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2007 -
International Slow Food NEWS |
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1. Editorial
Slow Food International
Council
The Slow Food International Council met in Stuttgart on June
16 for the last time in its current structure. The meeting
was made possible through the dedication and organization of
Slow Food Germany, who organized a concurrent event in the
city, called “Slow Food 2007 – Market of Good Taste”, which
was very successful.
Councillors, elected by convivia in countries with more than
500 members, have participated in and followed the important
changes which the organization has undergone over the past
four years as it continues to grow across the world and
embrace new opportunities.
The concept of gastronomy espoused by Slow Food today is the
culmination of our past experiences and a response to the
new challenges facing quality food production and
conscientious consumption.
The model in which our association invests its future is
rooted in the goodness of traditional cuisines and natural
tastes, in the pleasure which characterizes who we are and
what we wish to achieve. At the same time, the movement
looks to the future without fear