desired tasty feel to it but is also very healthy to the body.
In the same way, the complicated and hot meals in Indian food, created with the help of numerous spices, which are available locally are the result of historical processes of interactions and trading relations with different countries.

However, with emerging and busier societies, societies where convenience foods are the order of the day, these traditional dishes are being replaced. The fast food restaurants and other processed foods products while being easy and quick to prepare, process, and serve do not have the nutritional and cultural value found in the traditional foods.

The Health Benefits of Traditional Diets

The traditional diets are very healthy for the reason that; most of them are nutrient dense. For instance, the Japanese diet which is composed of fish, rice, and vegetables is credited with playing a role in increased life expectancy as well as low incidences of chronic diseases.

Many traditional diets are characterized by a large consumption of fresh foods, locally available vegetables, and lean meats, which are much healthier than the increasing amounts of sugars and fats present in today’s diets.Restoring traditional meals is thus a useful way of enhancing the well-being of society. In this way, one gets an opportunity to have tasty, healthy, and, at the same time, familiar meals that can be prepared according to traditional, time-proven patterns.

Must Read- ‘From Scorching Heat To Cultural Splendor: Navigating Greece’s Challenges And Charms’

Cultural Preservation Through Food

Food is central to cultural experience. Regional cuisines are regarded as being connected with the production and festive events of a particular region. They provide people with the feeling of identity and do not let persons feel abandoned, let alone tie them to their roots.

To maintain such culinary traditions as part of the cultural legacy, people try to bring back traditional dishes. It helps to pass the knowledge of these dishes to future generations and provides a link to the culture. Cooking and sharing traditional foods can also act as a way of encouraging people together since people will sit together to appreciate their traditional foods.

Economic and Environmental Benefits

Preserving regional dishes may also bring social, economic, and environmental benefits. It promotes the uptake of locally produced raw materials; this is advantageous to farmers, and it helps in curtailing the negative effects of transporting food products long distances. Also, traditional knowledge of agriculture yields ways that are more sustainable and conserve the environment.

The Role of Chefs and Food Enthusiasts

These two groups are critical to this revival because of the role they have to play in the food and culinary industry. By adding such traditional recipes to the current trends, the chefs can enlighten the younger generation about dishes from their past. Food bloggers and culinary influencers can then give these dishes context and gain attention and adoration.

In addition, real-life cooking classes and food festivals that teach people about traditional healthy meals can also help raise awareness and encourage people to incorporate these meals into their daily lives. It has the potential effect of popularizing techniques that result from traditional cooking methods, as it makes them easy to comprehend and learn.

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What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

What is the birthplace of the slow food movement?

In **India**, there is a growing appreciation for artisanal food and traditional cooking techniques, with chefs like Ankur Gulati emphasizing handmade, locally sourced ingredients .

Title:

Content: Home Consumer 10 Most-Underrated European Cities

10 Most-Underrated European Cities

By

Europe is well known for its beautiful views and historical cities. However, often famous cities such as Rome, Paris, and London steal the spotlight. Despite their perks, there are many other hidden gems throughout Europe that offer a unique view into the history, culture, and nature that contribute to Europe’s fame.

10 Most-Underrated European Cities

1. Ljubljana, Slovenia

With bridges arching over a quiet canal and an assortment of bars, boutiques, and cafes, it’s easy to feel lost in time (or shops). However, Ljubljana also has a fascinating history. Since its construction in the 11th century, Ljubljana Castle has become the property of many famous leaders, such as the rulers of Corniola, Ottokar II of Bohemia and Rudolph of Habsburg, and even the French army. On a clear day, the Julian Alps will, without a doubt, leave their spectators speechless. From its timeless streets, history, and culture, Ljubljana is a stop that cannot be missed.

2. Budapest, Hungary

Budapest’s charm makes it easy to get lost. Its bars, beautiful architecture, boutiques, museums, and food will make all visitors fall in love with the city. Fisherman’s Bastion offers the perfect view of the sparkle of the iconic Hungarian Parliament Building reflecting over the Danube. Budapest also tells the story of its history through museums such as the House of Terror and the Hungarian National Museum. Budapest’s nightlife and food are unforgettable with its ruin bars and famous dishes such as chicken paprikash and cinnamon chimney cakes. It’s a city that is hard to leave with its timeless class and culture.

3. Izmir, Turkey

Izmir has something to offer everyone. Not only is it the gateway to Turkey’s incredible wine region, but it also is surrounded by the beauty of the Aegean Sea and ancient history. For example, Agora is an open-air museum preserving the remains of the ancient city of Smyrna. Izmir is also home to many historical religious sites, such as the House of the Virgin Mary. Izmir is a cradle for culture with Bazaars like Keremalti Market with delicious food and coffee as well as a variety of authentic souvenirs. Izmir’s most iconic destination, an elaborate Ottoman-style clock tower built in 1901, is also well worth a visit.

4. Glasgow, Scotland

Glasgow is a prosperous, charming, and gritty historical post-industrial city with a vibrant arts, music, and foodie scene that has made it one of Scotland’s favorite destinations. In the nineteenth century, it was one of the world’s most famous shipbuilding centers. The city is a combination of beautiful architecture, exceptional shops, restaurants, and pubs, a buzzing business class, a large university population, and a lively arts and culture scene. You’ll be charmed by the city’s beautifully maintained, historic sandstone buildings that blend in seamlessly with an array of modern architecture.

5. Delft, Netherlands

Walking through the tiny streets and along the winding canals scattered throughout the small city of Delft is truly breathtaking. The quaint and picturesque city sits between the much larger cities of Rotterdam and The Hague and is often overlooked by many travelers visiting the Netherlands. The unspoiled Renaissance architecture in Delft is reason enough to visit, but the city offers many highlights and attractions that increasingly draw travelers off the beaten path for a day or overnight trip.

6. Lyon, France

Lyon is known as the gastronomical capital of France, with an equally interesting history as other French cities. Founded in 43 BC, Lyon was the Roman capital of the province of Gallia Lugdunensis. Its roots back to Roman times have led it to be considered a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city preserves various Roman ruins, such as an amphitheater, baths, and aqueducts. There are also a variety of historical cathedrals, such as Cathédrale Saint-Jean-Baptiste and La Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière which will impress everyone regardless of religion. For those visiting during Christmas time, the Fête des Lumières festival draws millions of tourists every year who wish to enjoy the dazzling light festival. The city also has twenty Michelin-starred restaurants with food tours to appreciate all the flavour Lyon has to offer.

7. Dublin, Ireland

Ireland is famous for its serene beauty and history, and Dublin is no exception. Besides the variety of iconic pubs throughout the city, one of Dublin’s most popular destinations is Kilmainham Gaol. The prison opened in 1796, and its walls are well-acquainted with a variety of rebellion leaders. History lovers will also be entranced with Dublinia and Dublin Castle. Dublin is also the gateway to beautiful scenery, such as the Howth Cliff, Dublin Mountains, and Killiney Hill Walk. A trip to Dublin is not complete without a visit to the wide variety of historic pubs. Beer lovers will not be disappointed with a tour of the Guinness Storehouse, which has claimed its spot at St James’s gate since 1759.

8. Zagreb, Croatia

Zagreb is historically a political center with a struggle against Turkey and later an attempt at Germanization by Austria. Later on, it became the center of the 19th-century pan-Yugoslav and Croatian independence movements. Today, Zagreb is a calm city and the industrial core of Croatia, reflected in the variety of shoe, clothing, and jewelry shops in the downtown area. Travelers during the Christmas season cannot miss out on the Advent in Zagreb Christmas Market with its award-winning shops and festive decor. One of Zagreb’s most iconic buildings is St. Mark’s Church, known for its beautiful red, blue, and white patterned roof alongside the medieval coat of arms and the city emblem.

9. Bolzano, Italy

Bolzano is the perfect mix of Italian and Germanic influences. Bolzano is characterized by its diverse food, architecture, and mountain views, such as the iconic backdrop of Valle di Funes. The mountainsides are surrounded by an array of quiet small villages with ski resorts, perfect for a winter adventure. However, the mountain region is also full of historical secrets such as Ötzi the Iceman, a mummy from the Copper Age over 5300 years ago discovered by hikers in 1991 with his clothes and tools preserved. Tourists can see Ötzi at the Museum of Archaeology, one of the region’s best museums. 800-year-old houses turned restaurants such as Hopfen and Company serve delicious Tyrolean food such as dumplings, pasta, and sausages.

10. Bayreuth, Germany

Bayreuth is synonymous with music. The great 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner was lured here by the reputation of the Margravial Opera House. The Margravial Opera House, built between 1744 and 1748, is one of Europe’s few surviving theatres of the Baroque period and is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Bayreuth charms all its visitors with well-preserved historical areas, quaint streets, and famous breweries. One of the most interesting activities is the catacombs connected to the Bayreuther Brewery, historically used for beer making and shelter during the 2nd World War. For those in need of an escape outside the city center, the Hermitage is a must-see with its stunning gardens and structures. Whether in search of beer or beauty, Bayreuth sings the tunes of it all.

Although mainstream destinations are well known for a reason, it’s important to look beneath the surface to experience all the beauty, history, and culture Europe has to offer. Exploring the less popular locations does not mean missing out — in fact, it offers a unique and unforgettable perspective and experience. Whether it be Bolzano, Dublin or Glasgow, either location will not disappoint and will beckon all visitors to return.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

**Uganda**’s Slow Food initiatives focus on promoting traditional food cultures and food sovereignty, with events like the Agroecology Week of Action highlighting indigenous agricultural practices and biodiversity .

Title:

Content: Jamie Oliver's protegee tells Prudence Wade about the tradition for plant-based fasting food in many Mediterranean countries.

When you think about Greek and Greek Cypriot food, your mind might go to a whole lot of meat.

"There's just so many kebabs, and we love a grill," admits Georgina Hayden. "That is probably a preconception that is justified."

But there's another side to the cuisine she's keen to uncover - the plant-based food eaten during Lent and other fasting times of the year. And there's an awful lot of fasting: up to 200 days a year, including the 50 days before Easter, 50 days before Christmas, and every Wednesday and Friday.

"If you're doing it properly, that is a lot of days without meat," says Hayden. "But it means when you do eat meat, they go hard - it's about balance."

Hayden, who worked with Jamie Oliver for 12 years, has dedicated her latest cookbook to 'nistisima' - "a Greek word, meaning Lenten food," she explains. "It's the food we eat in the preparation for any big religious festival. That is the bigger meaning, but if you were presented with something that was 'nistisimo', or some food that was 'nistisima', basically that means it's plant-based, on a more simple level." It does include shellfish, but Hayden's book is entirely vegan, "for the sake of ease".

It might all sound a bit daunting - the religious references and vegan eating - but that's not Hayden's aim at all. She's keen to not tell anyone what to do - she's not vegan herself and wouldn't ask anyone to go completely plant-based if they don't want to - she just wants to "empower people with a load of recipes that introduce more lentils and vegetables to their life".

And you won't find sad meat replacements or vegan cheese anywhere in the book - particularly as Hayden tried vegan feta once ("I was curious!") and calls it "honestly the most disgusting thing I've ever eaten". Instead, she found so many dishes from Cyprus and the surrounding countries are accidentally vegan, and totally delicious in their own right.

"Instead of trying to replicate cauliflower cheese and make it something it's not, it's about finding new dishes that have been around for centuries that just happen to be plant-based," she says - and this wasn't a hard task at all (the book could have been "double the size, easily").

Hayden grew up around Greek Cypriot food - her grandparents ran a taverna in North London - but her research took her even further afield. "I was researching not just Greek food but the food from the surrounding countries in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. There are so many dishes and so much food from these places that is naturally and traditionally vegan," she explains. "That just fascinates me, especially nowadays, when we're trying to eat more veg and trying to be a bit more conscientious for the planet, whether you're a meat-eater or not."

She wrote the book when the pandemic was in full force and she couldn't travel to meet people. She describes, with glee, WhatsApping monks in Lebanon, FaceTiming a woman in Jordan to see what she was making for Lent, and learning from another monk (there were a surprising amount of monks involved in her journey) the trick to the most delicious kibbeh (deep-fried, stuffed pastries) - adding pumpkin puree instead of water to the batter, to really amp up the flavour.

"There's so much talk about - and rightly so - cultural appropriation in food," Hayden says thoughtfully. "We really have to look at where our food comes from and where recipes come from. But it's a really hard one - especially in a book like this - when you're crossing so many borders. Everyone has their own version of pretty much the same dish. A lot of people are aware of stuffed vine leaves and they think of it as a Greek dish. But it's not just a Greek dish - you go to Turkey, the Middle East, you go to Eastern Europe, everyone has their own version."

Another thing all of these dishes have in common is time. "It's probably the opposite of what everyone wants right now - everyone wants speed, everyone wants less washing up and whatnot," groans Hayden. "But when you're talking about vegan or plant-based cooking, because you don't have animal fat to give you flavour" - you've got to invest a bit more time in it.

One of the monks she spoke to would cook his onions for an hour - a far cry from what most of us do, which is essentially burning diced onions in a pan for a few minutes before adding other ingredients. "OK, we might not have time to cook onions for an hour - but when you do, it makes so much difference," says Hayden. "You might do your slow-cooked shoulder of lamb for four hours - why don't you apply the same principle to your vegetables? Not everything has to be quick.

"In the book, there are loads of speedy recipes - because that's life - but equally, if you're not having a big chunk of meat for Sunday dinner, apply the same compassion and love to your vegetables and you'll get loads of flavour. I think that's even more important to do with plant-based food, because it needs that sweetness that comes from slow cooking."

But don't worry, it's not like the recipes in the book are overly complex and hard to follow - Hayden is Jamie Oliver's protegee, after all. She recently reunited with her former boss as a judge on Channel 4's Great Cookbook Challenge With Jamie Oliver, and calls him "such an amazing mentor".

Hayden adds: "He taught me so much - he has always put the home cook at the forefront when he's thinking about things, and he's essentially taught me how to write a good recipe."

Nistisima: The Secret To Delicious Vegan Cooking From The Mediterranean And Beyond by Georgina Hayden is published by Bloomsbury, priced £26. Photography by Kristin Perers.

On returning to traditional food methods

In the **Mediterranean**, the movement is intertwined with traditional diets such as the Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes olive oil, fresh vegetables, and seafood, reflecting local agricultural practices and promoting health and sustainability .

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Imagining a sane economy

The Living Stream
Last Updated : 29 June 2024, 22:24 IST
Last Updated : 29 June 2024, 22:24 IST

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Discussions of reviving India’s democracy tend to focus on the ways of widening the appeal of constitutional ideals and of a social ethos that is accepting of the country’s religious diversity. The task of building democracy in India though will be incomplete if it does not reimagine the dominant vision of development.

Here’s an instance of how the dominant vision of development works. When political figures promise to address unemployment through job creation, they usually think of inviting investments from abroad or from big Indian business houses to set up new production units. Are the infrastructure and design standards of these new units ecologically sound? Will they recruit workers themselves even at the lower rungs, and not through manpower agencies who take a big cut from their salaries and hardly offer them health or work security? Such questions often go missing in global investor meets.

The policy obsession with “shifting the surplus population” from villages to cities is yet another sample of the dominant development model. The reasoning behind this view usually goes thus: since agriculture’s share of the GDP is slipping, rural youth must be given skill training and absorbed in the expanding cities. This smug logic presumes many things: that agricultural incomes can never improve, that rural youth are willing to become plumbers and electricians in cities, that cities will only grow and grow. A robust policy commitment to rebuilding the rural economy alongside providing good quality school and hospital services in rural and tribal areas will show each one of these presumptions to be false.

Ensuring that rural and tribal livelihoods remain economically viable is a saner way of addressing the unemployment problem than to uproot youth from their families and communities and then find them employment in already congested cities. An ignorance about the sophisticated knowledge and skills behind farming, artisanal work and forest-based occupations alone helps explain why the urban-bred, city-based planners view rural and tribal youth as people in need of skilling. In thrall of capital-intensive and new technology-led economic growth, these planners devise policies for the entire country or state. The unwisdom of this top-down planning approach as well as of their development models in the massively diverse socio-economic universe of India has been called out for decades, but in vain.

A development model for Karnataka, for instance, cannot be arrived at without district by district – if not taluk by taluk -- consultations with a cross-section of locally engaged individuals: the agro-ecological and cultural variation within the state is such. Responsible men and women from across various occupations with a keen sense of local problems and of constructive remedial measures should be invited to participate. A deliberative process of this kind is absolutely essential to help understand what the local people want. There might be differences among them, of course, but considerations of fairness and ecological wisdom should help work through them. If in the interests of supporting local livelihoods and minimizing energy expenditure, the government commits to securing most of the daily needs of people of a district from within that region, this commitment can then help navigate these differences.

The Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), a co-operative of dairy producers founded in the mid-70s by the state’s Ministry of Co-operation, enabled lakhs of rural households across the state to supplement their incomes by selling milk. This means of finding additional incomes did not disrupt their sense of a meaningful life. The KMF is living illustration of the viability of well-managed co-operatives with the autonomy to make newer and newer milk-based products.

Local co-operatives in other areas -- millet crops, healthy food items, craft wooden, iron, clay and paper products, handwoven fabric, to name only a few that will be welcomed by those who care for healthy goods and for revitalizing the lives and skills of local farmer and craft communities. Initiatives like these and others which value local skills, build respectful ties among local producers and buyers and promote ecologically kind practices point at a new moral ethos that we should all help create.

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Published 29 June 2024, 22:24 IST

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Content: Leeds is the only English destination on an elite list of places to visit in 2023.

The city appears alongside 22 other world-beating destinations – including Antarctica, the unspoilt Caribbean island of Dominica and the Mekong Delta, Vietnam – on the Rough Guide's best places to visit next year hotlist. The only other British destinations on the list are the Scottish Highlands and Pembrokeshire, Wales.

The guide, known for its edgy eclecticism, says Leeds' inclusion was a 'no-brainer' describing the city as perfect for 'gourmands, gallery-lovers and theatre fans', The Express reports.

Read more: Leeds' six most festive streets with the city's best displays

Leeds has Opera North, the only nationally recognised UK opera company outside London; Leeds Grand Theatre and Northern Ballet plus UK’s longest-running music hall, the City Varieties Music Hall, and Hyde Park Picture House, the world’s last remaining gaslit cinema. The city has the contemporary Henry Moore Gallery and the City Gallery next door which has works by Francis Bacon and Grayson Perry.

The Rough Guide adds: "If that art and culture leaves you feeling hungry, fear not, Leeds isn’t known as the ‘Foodie Capital of the North’ for nothing. Kirkgate Market – well worth visiting for a wander in its own right – now boasts a refurbished food hall that’ll have you struggling to pick your lunch."

The list in full alphabetically

1. Antarctica

2. Berlin, Germany

3. Bohol Island, the Philippines

4. Cordoba, Argentina

5. Dominica, Nature Island of the Caribbean

6. Fes, Morocco

7. Kanazawa, Japan

8. Korčula, Croatia

9. Leeds, Yorkshire

10. Ljubljana, Slovenia

11. Mekong Delta, Vietnam

12. Naples, Italy

13. Northern Cape, South Africa

14. Oaxaca, Mexico

15. Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica

16. Pembrokeshire, Wales

17. Pensacola, Florida

18. Scottish Highlands, Scotland

19. Sydney, Australia

20. Torres del Paine, Patagonia, Chile

21. Toulouse, France

22. Wellington, New Zealand

23. Zagori, Greece

Read more:

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

Other cultural manifestations include the **Caribbean**, where intuitive cooking based on seasonal ingredients and cultural practices aligns with Slow Food values , and **Malaysia**, where vibrant street food culture provides quick, affordable meals that foster community and shared dining experiences .

Title:

Content: Slow Food Uganda Triumphs at the National Agroecology Action week 2023

The Agroecology Week of Action, organized by Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Uganda, served as a platform for like-minded Civil Society Organizations, and individuals to come together and uphold the cause of agroecology. From the National Agroecology Actors Symposium, Agroecology Market Systems Expo, to the Indigenous Food and Seed Fair, the five-day event was a dynamic and comprehensive display of the power and potential of agroecology. The Slow Food Uganda’s invaluable participation in this week-long event aimed to raise awareness, foster knowledge exchange, and inspire action towards a more just, resilient and equitable sustainable food system. The Slow Food Uganda participation in the Agroecology Week of Action provided a critical opportunity for the selected Slow Food Communities to share experiences, showcase success stories, and discuss the challenges faced by small-scale farmers and other Agroecological Actors.

PELUM Uganda, an umbrella organization comprising over 60 civil society organizations, has long been organizing this annual event of the Agroecology Week of Action, which has become an inspiration for empowering the small-scale farmers, stakeholders, and communities in driving positive change towards a more resilient and sustainable future for food and agriculture through fostering a deep-rooted commitment to promoting agroecology as a transformative approach to farming. The outstanding activities organized have made this event a platform for knowledge exchange, capacity building, and advocacy for sustainable food systems.

Throughout the Agroecology Week of Action, participants were treated to a diverse range of activities, including panel discussions, exhibitions, and cooking demonstrations. Slow Food Uganda’s active involvement in these events brought forth their expertise in promoting traditional food cultures, fostering food sovereignty, and advocating for the preservation of local food biodiversity.

By bridging the gap between policy and practice, the Agroecology Week of Action aimed to influence decision-makers and stakeholders to prioritize agroecology as a viable solution to the challenges facing our food systems. Through engaging dialogues and thought-provoking presentations, this event provided a space for critical discussions on issues such as climate change, food sovereignty, and rural livelihoods. Slow Food Uganda’s participation further strengthened the credibility and impact of these discussions, drawing attention to the importance of preserving traditional knowledge and promoting sustainable farming practices.

Here is the highlight of Slow Food Uganda’s participation in all the events that happened during the Agroecology Week of Action:

National Agroecology Actors Symposium

Slow Food Uganda’s participation in the side event focused on “Consumer and Market Led Mechanisms for Scaling up Agroecology” during the National Agroecology Actors Symposium was instrumental in highlighting the crucial role of Earth Markets in promoting and expanding agroecological enterprises. During this side event, John Kiwagalo from Slow Food Uganda shared insights and experiences on how Earth Markets can contribute to scaling up agroecology entrepreneurship. He emphasized the importance of Earth Markets in raising awareness among consumers about the benefits of supporting agroecological practices for environmental sustainability, biodiversity conservation, and improved nutrition.

Slow Food Uganda’s participation in this side event was key in sharing success stories and best practices from the Earth Markets network, highlighting how market-led approaches can attract farmers to adopt agroecological practices, leading to improved livelihoods and sustainable agricultural systems. The insights and recommendations shared by Slow Food Uganda during the side event served as a call to action for policymakers, researchers, and other stakeholders to integrate consumer and market perspectives into their strategies for scaling up agroecology.

Agroecology Market Systems Expo

One of the highlights of the Agroecology Week of Action was the vibrant market expo, where agroecological entrepreneurs from across Uganda showcased their organic produce and traditional food products. This unique platform not only celebrated the richness and diversity of local agricultural practices but also provided a direct link between agroecological producers and consumers who value sustainable and diverse nutritious food. Through showcasing the Earth Market and the Slow Food Cooks Alliance model, Slow Food Uganda played a crucial role in emphasizing the significance of supporting local economies and short supply chains as well as promoting food that is good for people, the planet, and communities. Milly Namakula, a dedicated member of the Dembe Catering Cooks Alliance, skilfully prepared the renowned Nyasaland Arabica coffee sourced from the Nyasaland Coffee Presidium in Mbale district. This local processed coffee was proudly showcased and served alongside the delightful local sweet bananas sourced from the robust BOCOVACO Food Community in Buikwe district. The esteemed presence of Mr. Abitekaniza Johnson, the Assistant Commissioner of MSME Training and Business Skills Development at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives who represented the Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, as the chief guest of the day, further raised the significance of the occasion. During his visit to the Slow Food Uganda stand, Mr. Abitekaniza Johnson had the opportunity to gain deep insights into the remarkable work carried out by Slow Food Presidia, Earth Markets, Cooks Alliance, and Food Communities. This provided the minister with a deeper understanding of how these initiatives actively foster agroecological markets, thereby enhancing the livelihoods of small-scale farmers. Over 100 visitors had an opportunity to taste the flavours of Uganda’s Nyasaland Arabica Coffee.

During the engaging panel discussion, John Kiwagalo delved into the pivotal role played by Earth Markets in fostering agroecological markets. Earth Markets, as highlighted by Kiwagalo, serve as platforms for fostering innovation and implementing initiatives that prioritize the principles of sustainability and biodiversity protection. Kiwagalo’s insights shed light on the significance of Earth Markets in creating connections between producers and consumers, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and promoting agroecological practices for a more resilient food system.

Indigenous Food and Seed Fair

Slow Food Uganda was part of over 100 exhibitors who participated in the Annual Indigenous Food and Seed Fair that happened for 2 days, showcasing their commitment to promoting cultural and biological diversity. The event provided an excellent platform for Slow Food Uganda to exhibit their diverse range of initiatives, including exciting displays of the Slow Food Garden, Earth Market stalls, and seed banks, as well as highlighting the important work of the Cooks Alliance.

Dr. Paul Mwambu the Commissioner for Crop Inspection and Certification who represented the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries as the chief guest at the Indigenous Food and Seed Fair visited the Slow Food Uganda stand which further amplified the significance of the participation. During his visit, Slow Food Uganda emphasized the crucial role of supporting small-scale farmers in certifying their innovative practices. They stressed the need for policies that not only recognize and value the contributions of agroecological farmers but also provide them with the necessary support and resources to effectively utilize their innovations.

During the event, an array of indigenous seeds was showcased by dedicated farmers representing various Slow Food Communities. This exhibition not only provided a platform for farmers to display their valuable seed diversity but also facilitated seed exchanges among participants from different organizations. The collaborative spirit of the event allowed for the sharing of traditional seeds, ensuring their continued cultivation and protection.

Moreover, visitors were treated to a delightful gastronomic experience as members of the Cooks Alliance skilfully prepared a range of local dishes, showcasing the incredible diversity and flavours of the Uganda’s cuisine. From traditional delicacies to innovative culinary creations, the Cooks Alliance demonstrated the richness and versatility of local foods. Additionally, guests had the privilege of enjoying the renowned Nyasaland coffee, sourced from the Nyasaland Presidium, which further highlighted the exceptional quality and taste of Uganda’s coffee heritage.

The exhibition of indigenous seeds, food, artisanal materials, domesticated animals, poultry, clean energy technologies and locally made agroecological inputs coupled with the tasty offerings from the Cooks Alliance and the Nyasaland coffee, provided a memorable experience for visitors, fostering a deep appreciation for the cultural and culinary heritage of Uganda. This vibrant celebration of local food traditions and agricultural biodiversity showcased the vital role played by Slow Food Communities in promoting sustainable practices and preserving the unique flavours and traditions of Uganda.

In his opening remarks during the Food Fair, Edward Mukiibi, the president of Slow Food International and Vice Chairperson of PELUM Uganda emphasized the importance of local farmers’ initiatives in enhancing the protection of local food biodiversity. “Women, youth, indigenous peoples and men who are small scale farmers are the custodians of our biodiversity. These are the true people who are nourishing and feeding this country and no one should take this away from us.” Edward said. He added that biodiversity and culture are linked together and biological and cultural diversity is the foundation of every country’s food system.

Best Exhibitors’ Awards

Slow Food Uganda gained a well-deserved recognition by winning the prestigious award as the Best Exhibitor at the Annual Food and Seed Fair. This achievement did not only highlight Slow Food Uganda’s solid commitment to promoting biodiversity and supporting small-scale farmers but also underscored their significant contributions to fostering a more sustainable and inclusive food culture. Slow Food Uganda’s recognition as the best exhibitor in the Annual Food and Seed Fair serves as evidence to their significant impact in promoting sustainable food systems. The exceptional display at the fair captured the spirit of their mission, captivating visitors with a vibrant and diverse range of exhibits. The organization’s booth stood out through its thorough curation, showcasing indigenous seeds, traditional food varieties, and innovative farming practices. The passion and dedication of Slow Food Uganda members were clearly evident, as they shared their wealth of knowledge and engaged visitors in meaningful conversations about the importance of preserving local food heritage.

John Kiwagalo, Slow Food Uganda

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Title:

Content: A View from Ukraine: Only with Solidarity Can We Safeguard Biodiversity and Lay the Foundations for the Future

Whatever their nature, crises have much to teach us. One of their fundamental lessons is this: Together we are stronger.

This belief underpins the Slow Food network. Wars, pandemics and natural disasters only highlight our awareness that we are one big community with a specific duty, to help each other and protect our Mother Earth.

The solidarity that we have seen in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion exactly one year ago offers a strong and concrete example of this. More than 400 donors from over 27 countries have donated over €47,000, pledging to support not only the safety of those who have fled their home country but also those who have chosen to stay and look after their animals, crops and villages, protecting the wealth of local biodiversity currently under existential threat.

Slow Food has seen evidence of the network’s solidarity from around the world. Polish, Romanian and Bulgarian Slow Food communities are hosting refugees; Slow Food Australia has collected humanitarian aid and sent it to the borders; Slow Food Prague has run workshops to showcase Ukrainian cuisine; and in France and Italy Slow Food has organized fundraisers in aid of Ukrainian producers.

So far over 60 communities have been helped by this communal solidarity in various ways, with a focus on assisting those affected by the conflict to carry on with their daily lives and save local biodiversity. At a time of war, safeguarding biodiversity might not seem a priority. But in fact it represents a vital foundation for a future recovery.

“War is total destruction,” said Andrea Pieroni, professor of Ethnobotany and Ethnobiology at the University of Gastronomic Sciences, speaking to us last summer. “It also puts at risk the entire biodiversity of a country, and consequently an entire traditional gastronomic heritage. The environmental consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war are manifold, and the effects fall (and will fall) as much on the present as on the future of each of us. But if a war can do damage, even more damage—and this time irreversible—can be done by reconstruction, if it does not respect the traditions and cultures that existed before, seeking instead to globalize and perhaps respond to global needs rather than local ones. The Slow Food network can play a key role in supporting Ukrainians to hold on to traditions, such as those of family production and farmers’ markets.”

The activities that Slow Food has been supporting in recent months include safeguarding traditional animal breeds by purchasing forage, providing medical assistance, distributing hatching eggs of local-breed chickens, providing farmers with seeds and plants of local varieties and helping to preserve local seed collections. The Slow Food network has also helped to purchase basic equipment, such as cultivators, fridges and wheelbarrows, for communities that have either been decimated or are hosting refugees. It has helped to fix a ruined school and buy containers for the meals being prepared by Slow Food Cooks’ Alliance cooks to distribute to the needy. For Christmas the network organized the delivery of food straight from farms to over 30 families where children were staying with their grandparents, so they could have good, wholesome food for the holidays.

“The money that we have received from Slow Food is vital, both to deliver humanitarian aid to people in need, and to preserve these native Carpathian bees and their ecosystem,” explained beekeeper Vitali Pavlu. “It’s all part of a spiritual and moral outlook that we promote: to do things not because they are profitable, but because they are good. So we take with one hand and give back with the other, to create harmony.”

While some have donated financially, others have chosen to donate their time and work. Just one example out of many: Dutch Slow Food Cooks’ Alliance member Jeroen van Nijnatten and his partner Marike Reinhard. Normally working as a caterer, Jeroen is well equipped to cook on location. About a month ago he and Marike packed their van full of cooking gear and ingredients and set off for the city of Lviv.

Their action was supported by the Ukrainian Education Platform and Kerk In Actie, a Dutch collective of Protestant churches. Since then, they have served about 1,400 pancakes in and around Lviv. Moving their mobile kitchen from orphanage to shelter to football stadium, everywhere the displaced happily queued up for a plate of warm Dutch pancakes. Marike has also been running yoga sessions for children in local orphanages. Says Jeroen: “The people we cooked for—mainly women and children of course—were very happy. The best part of these weeks was to see that they really felt supported.” Jeroen and Marike have recently returned to the Netherlands, but plans for a second trip are already being made.

Solidarity has also been on show in the places where Ukrainian refugees have arrived. Kateryna Prykhodko is a goat’s cheese producer and veterinarian who attended Cheese 2019. She fled from Kiev to Italy in March 2022, bringing three children, her mother and a number of dogs. In Ukraine, she had a farm called Dragonfly, located on the outskirts of the capital. Now everything is destroyed. But thanks to the hospitality of Eros Scarafoni and his family at the Fontegranne farm in the countryside near Fermo, in the Marche, Kateryna has found not just a safe haven but also the opportunity to continue her work as a cheesemaker, teaching the locals the secrets of her blue goat’s cheese. Local and regional Slow Food coordinators are working closely with her to promote her Italo-Ukrainian cheeses, organizing a series of meetings and events to give Kateryna a hand so that her Dragonfly can “fly” again.

“We are infinitely grateful to each of you, each community, each national association and the international headquarters,” said Slow Food’s coordinator in Ukraine, Yuliia Pitenko. “We are grateful to the whole extended Slow Food family for the quick and very effective assistance. We have been able to help those who are in the occupied territories, those who are near the front, those who are in Kyiv and those who received displaced people in western Ukraine, without bureaucratic obstacles. We understand that this is solidarity, real solidarity. We understand what heart-to-heart help means, and even now, when we don’t know what will happen tomorrow, we still want to invite you to Ukraine, let it be in a year, when we will have restored our country and saved our local animal breeds, seeds and gastronomic dishes.”

Each of these activities is a step toward the future we want to see become a reality. We are all part of a global network. And while safeguarding biodiversity, educating others and advocating for policy change in your corner of the world is paramount, progress begins with the exchange of stories, knowledge and projects across the globe and is built on the relationships we forge with one another. Only together can we cultivate a better future. Wherever we are, we are not alone.

See all of our updates on the network in Ukraine

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What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

Fermentation practices worldwide, such as Korean kimchi and German sauerkraut, are also celebrated within the movement for their links to health, biodiversity, and cultural identity .

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Content: Salsify's Pan roasted linefish, baked black rice & spiced lemongrass cream.
Image: Supplied

Set on a landmark, in the historical Roundhouse, nestled, as they say, “between land and sea”, Salsify has become a notable food destination in South Africa and globally, and now, it has a global culinary award to reinforce that.

The Cape Town gem was named Africa’s Best Landmark Restaurant for 2023, at the annual World Culinary Awards, held at the Atlantis The Royal, in Dubai this week. Salsify is no stranger to awards and has enjoyed increasing recognition for its work over the years. Ryan Cole, co-owner and executive chef, said the restaurant is “incredibly proud of this global recognition”.

Salsify's Chef Ryan Cole.
Image: Supplied

The World Culinary Awards are now in their fourth year and aim to be the global initiative to recognise and reward excellence in the culinary industry and rate restaurants and culinary experiences across the globe, with South Africa also being named Africa’s Best Culinary Destination 2023.

Rina van Staden, director at the World Culinary Awards, said: “Our World Culinary Awards 2023 winners represent stellar examples of excellence in the culinary industry, and I congratulate each and every one for helping to raise the collective benchmark to even greater heights. My congratulations to each of them.”

Salsify's Kitchen Gifts.
Image: Supplied

Salsify has grown under Cole’s guidance, creating a tasteful medley of history, location, art, décor and, most importantly, its menu. The focus has always been on seasonal ingredients and how to elevate the fine dining experience. With the views of the Atlantic Ocean and Lion’s Head as a backdrop, this Cape Town-based restaurant could distract the diner on location alone. The ever-full reservation book is testament to the fact that it is worth a visit all year round. The menu boasts the best of ingredients, with playful elements that highlight the team’s creativity and technique, with dishes on the current chef’s menu called the ugly bits of lamb.

Salisfy.
Image: Supplied
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On returning to traditional food methods

The Slow Food Movement is not a purely Western construct; rather, it has been adapted and embraced by diverse cultures, each infusing the movement with local traditions, ingredients, and social practices .

How many countries have members of Slow Food organization?

On returning to traditional food methods

How many countries have members of Slow Food organization?

On returning to traditional food methods

How many countries have members of Slow Food organization?

On returning to traditional food methods

How many countries have members of Slow Food organization?

On returning to traditional food methods

For example, in **Malawi**, the Slow Food Coffee Coalition supports sustainable coffee production and the preservation of indigenous coffee varieties .

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Content: How to deal with food shortages? Italians have the answer

My family knew that to survive meant making more out of less

One Sunday, while I prepared lunch at her home, my late Ma gathered my amused daughters to watch me. She rolled her eyes: “Oh my God, look at your father. No one who didn’t live through the war knows how to peel a carrot properly!”

The Second World War thrift generation could not tolerate waste. Clothes with holes, rickety furniture, vegetable peel and animal innards were all under my Ma’s beady watch.

Ironically, these are all in vogue today, as we experience economic and supply chain crises, and are encouraged blithely to eat more turnips.

I have never tasted a turnip, so “veg guru” Gerald Stratford’s excellent article on the maligned root vegetable in iWeekend was intriguing. And not rushing out to find one in Sainsbury’s does not mean I reject such mindful shopping and cooking. Instead, I’m already a lifelong adherent to a philosophy that embraces thrift and seasonality: cucina povera, the Italian cuisine known as “peasant cooking”.

Somehow, this philosophy, forged from the necessities of scarcity and poverty in rural Italy, became bastardised into signature motifs for high-end Italian restaurants such as the River Café, charging astronomical prices for simple fare. Yet in its pure origins, cucina povera was the only way that rural Italians like my Ma, could eat.

My family knew that to survive meant making more out of less. This resulted in frugal recipes – the need to cherish every ingredient. Carbs were the staple: pasta, bread and polenta. All of them would be accompanied by seasonal fruit and vegetables. Meat was a rare treat, so if you had an animal you slaughtered, cooked and ate it nose-to-tail, long before London’s famous St John restaurant re-introduced the notion of offal recipes as trendy.

The poor ate the animal parts that the rich rejected. For me, that meant regular meals involving lamb hearts, kidneys, liver with pancetta, sweetbreads and ossobuco (braised veal shanks). Peasants would heap on herbs, garlic and chilli to help with flavour. That’s also how soffrito came about – the heady mix of celery, carrot and onion that is the basis of the Italian stewed sauce, ragu, or soups like minestrone.

Many of today’s fashionable middle-class dishes have origins in cucina povera: pesto (wilting basil), panzanella salad (stale bread), toasted bruschetta (also, stale bread), dried pasta (no expensive eggs) and baccalà (salted cod).

This also explains the entire concept of cured meats like salami, mortadella, prosciutto and pancetta. I spent many hours watching my Ma’s Neapolitan friend Concetta stuffing pork, fennel, garlic and herbs into pig intestines to make Italian sausages. She also had an allotment in Croydon, decades before it was an on-trend hobby. We ate caponata (Italian ratatouille) several times a week.

Italian pizza and pasta recipes have now become affordable British staples. With supreme irony, some restaurants are removing these from their menus today, because of the tomato shortage.

We throw away 1.3 billion tonnes of edible food a year, globally. Eating more caponata, sweetbreads and panzanella will not fix that crisis alone. However, longer term, it will save you so much money, bring you joy in the kitchen and make your family very happy in its communal eating. Trust me.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

In **Ukraine**, Slow Food communities have provided humanitarian aid and supported local biodiversity during conflict, organizing workshops to showcase Ukrainian cuisine and help local producers maintain agricultural practices .

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Interview

‘How is it sustainable if only 1% can afford your food?’: the man on a quest to change farming

Chris Newman, founder of Virginia-based Sylvanaqua Farms, on why feeding people needs to be at the heart of sustainable farming

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Wed 25 Aug 2021 01.00 EDT

Chris Newman, 38, and his wife, Annie, 35, always planned to retire with a farm. But after a health scare in 2013, the couple left their jobs as a software engineer and art gallery director to found Sylvanaqua Farms, a 120-acre operation in northern Virginia that produces pasture-raised chicken, eggs and pork and grass-fed beef.

Newman has gained a sizable following online for his writing and advocacy, which focuses on producing food in ways that don’t exploit people or the environment.

Scaling up Sylvanaqua’s operations is more important than achieving perfection, said Newman. “Our goal on our farm is to responsibly produce as much food as we possibly can and just get it into as many mouths as possible, making sure that what we produce isn’t just accessible to the upper crust.”

To meet that goal, Sylvanaqua has pledged to donate half its harvest to food aid organizations throughout the Chesapeake region, as part of a mutual aid program focused on people who ordinarily can’t afford high-quality meat and produce.

Newman, who is Black and an enrolled member of the Choptico Band of Piscataway Indians, spoke with the Guardian about racism in the farm-to-table movement, how indigenous practices influence the way he farms and why, ultimately, feeding people needs to be at the heart of sustainable farming.

What was the transition like when when you and your wife left your jobs to start the farm?

It was awful. Basically, the transition to farming was us moving to Charlottesville, buying a bunch of chickens, buying a few pigs, and then getting this really rude awakening. There’s a lot of literature out there talking about how regular people can farm. It’s this shtick that if you work hard enough and you go direct-to-consumer and you’re creative, then you’ll be able to make it – but also they forget to tell you that they inherited a $5m estate. Everything that’s in the popular culture about these things is basically marketing.

What kind of farming practices has Sylvanaqua adopted?

If you were to come here, you would find a ranch that was overwhelmingly forest – some of it grass. You’d find us doing rotational grazing with our cattle. You’d see our pigs in the forest. You would find we have no chemical fertilizers because we range our poultry across the grass so that we don’t have to import any fertilizer.

Our egg-laying chickens follow behind our cows in order to keep the fly populations down. Our hens will see a dried cowpat and they’ll scratch it open and eat larvae out of it before they’re able to hatch. That keeps our pinkeye issues down with our cattle. It keeps our costs down and keeps our animals happier without us having to resort to chemicals, medications, vets and things that traumatize animals.

And it’s not just about the ecology. When we talk about sustainability, people are almost always talking about the stuff like no till, no sprays, no GMO. It’s all technical stuff about what you do to the land, but somehow there’s no sustainability criteria in terms of people.

How is your farm really sustainable if only 1% of people can afford your food? We are actively trying to figure out how to connect the dots between what we do here and the people who’ve been left behind by the farm-to-table movement. Without that mass participation, then all we’re really doing is creating castles in the sky.

How does your Black and indigenous heritage factor into how you farm?

I’m not focused on owning land. I think that’s actually one of the big ways that my indigenous heritage expresses itself in the way we do business – I’m not looking to own or accumulate. I just want access to that land in order to feed people, because for us, that’s the point of landscape – to sustain people.

The rest of it is probably a bunch of weird neuroses around farming and agriculture, because people of color, especially Black people, ran away from farms for a reason. We were chased away at gunpoint, basically. My maternal grandfather, who was the last farmer in my family, was determined that none of his kids would be farmers, even though he was very successful at it. He had people paint swastikas on his tractors.

With all the issues that permeate the sustainable food movement, how have you done things differently to not replicate those issues?

Going after scale has turned me into a kind of a black sheep for the movement because sustainable farming is supposed to be all about being small. It’s supposed to be about not integrating because there’s this idea that anything that JBS or Smithfield or Cargill does, we must not do.

We’ve been at this farm-to-table movement, “let’s revolutionize the way we do agriculture” thing for the better part of 50 years now and where are we?

If we’re about feeding everybody in this country and ultimately in this world – in a way that arrests climate change and fundamentally changes our economic and spiritual and physical relationship to food – we have to be a little tougher. We can’t be so self-congratulatory.

How should farmers think about climate resilience?

The deeply unsatisfying answer that I give people about this is that I don’t think there’s anything that an individual farm can really do to affect climate change. The problem with agriculture, as it relates to climate, is that we’re producing way more food than we need.

Farmers are being bankrolled by public money to grow stuff that nobody wants, especially corn. We grow lots of food, but we end up just throwing most of it away or funneling it through livestock that don’t really even need it to grow. We’re outrageously inefficient with it.

The ultimate thing that we do that creates a climate-friendly model is knowing why we’re producing food, who we’re producing it for, and making sure it gets to them. That’s what fundamentally matters – it’s not about technology, it’s not about techniques, it’s about people.

On returning to traditional food methods

In the **United States**, the movement has inspired farm-to-table dining and sustainable agriculture, with chefs like Alice Waters and Dan Barber advocating for organic, locally sourced food and sustainable farming .

On returning to traditional food methods

On returning to traditional food methods

**Current proponents** of the Slow Food Movement include a diverse array of chefs, farmers, activists, and organizations worldwide.

**Current proponents** of the Slow Food Movement include a diverse array of chefs, farmers, activists, and organizations worldwide.

**Current proponents** of the Slow Food Movement include a diverse array of chefs, farmers, activists, and organizations worldwide.

Notable figures are Alice Waters, who pioneered the farm-to-table movement in the U.S.; Dan Barber, known for his focus on sustainable agriculture; and Chris Newman, who promotes affordable, accessible, and sustainable food through Sylvanaqua Farms in Virginia .

Pope Francis has also shown support for the movement, particularly through initiatives aimed at biodiversity and sustainable agriculture, such as the European Citizen Initiative to reduce pesticide use, which includes Slow Food as a key NGO participant .

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Malaysians hit back after minister says nation ‘addicted’ to dining out, making people poorer

  • Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli has urged Malaysians to cook at home more, after blaming dining-out culture for citizens feeling the pinch
  • Critics say he has overlooked the cost of domestic labour and that Malaysia’s street food culture provides quick and cheap meals for workers
Malaysia

Time-harried Malaysians have hit back at a minister’s suggestion that the country is “addicted” to dining out and chewing up its own money, defending a 24-hour outdoor food culture spawned to cater for factory workers and arguing for more free public spaces to socialise.

The furore was sparked by Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli, who said on September 17 that his compatriots’ habit of regularly dining out was the reason they were feeling the pinch, urging them to cook at home to save money.

“We can see that the income used for eating out, whether it’s takeaway or eating at a restaurant or stall … has grown over the years. This is not about me making up stories, but this is based on the data,” he was reported as saying by local newspaper Sinar Harian.

His comments, backed by government data on household expenditure surveys, have sparked a backlash from a country that’s proud of its food and where shared meals out form the bedrock of diet and culture.

“Time is a trade-off between the full costs of eating in and eating out,” Christopher Choong, deputy director of research at Malaysia’s Khazanah Research Institute said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

He pointed out that the minister had overlooked the cost of domestic labour and household production in his calculus that a nation eating at home saves money. “You need time for planning, groceries, cleaning, plus mental labour to do so, and opportunity costs of unpaid hours,” he said.

Malaysia to spend billions to reduce poverty, boost growth in 5-year plan

In a study on the topic of eating out in 2020, Choong and fellow researcher Goh Ming Jun said “time poverty” affected 61.5 per cent of Malaysian women and 48 per cent of men, especially in low-income households in the Kuala Lumpur metropolitan area.

Compared to other countries where eating out is a more occasional affair, Malaysia’s world-famous street food culture also stems from providing quick and cheap meals for workers on the go.

The rise of 24-hour Indian-Muslim – or mamak – eateries around the country in the early 1990s correlated to the rapid industrialisation of Malaysia.

Initially, they catered to factory workers working late night and early morning shifts, before expanding to cater to supporters of European football leagues who stay up late to watch games that are often projected on big screens at such establishments.

“This has become a strong element of our street food culture. I think we should protect that instead,” said ride-sharing driver Edwin Lee in Kuala Lumpur.

He said driving tourists around the capital revealed that many visitors were intrigued by Malaysia’s food culture and see it as a net benefit to the country’s tourism offering and economy in the long run. “So yes, I find the minister’s point of view a little shortsighted,” he said.

City dwellers in Malaysia’s peninsular west coast eat out with greater frequency than those in rural areas, where the slower pace of life still allows for office workers to return home for lunch before going back to work.

Nabil Ersyad, a cities and urban transport activist, said that eating out was a valuable part of Malaysian culture but people often did so because of a lack of other public spaces to meet.

“There are few places to go, hang out and meet people besides going to restaurants and malls,” Nabil said. “Free places like parks, libraries and plazas are either absent, limited or restricted.”

‘Live with heatwaves’: why Singapore and other Asian nations must adapt

The fact that daytime temperatures regularly exceed 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) – with nights almost as warm – also plays into why Malaysians seek refuge in air-conditioned shopping centres and restaurants.

Workers, meanwhile, spend a lot of time commuting from work to home, leading to mamak restaurants and late-night food courts being the default gathering places for most urban Malaysians.

A 2022 study by digital mapping company TomTom found that Malaysians spend 159 hours stuck in traffic each year, ahead of Singapore and Hong Kong at 150 and 141 hours, respectively.

“By the time I get home, I just want to sit and rest,” said accountant Asrul Ramli.

Like many, he lives outside Kuala Lumpur for the lower rents and drives to and from work as the public transport in his neighbourhood is impractical.

“People say it’s cheaper to cook at home, but it’s actually expensive to cook for one,” said Asrul, who is single.

Malaysians appalled their food ranks 39th in ‘50 best world cuisines’ list

While being panned for his comments, Minister Rafizi attributed the issue to an “unintended consequence of policies of the past”.

He said these included divesting from agriculture in lieu of importing raw materials and a lack of investment in public transport that had led many Malaysians to resort to eating out and food deliveries, having lost hours commuting on the road.

Meanwhile, former health minister-turned-podcaster Khairy Jamaluddin told the economics minister to stick to solutions instead of walking the public through his thoughts.

“If you don’t have a decision, don’t expose your thinking process,” he said in his podcast Keluar Sekejap, citing his own experience as health minister in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. “The public doesn’t want to know that, they want to know your decision.”

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Local chapters, such as Slow Food Uganda and Slow Food Ukraine, play vital roles in promoting agroecology, food sovereignty, and community resilience .

The movement’s influence extends to food policy and legislation, particularly in Europe, where it has supported initiatives like the European Citizen Initiative calling for a 50% reduction in synthetic pesticide use by 2030 .

Slow Food advocates for policies that prioritize local food systems, organic farming, and the rights of small-scale farmers, shaping discussions around food sovereignty and agroecology .

On returning to traditional food methods

On returning to traditional food methods

For travelers seeking **authentic Slow Food experiences**, several destinations stand out.

For travelers seeking **authentic Slow Food experiences**, several destinations stand out.

**Italy** remains the quintessential destination, especially regions like Piedmont, Tuscany, and Emilia-Romagna, where traditional cooking and local ingredients are celebrated in restaurants, agriturismos, and food festivals .

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

On returning to traditional food methods

What is the birthplace of the slow food movement?

The **Causeway Coast and Glens** in Northern Ireland is recognized as a Slow Food destination, promoting local suppliers and sustainable practices through initiatives like Taste Causeway .

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

What is  the first accredited Slow Food destination in Northern Ireland?

In **Uganda**, engaging with Slow Food Uganda’s initiatives offers insight into traditional food cultures and sustainable practices in an African context .

On returning to traditional food methods

**Lyon, France**, often called the gastronomical capital of France, is home to numerous Michelin-starred restaurants and a rich culinary heritage aligned with Slow Food values .

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Intuition Is The Main Ingredient In Authentic Caribbean Cuisine

Caribbean culinary traditions originated with intuitive or “feel” cooking. The most common foods associated with the region were not born of recipe books or cooking shows or popularized by the latest influencers or Instagram feeds.

The most popular Caribbean dishes have been a product of adaptation. The Taino Indians and African Maroons of Jamaica originally used Jamaican jerk seasoning as a preservative. The Barbadian national dish of cou-cou, made of corn meal and okra or ochroes (which came to the region from Africa) typically paired with flying fish, became popular during the early colonial period due to its affordability, and bears a striking resemblance to Ghanaian Banku.

Caribbean intuitive cooking was conceived on early Amerindian settlements, in the heart of West Africa, on Trans-Atlantic slave ships, in the migration of Chinese and Indian indentured labourers, through Syrian merchant migrations and accentuated by English, Spanish, Dutch and Danish colonial influences. The earliest Caribbean food pathways were rooted in struggle and— in resilience— and despite the advent of technology, Caribbean culinary traditions remain in the most authentic of places, in the DNA and the souls of Caribbean people.

Intuitive cooking in its purest form uses ingredients that are in season, doesn’t depend on a well-stocked pantry and is both mindful and “heartful.” There is no room for fad diets, strict recipes or ultra-processed packaged meals. Creativity, innovation and ingenuity are all born here.

“Cooking from an intuitive standpoint allows our kitchen to express itself daily based on what’s available,” says Chef Digby Strideron, a Contemporary West Indian Chef from St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands.

Seasonal ingredients and regional recipes inspire Strideron, “bringing out” his creativity and allowing him to “grow with” his cuisine. He has spent the past decade as a forager, “chasing flavors and stories” and says that “focusing in on the technique and ideology behind the recipes is more important than creating the same dish over and over in the same manner.”

“Being intuitive in the kitchen allows me to tap into the creative process behind cooking and express who I am,” says Strideron. “Traditionally, intuitive cooking made sense as our ancestors had to rely on what was in season— what they were able to hunt or preserve. These things changed daily but the cuisine remained and while all recipes continue to change, understanding why is the most important part.”

While food traditions are a form of cultural inheritance, the culinary ingenuity that has extended into modern times, has built on the Caribbean’s spirit of resourcefulness and resilience, creating space for healers, high-end chefs as well as Diasporic and foreign interpretations.

Chef Sherri Hillman is not your ordinary chef— in fact, she refers to herself as a cooking gypsy. She has travelled the world delighting clients and audiences with her “back to the earth” perspective on cooking— but she says that when she arrived to Barbados in 1990 and the Cayman Islands, in 2007, her soul found its home.

During her years in the Cayman Islands, Hillman hosted regular farm to table dinners, becoming somewhat of the Tony Robbins of the anti-ultra-processed food movement, evangelizing her guests around the importance of seasonal, local eating and “cooking from scratch.”

“When I cook for someone, I cook with my intuition in the moment, my connection to what is available and with intention to provide the healthiest, most delicious meal possible,” says Hillman. “Food is our connection to life and I feel people have forgotten that. We have bodies that can heal themselves if fed the right food. So few people and doctors share or push that value. It is not even something that is taught in schools.”

And Jamaican Chef, Ben Tsedek knows a thing or two about healing through food.

Tsedek is a Rastafarian raw vegan chef, an organic farmer, a medical qi gong practitioner and an African bio mineral balance practitioner who commutes between the hills of Mandeville Jamaica and his farm in Boca Raton Florida.

“You don’t have to take a life to sustain a life,” says Tsedek, who ascribes to the Yoruba perspective of asé as life force that can be found in the foods we eat. “If I eat a pumpkin, I don’t have to kill the pumpkin plant. My food doesn’t carry a karmic debt.”

The former owner of popular Kingston raw vegan restaurant, Firelight, Tsedek believes in the “power of the sun” to cook his food and stresses that “if people would listen to their bodies and cook accordingly, they would eat in harmony with their genetic predisposition and prevent or cure themselves from ailments.”

Tsedek says that his intuitive process of cooking his prized soups and other dishes aids with cleansing, digestion and regeneration. His favourite ingredients are all found in the context of his natural environment and include pumpkin, green bananas, string beans, okras, amaranth, scallions, thyme and sea moss, the latter of which he says, “naturally fortifies and harmonizes the elements in the pot.”

And just as intuitive cooking connects with energy and life force, it also connects with ancestral and family traditions.

Stephanie Ramlogan knows this concept all too well. As a Trinidadian residing in New York, she reconnects with home by putting her own spin on familiar dishes, using Diasporic flavours and spices that are available and that “speak” to her.

“I wasn't taught how to cook, I just inherited my mother's sweet hand,” she laughs. “My mother is a fantastic chef, and I never saw her follow a recipe. I remember as a child asking her how she remembered all the measurements and she said that she just made them up as she went along.”

Living in the United States, Ramlogan learned to improvise on what she saw her mother doing in her kitchen in Trinidad. Using taste and smell as her barometer, she has become accustomed to substituting American ingredients in her “classic” Trinidadian dishes and has begun to work on a Diaspora-inspired cookbook.

“I have been pulling together recipes for Trinbagonian food that I make in New York— using substitutions,” she explains. “I playfully refer to it as Trini Cooking For People In Foreign, and as an example, for one of the recipes I imagined my mother's voice telling a 21-year-old me how to make Palau over the phone. The book is intended to be a place where people who love cooking can come to share, laugh and learn. It isn't intended to just have recipes, but stories too, about Caribbean food and how I have adjusted to living abroad when all I crave is macaroni pie and red bean stew.”

Intuitive cooking techniques have permeated Caribbean life.

Take bush cooking, for example. Picture it— no controls, no heat settings, no scales, no timers— just fire. And whether it is a pot of corn soup over a flame, featuring a bubbling hodgepodge of coconut milk, corn, pumpkin, scotch bonnet and herbs on the side of the road, or a breadfruit buried in the burning sand as dead leaves crackle in the embers overhead— this is not cooking with your head, but with your heart. And it is ready to eat, not with the buzzing of a timer, but when the chef says so.

The authentic Caribbean palate originated with and continues to be driven by seasons, senses, creativity, migration and survival. Whether the Pepperpot of Guyana, the Ackee and Saltfish of Jamaica, the Oil Down of Trinidad or the variety of whole foods and techniques that were brought to the New World hundreds and thousands of years ago, intuitive cooking is critical to cultural survival and resilience that is being threatened by the mass influx of imported and ultra-processed foods into the region.

Nourishing the body should also nourish the soul.

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I’m an environmental writer with a focus on food and agriculture, and commute between the Southern Caribbean (Barbados) and the Northern Caribbean (Cayman Islands). I

I’m an environmental writer with a focus on food and agriculture, and commute between the Southern Caribbean (Barbados) and the Northern Caribbean (Cayman Islands). I have a Master’s Degree in International Economic Policy from Columbia University and am passionate about food systems, the environment and Caribbean development. I am intrigued by the resilience of Small Island Developing States and I love stories of sustainable and regenerative growth through food systems and agriculture. I have headed up two communications projects at the Food and Agriculture Organization and serve as a Communications Advisor at the World Food Programme’s Caribbean Headquarters. I have contributed to a wide cross-section of publications, including the Sunday Times (of London), The New York Times and and the International Monetary Fund (Finance & Development Magazine). I was a finalist of the UN-OHRLLS Island Voices Journalism Competition (2019) and won the PAHO/CDB/CBU Award for “Celebrating Responsible Coverage of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support During COVID-19” (2021). I served as a food sustainability judge for the Zayed Sustainability Prize in the United Arab Emirates (2019 and 2021) and as a judge for the Rockefeller Foundation’s $2 million Food System Vision Prize (2020). Follow me on Twitter at @daphneewingchow, on Facebook at @daphneewingchowwriter or on Linkedin @daphneewingchow

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

In the **United States**, restaurants such as Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California, and Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York are renowned for their commitment to local and sustainable food practices .

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Wembanyama, Gobert headline stacked French squad for Paris Olympics

As host, the French Men’s National Basketball Team didn’t have to go through the qualification process for the 2024 Paris Olympics, but that doesn’t mean they are not a threat — France has a legitimate chance to medal (they took silver in Tokyo).

France unveiled a 19-man preliminary roster for the Paris 2024 Olympics, and it is stacked.

At the top of the list is NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama. The NBA Rookie of the Year averaged 21.4 points and 10.6 rebounds a game, but he was more impactful on the defensive end of the court, where he averaged 3.6 blocks a night. Wembanyama finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, which is almost unheard of for a rookie.

Rudy Gobert, who beat Wembanyama out for DPOY, is also on the French team. Together, they form a defensive backline that will challenge every opponent.

“The key to building the team will be establishing an uncompromising defense,” France coach Vincent Collet said at a news conference, via the Associated Press. We have profiles that excel in this area.”

A number of other NBA players are on the French roster including Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, Bilal Coulibaly, Ousmane Dieng and Killian Hayes.

France has drawn into Group B in the Olympics with Germany (which won last summer’s FIBA World Cup), Japan and one team that advances out of the upcoming qualifying tournaments later this summer.

This is going to be a loaded international tournament with NBA players filling out a lot of the roster spots. The USA — led by Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Stephen Curry — are the gold medal favorites, but will be pushed by Serbia (Nikola Jokic), Canada (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), Germany and others. Including France.

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

Other notable Slow Food restaurants and regions include **Salsify in Cape Town, South Africa**, which focuses on seasonal ingredients and has received accolades for culinary excellence , and **Leeds, England**, known for its vibrant food scene and emphasis on local and sustainable dining options .

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Content: Food, farms, hunger and helping our neighbors

Rep. Joanne Ferrary and Sen. Carrie Hamblen
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New Mexico has a vibrant local food movement supported by a rich tapestry of tradition in small and mid-sized agriculture. Our thriving agriculture industry generates billions of dollars in revenue every year, but a startling 95% of New Mexico products leave our state.

This reveals an unprecedented opportunity to support agriculture and address hunger by: increasing immediate hunger relief efforts for food insecure New Mexicans, investing in local producers’ ability to support New Mexico’s food system and building the capacity of New Mexico’s supply chain.

For the last six months, a collaborative steering committee of over 250 New Mexicans including farmers, ranchers, nutrition professionals, food banks and more, met weekly to develop a set of recommendations and roadmap forward, called the Food, Farm, and Hunger Initiative. This plan was produced by statewide participants from across the political spectrum, urban and rural voices, and individuals representing many sectors.

Emblematic of New Mexicans’ longstanding record of looking out for our neighbors in uncertain times, this framework details how the state can make targeted, recurring investments in agricultural producers of all sizes, while vigorously protecting soil and water. As data shows a worsening global climate crisis, these efforts will help us navigate the present, and prepare for a future in which our natural resources are severely limited and access to imported foods uncertain.

The latest budget recommendation from the Food, Farm, and Hunger Initiative includes more than $24 million, enough to revolutionize New Mexico’s food system and the largest investment increase in food and agriculture in the state’s history. This targeted investment will help expand federal nutrition programs and homegrown programs that work, benefitting hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans through an intergenerational approach that will yield significant improvements in our collective economy, health, and environment. Simply put, the progress pays for itself.

If you value the potential for New Mexico to feed ourselves and our neighbors, become more climate resilient and strengthen our communities by supporting and celebrating food and agriculture, we ask that you consider calling your legislator to ask them to support this work, and to make sure it gets funded not just this year, but every year.

New Mexico Rep. Joanne Ferrary (D-Las Cruces) and Sen. Carrie Hamblen (D-Las Cruces) are in Santa Fe for the current legislative session.

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Content: Food Talk: The popularity of artisanal food hand crafted with love

Artisanal foods consist of products that are made by hand using traditional methods that involve home preservation or fermentation by skilled workers known as food artisans. These foods include fruit, grains, milk for cheese, meats, fish, oils and vinegars from farmers.

Lachmi Deb Roy March 04, 2023 16:20:40 IST

In recent years, the culinary landscape in India has witnessed a burgeoning interest in artisanal food. This trend has been driven by a growing consumer demand for authentic and unique dining experiences, where traditional cooking techniques and handpicked ingredients are valued over mass-produced foods. Artisanal food represents a return to the roots of cooking, where the focus is on quality over quantity and the celebration of the craft of cooking. Consumers are willing to pay a premium for something that is handmade, unique, and reflects the local culture and traditions.

Vijay Thapliyal, executive chef, The Lodhi, Delhi says, “At The Lodhi, we recognize the importance of authenticity and the value of traditional cooking methods. Our team of chefs are dedicated to incorporating artisanal techniques in our dishes, using the finest ingredients sourced from local farmers and markets. Committed to providing our guests with a truly unique dining experience that celebrates the diverse and rich culinary heritage of India. Our menu features a range of artisanal dishes, crafted with a fine touch, resulting in a flavour profile that is unmatched by mass-produced foods. Each dish is carefully crafted, with attention to detail and a passion for the craft of cooking.”

This concept of artisanal food is focusing on farm to fork foods that are locally produced that benefit the consumer, farmer and overall economy. It is usually produced on a small scale. Unlike mainstream and mass-produced products, artisanal products are unique. The products are made using traditional methods and tools. They are created according to a traditional recipe that has a rich history and that doesn’t come with preservatives, colorants, sweeteners, thickeners or other chemicals. They are made locally from traceable ingredients and establishing provenance is a key aspect of such products.

Artisanal foods have glided successfully into the Indian food scenario in the last few years and the pandemic has only enhanced this new trend. People now love a range of artisanal food like breads, cheeses, fruit preserves, cured meats, cold cuts, beverages, oils, and vinegar that are made by hand using traditional methods. The love for traditional food made from healthy ingredients and the avoidance of hormones and chemicals has made artisanal food very popular among consumers.

As celebrity chef Manu Chandra rightly says, “Artisanal food is one that done at a smaller scale, with a strong provenance and plenty of skill. It’s not limited to fancy foods and can be as basic as an achaar or chundo. I feel that people have taken to supporting and patronising small businesses in a very large way. E-commerce too has provided them with much needed exposure and logistical support to become more widely available.”

Different communities and families have different versions or recipes of similar ingredients. This is how the culture of cheeses or bread must have evolved which has a very different manifestation in an industrial scenario. The method of making a particular cheese will be very different in a village or community than the industrial counterpart and the end result may have very different qualities in terms of taste, aroma, texture and shelf life.

Artisanal products are most importantly seasonal and local and also labour intensive as the setup is always smaller compared to an industrial one. Going SLOW (seasonal and sustainable, local, organic and wholesome) is the mantra for now and should be forever.

Chef Ankur Gulati, executive chef, The Claridges, Delhi says, “Artisanal food and ingredients in India are becoming increasingly popular with changing consumer tastes and preferences. Our team at The Claridges is keeping pace with the changing trends. Consumers have shown a growing interest in high-quality, authentically sourced, and handmade food products and ingredients.”

Today, the Indian clientele is well-travelled and excited to explore culinary authenticity at its finest, which large-scale food productions fall short of. Bridging this gap has been an exciting journey for us, where the growing interest in gourmet ingredients and diverse flavour profiles has led culinary experts to innovate and reinterpret the means of traditional cooking.

Gulati adds, “We envision this trend to become the future of global cuisine in India. Our team of master chefs is dedicated to incorporating the finest and purest ingredients that take even the simplest of dishes to the next level. From sourcing gourmet cheeses, cured meats, seafood, infused oils, and handmade breads to different kinds of vinegars, salts, and olives, we believe that no detail is too little.  Our newly opened cafe sees to this with probiotic products like Kombuchas and a range of dairy-free preparations. Our passion for serving guests the finest cuisines stems from our personal mission to provide our customers with an unforgettable experience that elevates the senses and the soul.”

The health benefits of artisanal food products are many. They are a source of calcium, and protein, high in vitamins, can reverse hypertension by lowering blood pressure, provide essential healthy fat, help in building muscle, benefit the immune system and are good for thyroid health among others.  They are devoid of excessive sodium and preservatives and are a healthy alternative for consumers and create a perfectly balanced diet. They also recharge your body with associated nutrients like iron and zinc.

AnnaMaya, Andaz, Delhi’s upmarket hotel has been a pioneer in the philosophy of sustainable sourcing and mindful eating. With the motto of eat mindful, shop artisanal, raise awareness, AnnaMaya brings to life the stories of the humble artisans from across the country. Anum Ajani, Marketing Communications Manager, Andaz, Delhi believes that if mindful eating is the key then artisanal food choices should be a way of life.

Artisanal products are hygienically produced without the use of any artificial chemical add on. With no use of any harmful substances to nourish the soil, the produce is naturally tasty and full of nutrients. Ajani stats, “The idea is to share the wholesome goodness of organic farming on a small scale. AnnaMaya has been the forerunner in celebrating artisans and seasonal sourcing as well as local ingredients. The menu is designed around consciously sourced ingredients from local artisans who directly or indirectly contribute towards the well-being of society.”

Artisanal produces are slightly priced higher than mass-produced material and it is definitely better to pay for healthy, pure food than those that are packed with preservatives. Be it artisanal cheese, chocolate, jams or sauces, they are made with better, more conscientiously sourced ingredients.

Artisanal food negates the use of chemicals and preservatives. And most importantly living sustainably should be on everyone’s agenda as saving the planet has today become a necessity for the survival of the human race. And consuming locally made artisanal food is one of the easiest ways to reduce carbon emissions so are good for mother earth.

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What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

In **Mexico**, chefs like Enrique Olvera incorporate indigenous ingredients and support local farmers, reflecting the movement’s influence beyond Europe .

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Content: On remote farms and in city gardens, a native American movement grows

In tribal farms, community gardens and home gardening, the Indigenous food sovereignty movement which aims to make Native communities self-sufficient through the cultivation of healthy foods

By Kevin Noble Maillard
Published: Aug 29, 2022

Angela Ferguson, supervisor of the Onondaga Nation Farm and a leader in the Indigenous food sovereignty movement, in South Onondaga, N.Y, on Aug 21, 2022. Through classes, seed banks and plantings, tribes across the United States are reclaiming their agricultural roots, growing healthy foods and aiming for self-sufficiency. Image: Tahila Mintz/The New York Times

SOUTH ONONDAGA, N.Y. — The solstice sun lingered overhead as Angela Ferguson surveyed the green hills of the Onondaga Nation in central New York.

“The ancestors know that we’re here and I think that’s what makes us all feel good,” she said. “They’re thanking us for utilizing this land for the purpose it was intended, which was to feed the people.”

Ferguson, 52, is the supervisor of the Onondaga Nation Farm, a 163-acre plot of tribally reclaimed land 20 miles south of Syracuse, New York. She is a leader in the Indigenous food sovereignty movement, which aims to make Native communities self-sufficient through the cultivation of healthy foods.

In tribal farms, community gardens and home gardening, the movement celebrates the agrarian traditions of planting, harvesting and eating as vibrant assertions of Native identity and community.

This coupling of foodways and identity begins with a fundamental relationship to land. “You have to have a connection with the place where you are growing,” Ferguson said. “You have to have your feet in the dirt to pick up that ancestral energy.”

That spark thrives at the Onondaga Nation Farm, a hub of community activity. Ferguson and her crew grow corn, beans and squash, known as the “three sisters” of Indigenous agriculture. They keep bees, chickens and buffaloes, and forage wild nuts, berries and onions. They sponsor a free weekly farmers market on the Nation, and offer programs to teach traditional ways of cultivation and cooking. They preserve meat and vegetables, enough to feed every tribal citizen for four years.

But the signature feature of this agricultural haven is its immense seed bank. Behind secured doors, Ferguson has amassed more than 4,000 varieties of corn, a crop central to many Indigenous diets. The seeds — kernels of corn — are exchanged through an active intertribal network of Native farmers known as Braiding the Sacred.

The room, which she jokingly calls a “field of dreams,” is tranquil, cool, sanctuarylike. In glass jars neatly stacked on wooden shelves, the seed archive is a who’s who of Indigenous agricultural endurance: varieties like Osage Red, Tecumseh’s Flint, Cherokee Rainbow Glass Gem and Haudenosaunee Strawberry Popcorn.

Some seeds have been found and returned to their tribal homes after being lost for generations. Some are thousands of years old, or the sole remnants of defunct tribes. In the seed bank, those cultures live on.

“This room is very powerful,” Ferguson said. “It is the epitome of food sovereignty.”

Self-reliance is a guiding tenet for children at the independent Akwesasne Freedom School, on the Akwesasne reservation in northern New York state at the Quebec border. In an intensive immersion curriculum designed to reverse the effects of assimilation, community members teach lessons in traditional planting, harvesting and cooking, using only the tongue of their ancestors.

“We need to be able to feed ourselves and not depend on the outside to do that for us,” said Alvera Sargent, the executive director of the Friends of the Akwesasne School. “If we can grow our own food, we have sovereignty.”

But most Native Americans live in cities, away from tribal lands, as a result of termination policies, federal relocation programs or voluntary migration. So community groups in places like Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and Chicago have created spaces for gathering and planting traditional foods.

Native Health, a Phoenix nonprofit that offers holistic health care, maintains a traditional garden in the city center in collaboration with Keep Phoenix Beautiful. Using traditional, drought-resistant planting techniques suitable for arid climates — like Zuni waffle beds and Pima flood irrigation — the gardeners have efficiently managed a water supply for corn, wolfberries, gourds and sunflowers, along with Diné blue corn, Apache giant squash and Tohono O’odham melons.

As those names suggest, the gardens are a place where people of various tribes can connect with the land.

“Phoenix is a melting pot of different tribes, and we all have that commonality of food,” said Amanda Whitesinger, the Indigenous wellness manager at Native Health, who is Diné, or Navajo. “Having the garden helps us reclaim ourselves as Indigenous people and say, ‘This is tribal land, and we’re growing foods that kept our ancestors healthy.’ ”

A storage room at the Onondaga Nation Farm, holding thousands of seed varieties and preserved foods, enough to feed every tribal citizen for four years, in South Onondaga, N.Y, on Aug 21, 2022. Through classes, seed banks and plantings, tribes across the United States are reclaiming their agricultural roots, growing healthy foods and aiming for self-sufficiency. Image: Tahila Mintz/The New York Times

Urban community gardens also help restore links to land and community that were disrupted by government policies and programs. Perhaps the most devastating of those practices were federal boarding schools, which removed hundreds of thousands of Indigenous children from their families for forced assimilation.

“The generation that our elders are now are products of those boarding schools,” said Jacob Butler, 43, a citizen of the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community who chairs Native Seeds/Search, a food-sovereignty nonprofit in the Southwest. “This big gap exists where that knowledge wasn’t passed down and shared.”

Last year, Ethan Tyo, 27, a Mohawk citizen from Akwesasne and a graduate student in food studies at Syracuse University, started a “three sisters” garden on campus to bring Native students together and to thank the campus community that supported him as a Syracuse undergraduate.

“I feel like I have something to give back,” he said.

This spring, he partnered with Ferguson of the Onondaga farm to plant another three-sisters garden at the State University of New York in Binghamton. BrieAnna Langlie, a paleoethnobotanist there, described the interactive garden system of corns, beans and squash as “biological symbiosis.” Like cooperating siblings, the corn acts as a trellis for the beans, and the squash is planted around the stalks to retain soil moisture and guard against pests and weeds.

Many Native nations share a belief in the Seventh Generation principle, which honors not only ancestors, but several generations to come. This is the intersection of Indigenous gardening and cultural preservation: planting for the future.

“To hold this seed in my hand today, somebody had to grow that for generations upon generations for it to be in my hand, and I’m just a link in that chain that exists way back in time,” Butler said. “It’s my responsibility to get it to the next generation and continue that practice and continue that tradition.”

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On returning to traditional food methods

To experience authentic Slow Food cuisine, travelers are encouraged to visit local markets, artisanal restaurants, and community-supported agriculture initiatives.

To experience authentic Slow Food cuisine, travelers are encouraged to visit local markets, artisanal restaurants, and community-supported agriculture initiatives.

Participating in food festivals, farmers’ markets, and Slow Food events offers opportunities to taste traditional dishes made from locally sourced ingredients and engage with local Slow Food chapters .

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

Conscious consumption
Enjoyment of good food

On returning to traditional food methods

What are the supporters of slow food movement advocating?

Conscious consumption
Enjoyment of good food

On returning to traditional food methods

These experiences are generally authentic and rooted in local food cultures, as the movement actively seeks to preserve and celebrate culinary heritage rather than impose a homogenized Western model .

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Wembanyama, Gobert headline stacked French squad for Paris Olympics

As host, the French Men’s National Basketball Team didn’t have to go through the qualification process for the 2024 Paris Olympics, but that doesn’t mean they are not a threat — France has a legitimate chance to medal (they took silver in Tokyo).

France unveiled a 19-man preliminary roster for the Paris 2024 Olympics, and it is stacked.

At the top of the list is NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama. The NBA Rookie of the Year averaged 21.4 points and 10.6 rebounds a game, but he was more impactful on the defensive end of the court, where he averaged 3.6 blocks a night. Wembanyama finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, which is almost unheard of for a rookie.

Rudy Gobert, who beat Wembanyama out for DPOY, is also on the French team. Together, they form a defensive backline that will challenge every opponent.

“The key to building the team will be establishing an uncompromising defense,” France coach Vincent Collet said at a news conference, via the Associated Press. We have profiles that excel in this area.”

A number of other NBA players are on the French roster including Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, Bilal Coulibaly, Ousmane Dieng and Killian Hayes.

France has drawn into Group B in the Olympics with Germany (which won last summer’s FIBA World Cup), Japan and one team that advances out of the upcoming qualifying tournaments later this summer.

This is going to be a loaded international tournament with NBA players filling out a lot of the roster spots. The USA — led by Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Stephen Curry — are the gold medal favorites, but will be pushed by Serbia (Nikola Jokic), Canada (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), Germany and others. Including France.

On returning to traditional food methods

On returning to traditional food methods

On returning to traditional food methods

On returning to traditional food methods

The Slow Food Movement’s adaptability and respect for local traditions are evident in its global reach and the diversity of its initiatives.

The Slow Food Movement’s adaptability and respect for local traditions are evident in its global reach and the diversity of its initiatives.

The Slow Food Movement’s adaptability and respect for local traditions are evident in its global reach and the diversity of its initiatives.

It has inspired and intertwined with local food movements worldwide, supporting indigenous food sovereignty, sustainable agriculture, and community-based food systems .

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Wembanyama, Gobert headline stacked French squad for Paris Olympics

As host, the French Men’s National Basketball Team didn’t have to go through the qualification process for the 2024 Paris Olympics, but that doesn’t mean they are not a threat — France has a legitimate chance to medal (they took silver in Tokyo).

France unveiled a 19-man preliminary roster for the Paris 2024 Olympics, and it is stacked.

At the top of the list is NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama. The NBA Rookie of the Year averaged 21.4 points and 10.6 rebounds a game, but he was more impactful on the defensive end of the court, where he averaged 3.6 blocks a night. Wembanyama finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, which is almost unheard of for a rookie.

Rudy Gobert, who beat Wembanyama out for DPOY, is also on the French team. Together, they form a defensive backline that will challenge every opponent.

“The key to building the team will be establishing an uncompromising defense,” France coach Vincent Collet said at a news conference, via the Associated Press. We have profiles that excel in this area.”

A number of other NBA players are on the French roster including Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, Bilal Coulibaly, Ousmane Dieng and Killian Hayes.

France has drawn into Group B in the Olympics with Germany (which won last summer’s FIBA World Cup), Japan and one team that advances out of the upcoming qualifying tournaments later this summer.

This is going to be a loaded international tournament with NBA players filling out a lot of the roster spots. The USA — led by Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Stephen Curry — are the gold medal favorites, but will be pushed by Serbia (Nikola Jokic), Canada (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), Germany and others. Including France.

Title:

Content: Fermented foods sustain both microbiomes and cultural heritage

"Fermentation offers a chance to learn how taste and heritage shape microbiomes . . . "

Published April 17, 2024 4:00PM (EDT)

Glass of homemade Korean Kimchi with chinese cabbage, scallions and carrots (Getty Images/Westend61)

This article was originally published on The Conversation.

Many people around the world make and eat fermented foods. Millions in Korea alone make kimchi. The cultural heritage of these picklers shape not only what they eat every time they crack open a jar but also something much, much smaller: their microbiomes.

On the microbial scale, we are what we eat in very real ways. Your body is teeming with trillions of microbes. These complex ecosystems exist on your skin, inside your mouth and in your gut. They are particularly influenced by your surrounding environment, especially the food you eat. Just like any other ecosystem, your gut microbiome requires diversity to be healthy.

People boil, fry, bake and season meals, transforming them through cultural ideas of "good food." When people ferment food, they affect the microbiome of their meals directly. Fermentation offers a chance to learn how taste and heritage shape microbiomes: not only of culturally significant foods such as German sauerkraut, kosher pickles, Korean kimchi or Bulgarian yogurt, but of our own guts.

Fermentation uses microbes to transform food.

Our work as anthropologists focuses on how culture transforms food. In fact, we first sketched out our plan to link cultural values and microbiology while writing our Ph.D. dissertations at our local deli in St. Louis, Missouri. Staring down at our pickles and lox, we wondered how the salty, crispy zing of these foods represented the marriage of culture and microbiology.

Equipped with the tools of microbial genetics and cultural anthropology, we were determined to find out.

Science and art of fermentation

Fermentation is the creation of an extreme microbiological environment through salt, acid and lack of oxygen deprivation. It is both an ancient food preservation technique and a way to create distinctive tastes, smells and textures.

Taste is highly variable and something you experience through the layers of your social experience. What may be nauseating in one context is a delicacy in another. Fermented foods are notoriously unsubtle: they bubble, they smell and they zing. Whether and how these pungent foods taste good can be a moment of group pride or a chance to heal social divides.

In each case, cultural notions of good food and heritage recipes combine to create a microbiome in a jar. From this perspective, sauerkraut is a particular ecosystem shaped by German food traditions, kosher dill pickles by Ashkenazi Jewish traditions, and pao cai by southwestern Chinese traditions.

Where culture and microbiology intersect

To begin to understand the effects of culinary traditions and individual creativity on microbiomes, we partnered with Sandor Katz, a fermentation practitioner based in Tennessee. Over the course of four days during one of Katz's workshops, we made, ate and shared fermented foods with nine fellow participants. Through conversations and interviews, we learned about the unique tastes and meanings we each brought to our love of fermented foods.

Those stories provided context to the 46 food samples we collected and froze to capture a snapshot of the life swimming through kimchi or miso. Participants also collected stool samples each day and mailed in a sample a week after the workshop, preserving a record of the gut microbial communities they created with each bite.

The fermented foods we all made were rich, complex and microbially diverse. Where many store-bought fermented foods are pasteurized to clear out all living microbes and then reinoculated with two to six specific bacterial species, our research showed that homemade ferments contain dozens of strains.

On the microbiome level, different kinds of fermented foods will have distinct profiles. Just as forests and deserts share ecological features, sauerkrauts and kimchis look more similar to each other than yogurt to cheese.

But just as different habitats have unique combinations of plants and animals, so too did every crock and jar have its own distinct microbial world because of minor differences in preparation or ingredients. The cultural values of taste, creativity and style that create a kimchi or a sauerkraut go on to support distinct microbiomes on those foods and inside the people who eat them.

Through variations in recipes and cultural preferences toward an extra pinch of salt or a disdain for dill, fermentation traditions result in distinctive microbial and taste profiles that your culture trains you to identify as good or bad to eat. That is, our sauerkraut is not your sauerkraut, even if they both might be good for us.

Fermented food as cultural medicine

Microbially rich fermented foods can influence the composition of your gut microbiome. Because your tastes and recipes are culturally informed, those preferences can have a meaningful effect on your gut microbiome. You can eat these foods in ways that introduce microbial diversity, including potentially probiotic microbes that offer benefits to human health such as killing off bacteria that make you ill, improving your cardiovascular health or restoring a healthy gut microbiome after you take antibiotics.

Fermentation is an ancient craft, and like all crafts it requires patience, creativity and practice. Cloudy brine is a signal of tasty pickled cucumbers, but it can be a problem for lox. When fermented foods smell rotten, taste too soft or turn red, that can be a sign of contamination by harmful bacteria or molds.

Fermenting foods at home might seem daunting when food is something that comes from the store with a regulatory guarantee. People hoping to take a more active role in creating their food or embracing their own culture's traditional foods need only time, water and salt to make simple fermented foods. As friends share sourdough starters, yogurt cultures and kombucha mothers, they forge social connections.

Through a unique combination of culture and microbiology, heritage food traditions can support microbial diversity in your gut. These cultural practices provide environments for the yeasts, bacteria and local fruits and grains that in turn sustain heritage foods and flavors.

Andrew Flachs, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Purdue University and Joseph Orkin, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Université de Montréal

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

By Andrew Flachs

Dr. Andrew Flachs researches food and agriculture systems, exploring genetically modified crops, heirloom seeds, and our own microbiomes. An assistant professor of anthropology at Purdue University, his work among farmers in North America, the Balkans, and South India investigates ecological knowledge and technological change in agricultural systems spanning Cleveland urban gardens and Indian GM cotton fields.  His book, "Cultivating Knowledge: Biotechnology, Sustainability, and the Human Cost of Cotton Capitalism in India," was released in November 2019 with the University of Arizona Press. Follow him on Twitter or Instagram @DrFlachsophone.

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The movement’s educational initiatives, community engagement, and advocacy for food justice and sustainability have made it a vital force in promoting resilient and equitable food systems globally .

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Wembanyama, Gobert headline stacked French squad for Paris Olympics

As host, the French Men’s National Basketball Team didn’t have to go through the qualification process for the 2024 Paris Olympics, but that doesn’t mean they are not a threat — France has a legitimate chance to medal (they took silver in Tokyo).

France unveiled a 19-man preliminary roster for the Paris 2024 Olympics, and it is stacked.

At the top of the list is NBA Rookie of the Year Victor Wembanyama. The NBA Rookie of the Year averaged 21.4 points and 10.6 rebounds a game, but he was more impactful on the defensive end of the court, where he averaged 3.6 blocks a night. Wembanyama finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting, which is almost unheard of for a rookie.

Rudy Gobert, who beat Wembanyama out for DPOY, is also on the French team. Together, they form a defensive backline that will challenge every opponent.

“The key to building the team will be establishing an uncompromising defense,” France coach Vincent Collet said at a news conference, via the Associated Press. We have profiles that excel in this area.”

A number of other NBA players are on the French roster including Nicolas Batum, Evan Fournier, Bilal Coulibaly, Ousmane Dieng and Killian Hayes.

France has drawn into Group B in the Olympics with Germany (which won last summer’s FIBA World Cup), Japan and one team that advances out of the upcoming qualifying tournaments later this summer.

This is going to be a loaded international tournament with NBA players filling out a lot of the roster spots. The USA — led by Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Joel Embiid and Stephen Curry — are the gold medal favorites, but will be pushed by Serbia (Nikola Jokic), Canada (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander), Germany and others. Including France.

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‘Apericena is a moment that connects people’: why Piedmont’s answer to aperitivo hour is coming to the UK

Why settle for a spritz and a few olives when you could do as the Piedmontese do and combine your afterwork drinks with much more substantial fare? It’s time to embrace apericena

Piedmont is literally “at the foot of the mountains”. This expansively elegant region in the north-west of Italy occupies a unique position between the majestic Alps to its north and coastal Liguria to the south. From the heady buzz, regal portici and piazze of the main metropolis Turin, to the verdant rolling vineyards of the Langhe (a Unesco world heritage site), Piedmont’s geography has shaped its landscapes, culinary specialties and its culture and customs.

“For some time Piedmont was a hidden gem, now it’s much more well known thanks to its food and drink producers, as well as major sporting events,” says Maria Elena Rossi from the Italian Tourist Board, who has a personal and professional bond with the region; she raised her family in Piedmont, and also worked on Turin’s successful bid for the 2006 Winter Olympics.

“There are several aspects that make its culinary culture special, including its combination of Alpine and countryside influences, and its proximity to France,” she says. “For many years before the 19th-century unification of Italy, Piedmont was part of the Duchy of Savoy, which also brought French influence and traditions – which in turn were transformed through its local and seasonal ingredients.”

Back in 1861, Turin briefly became the capital of Italy: a status that transferred to Florence, then ultimately, Rome. As Rossi points out, Piedmont then transformed itself from a centre of political influence into a leading industrial power. “From the beginning of the 20th century, this was a centre of innovation, technology and development – including the automobile industry, cinema, textiles and much more,” she says.

A sense of originality and ingenuity has endured in Piedmont; you can even taste it around the table in convivial rituals such as early evening apericena: an enticing blend of aperitivo and cena (dinner).

Whereas locals in Piedmont typically observe two aperitivo periods, pre-lunch and early evening before heading home for their main meal, the concept of apericena effectively replaces dinner with a social-first, smaller-plate affair to be enjoyed with friends, family, colleagues and even strangers. Typically, it’s consumed while standing up. “Apericena is a moment that connects people,” says Rossi.

Piedmont is the birthplace of the “slow food” revolution, and it’s also where apericena originated as a way to wind down from the working day, and take pleasure in excellent company, food and drink. It may also have roots in the region’s merenda sinoira post-work refreshments: historically, a well-earned break for rural workers that was taken up by high society. Vermouth di Torino (believed to have a medicinal quality) was a traditional apericena tipple, but the modern menu is fabulously vast; the sociable ritual has been adopted all over Italy.

A Piedmontese apericena selection is likely to include a platter of cured meats (perhaps salumi flavoured with local truffles or barolo wine) and cheeses (the region is renowned for its exceptional variety, such as the celebrated Toma Piemontese PDO or the deliciously unusual sbirro, created using award-winning, locally-brewed Menabrea beer). The savoury hit of bagna cauda (a richly flavoursome hot dip made from garlic and anchovies, served in a fondue-style dish) is complemented with the crisp bite of vegetable crudites and grissini breadsticks; dainty agnolotti pasta parcels might be served with a butter-rich sauce; salsiccia di bra (originally produced without pork, for the local Jewish community) might be served as a topping for pizzette; the sweetness of roasted local peppers is enhanced with a zingy anchovy-based salsa.

And there are few better pairings for apericena than Menabrea, the brewer that is spearheading efforts to bring the apericena tradition to the UK. For more than 175 years, its beer has been crafted at Italy’s oldest continuously running brewery in Biella, a beautiful mountain town just over an hour north of Turin.

Piedmont’s landscape is crucial to the beer’s alchemy. The air and water in this region are widely prized for their exceptional purity – and cool Alpine glaciers flow to the Menabrea brewery, blending with the highest grade barley, hops, brewer’s maize and yeast to yield a flavour that is complex and malty, with a refreshingly zesty finish that pairs fantastically with food. It’s a good example of how the region combines rich tradition with cutting-edge creativity – qualities that are naturally entwined in Piedmont.

This summer, Menabrea will be introducing the UK to the undeniable charms of Piedmontese culinary culture by hosting a series of apericena evenings in partnership with local Italian eateries in Glasgow, Manchester and London. Chef and food writer Nina Parker is on board to curate Piedmont-inspired menus for each event. And, true to the spirit of apericena, the food will be served to guests while standing, switching up the usual dining experience.

Menabrea’s apericena evenings

  • Menabrea Apericena, London
    Thursday 7 September, Tavolino – tickets here

  • Menabrea Apericena, Manchester
    Wednesday 13 September, Haunt MCR – tickets here

  • Menabrea Apericena, Glasgow
    Thursday 21 September, Caffe Parma – tickets here

Check Menabrea’s Instagram for more details on these special summer dining experiences, or book yourself a spot on Eventbrite via the links above

Find your local Menabrea stockist

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Content: Meeting Malawi’s Slow Food Coffee Communities

Malawi, a small country in Southeast Africa, is gaining recognition as an emerging player in the global coffee industry. Blessed with fertile soil, favorable climatic conditions and a rich agricultural heritage, Malawi has steadily established itself as a producer of high-quality coffee beans. Today the coffee industry plays a crucial role in the country’s economy, providing employment opportunities for thousands of farmers and contributing to foreign exchange earnings.

A bit of history

Coffee production in Malawi has a long history, dating back to the late 19th century, when it was introduced by missionaries.

From that moment on, for almost 200 years, coffee production spread across the country.  The 1980s and 1990s, however, saw a big drop in production due to wilt disease. As a result, partly due to the close proximity of Tanzania, also a major coffee producer, Malawian coffee struggled to be a cash crop for producers (common national cash crops are tobacco, tea, and macadamia nuts)1.

The Nyasaland variety, traditional in East Africa

Nyasaland, as Malawi was known under the British Empire, played an important role in the history of African coffee cultivation. The Nyasaland variety of Arabica, derived from the Typica strain introduced from Jamaica in 1870s, is considered to be one of the oldest Arabicas in Africa. Although it flourished initially in Nyasaland, it faced challenges when transplanted to Uganda in 1910, on account of the different climatic conditions. This setback led to the widespread cultivation of Robusta in Uganda. More recently, however, there has been a resurgence of Arabica production on the slopes of Mount Elgon (Uganda), where the Nyasaland variety, locally known as Bugisu, is highly valued by smallholders.

This new trend is epitomized by the “Mount Elgon Nyasaland Coffee Community,” based round a former Slow Food Presidium and recognized as a Slow Food Coffee Coalition Community.

Malawian coffee today

Today, the main coffee-growing regions in Malawi are located on the slopes of the country’s highlands, which offer ideal growing conditions. Here the combination of altitudes ranging from 900 to 1,800 meters above sea level and volcanic soil contributes to the unique flavor profile of Malawian coffee.

The coffee varieties cultivated in Malawi are predominantly Arabicas, known for their delicate flavor and aroma. Among the most commonly grown Arabica varieties are Catimor, Geisha, SL28, Agaro, Nyika and Bourbon. To ensure a high-quality product, these beans are handpicked by local farmers and only the ripest cherries are selected for processing. Here the washed coffee processing method predominates: it consists of the pulping of the cherries, fermentation and thorough washing to remove any mucilage before drying.

The Malawi government, along with various agricultural organizations, has actively supported the development of the coffee industry. Initiatives to improve infrastructure, provide technical assistance and promote sustainable farming practices have helped to enhance productivity and increase the overall competitiveness of Malawian coffee on the global market.

Slow Food Communities

With its commitment to quality, unique flavor profiles and the dedication of its coffee farmers, Malawi is establishing itself as a promising source of high-quality coffee.

Today, producers are mostly organized into cooperatives. One such is the Phoka Cooperative, located in Northern Malawi on the edge of the Nyika National Park: in 2021 it adhered to the Slow Food movement and split into several Slow Food Communities within the Slow Food Coffee Coalition. Currently, there are seven Slow Food Communities of coffee farmers, and neighboring farmers have also expressed their desire to be part of the network and set up more Slow Food Communities in the future.

The existing Communities are all to be found in the Rumphi district in the north of the country, where the cooperative headquarters are situated. They are:

  • Chakaka Coffee Growers;
  • Kajoni Coffee Growers;
  • Mantchewe-Nkhota-Mbulamaji Youth Coffee Growers;
  • Vungu Vungu Coffee Growers;
  • Nkhonthwa Coffee Growers;
  • Junju Coffee Growers;
  • Mphachi Coffee Growers.

They all grow Arabica coffee–especially the Geisha, Catimor and Nyika 129 varieties–which has been proven to be more resistant to diseases and does well at the higher altitudes of the Phoka area.

It is thanks to the work of these Communities and the strength of the network itself that the Coalition has been able to recognize the quality of Malawi’s unique coffee varieties and the importance of protecting them from the threats of industrialization and monocultures. By promoting agrobiodiversity and encouraging farmers to cultivate coffee in accordance with agroeconomic principles, the Slow Food Coffee Coalition is seeking to preserve the Malawian environment and safeguard the livelihoods of the farmers.

To achieve this, all the Communities took part in the FAO-sponsored project “Enhancing community resilience to climate change in mountain watersheds” under the Coffee Coalition umbrella, implementing agroforestry practices to increase resilience to climate change and natural disasters with improved land and forest management. Agroforestry and, in general, improved farm management are especially important in Malawi for solving problems such as water consumption in the fields.

One coffee, many challenges

Aside from coffee not being one of the country’s main cash crops, coffee growers in Malawi are still struggling to tackle a number of challenges, the first of which is the spread of pests and diseases.

We were told by Lowani Mfundawanga, Coffee field technical expert of the Phoka Cooperative that, “Farmers were using uncertified seeds gathered from under coffee trees already contaminated with CBD (coffee berry disease). For a long time, there were no certified seed producers and growers would re-use their seeds, even if they had been attacked by diseases. This led to the proliferation of unhealthy plants and consequently reduced yield.

To solve these problems, we are planning to train coffee seed producers in possession of disease-resistant seeds to sell them as certified seeds. The disease-resistant seeds are those of the Nyika129 and Gesha coffee varieties.”

The second most common challenge is that of agricultural practices. “Agroforestry practices promise a bright future for our farmers since they will help reduce climate change,” says Lowani, implying that cultivating coffee in an agroforestry system (intercropping coffee plants, shade trees, fruit trees and bushes) also contributes to pest control, land management and food security. And he adds that farmers  are happy to perform such practices. At this point, producers are training each other on the basis of what they have learned implementing the agroforestry management project.

The various challenges also include logistical issues connected with the transport of coffee from production centers to major cities. On top of that, the machinery used in processing centers is outdated and inefficient, which translates into tiresome labor and lower quality. It is crucial for cooperatives to replace this old machinery with modern processing equipment to enhance the quality of their coffee. The main obstacle, however,  is financial constraints. The price of coffee is subject to stock market fluctuations, making for inconsistent trading over time. This unpredictability poses significant challenges for cooperatives and producers alike, making it difficult to allocate resources effectively and maintain a consistent level of quality in coffee production.

“Participation in the Slow Food Coffee Coalition was very important for the Communities,” says Manvester Ackson, Slow Food Coordinator in Malawi, “because it helped create a direct link with buyers. This way, producers are able to set prices directly, without having to succumb to the stock market. Producers don’t have a stable market for their coffee, so insofar as it allows them to forge direct links, for them the Coffee Coalition is a very important marketing opportunity.”

The Communities embraced the Slow Food Coffee Coalition and are now taking the actions necessary to implement the Participatory Guarantee System, designed to certify that their coffee is good, clean and fair, and give them added value in the eyes of potential buyers.

Being part of the Slow Food Coffee Coalition brings the Communities into a network in which knowledge, expertise and experiences are shared, and collaboration among the parties enhanced.

In Malawi, the coffee season has only just begun. So let’s look forward to drinking the Communities’ excellent coffee, thereby supporting farmers as they create more climate-resistant landscapes.

Stay up to date on where and when the coffee from the Coalition will be available by joining the network here!

By signing the Manifesto, you’ll receive the SFCC newsletter with stories, news and tips directly in your inbox every month.

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Content: About a fortnight ago in Rome, Pope Francis received a group of Italian activists, who drew his attention to an important initiative concerning the deteriorating situation of biodiversity and of bees in particular. The activists asked for the Pope's blessing for the European Citizen Initiative (ECI) launched by nine NGOs, including Slow Food - which calls for the phasing out of synthetic pesticides and a reduction in their use of at least 50% by 2030. Such an initiative, if signed by a million European citizens, could force European policy makers to take an initiative. Now, the European Commission in Brussels has announced the so-called 'Farm to fork strategy', one of the objectives of which is to...reduce pesticide use by 50%. The ECI could come as a powerful support for this.

Agrochemical companies such as Bayer, Basf and Syngenta hope that this ECI will fail because it directly affects their multi-billion dollar business, and an agrochemical lobby is going on to sabotage the Farm to Fork.

At the moment volunteers and many NGOs across Europe are campaigning hard to get those one million signatures. There is a deadline towards the end of September and it is therefore still very exciting whether the one million will be reached.

The role of citizens

Italian citizens can make a difference. Why? Because surprisingly few Italians (25,000) have signed up to this initiative so far. And because I know that many Italians feel attached to the land of their ancestors and to biodiversity, both of which are necessary for the production of healthy agricultural products and therefore the good ingredients of Italian cuisine... And which are also simply crucial to our survival. Years ago, I once had the honour of speaking at the great Slow Food Conference in Turin and that gathering of so many food producers, activists, scientists from all over the world and especially from Italy, all fighting and working for more sustainable food production, was simply impressive.

But despite the growing culinary and ecological awareness and the great appreciation for sustainable agriculture, the destruction machine of agrochemical agriculture and food production is unfortunately still running at full speed. Although the European Commission, announced its Farm to Fork strategy, there is still the recently approved European agricultural policy, which (also thanks to MEP Paolo di Castro) was supposedly reformed to better reward environmentally friendly production, but which unfortunately will continue to spend billions of euros annually on the destructive practices of industrial, agrochemical agriculture.

The harmful effects of pesticides on the environment and human health should have been reduced long ago with the implementation of the European directive on the sustainable use of pesticides adopted in 2009; And agriculture's dependence on synthetic chemicals should have been significantly reduced by now. This directive was revised in 2019, as an audit by the European Court of Auditors found that its implementation was inadequate in many member states, including Italy.

In March this year, a large group of Italian organisations sent an open letter to Italian policymakers to remind them of Italy's commitments to reduce pesticide use. The national action plan for the sustainable use of plant protection products expired in February 2018 and the new text submitted for public consultation in 2019 has already been overtaken by the objectives of the EU's Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies (which still need agreement).

More than 30 associations and citizens' committees, coordinated in Italy by the WWF, sent the open letter to the three ministers (Patuanelli, Cingolani and Speranza), to the chairmen of the parliamentary committees on agriculture, the environment and health, and to the president of the Conference of the Regions, all of whom are responsible for regulating the use of pesticides, asking them to adopt courageous and far-sighted positions in Europe. “Italy must make up for serious delays in updating the national action plan (NAP) on pesticides, drawing up the national strategic plan for the CAP after 2023 and adopting the national law on organic farming, all of which are indispensable instruments for protecting pollinators, agriculture, the environment and the health of citizens” they wrote.

Biodiversity at risk

Last week, three UN agencies (FAO, UNEP and INDP) published a major emergency report on the agricultural policies of western, rich countries. The report concludes that global agricultural support from rich countries to producers currently amounts to almost $540 billion a year "at a time when many countries' public finances are under pressure, especially in the developing world" and that "more than two-thirds of this support is considered price distorting and largely environmentally damaging". According to the UN institutions, the climate and millennium development goals (SDGs) are not achievable in this way.

Pesticides are a major cause of collapsing biodiversity, degrading soil fertility and depriving small farmers of a reasonable income. Scientists have already spoken of an 'insectageddon' due to the loss of insects. A few years ago, scientists published an extensive, global analysis in the scientific journal Biological Conservation, in which they calculated that the total insect population is declining by 2.5 percent per year. If this trend continues, there will be no insect left within a century. Today, about one third of all insect species are threatened with extinction, and 40 per cent of species are steadily declining.

Agriculture and food production are not sustainable in the long term like this. A transition to environmentally friendly agriculture is inevitable for the climate, soil and for a viable countryside, healthy local food and a financially healthy and vibrant countryside.

Democracy tools

The ECI instrument is intended to actively involve citizens in EU policy. We are making use of this now, in order to be heard. This is another important reason to ensure that this initiative is successful. Unfortunately, it seems that the government in Italy does not appreciate this, because it is throwing up some barriers to participation. People have to fill in their ID card number, while in countries like Belgium or the Netherlands only a date of birth is sufficient. Yet that is no reason to renounce your democratic rights as an Italian citizen. The data are not for the organisation, but only for the government to determine the percentage of valid signatures in a random sample. Afterwards, the data are deleted. So don't be put off and sign while you still can!

That Italians can mobilise en masse was proven by, among others, the successful EU citizens' initiative Stop Vivisection, which was signed by no fewer than 690,000 Italians.

And Pope Francis, did he sign? That is not known. But he did give his blessing to this ECI and that is not so surprising. In 2015 Pope Francis published the encyclical Laudato si'. For the first time, a pope put forward ecology as a theme in such a world letter. Inspired and informed by scientific and political findings, he knows what is at stake when it comes to pollution and climate change, water, loss of biodiversity and how urgent the problems are. Francis is critical of the idea that science and technology will solve everything, as many European politicians claim. The fundamental problem is that we have a wrong vision of our relationship with nature. In spite of the slogans of the agrochemical lobby, imitated by many politicians, it is indeed possible to produce enough healthy food for everyone without waging chemical warfare against the land and nature.

© Riproduzione riservata

A movement promoting responsible use of marine resources.

A movement promoting responsible use of marine resources.

A movement promoting responsible use of marine resources.

A movement promoting responsible use of marine resources.

A movement promoting responsible use of marine resources.

A movement promoting responsible use of marine resources.

A movement promoting responsible use of marine resources.

In summary, the Slow Food Movement began in Italy as a reaction to fast food and industrialized food systems, founded by Carlo Petrini in

In summary, the Slow Food Movement began in Italy as a reaction to fast food and industrialized food systems, founded by Carlo Petrini in

In summary, the Slow Food Movement began in Italy as a reaction to fast food and industrialized food systems, founded by Carlo Petrini in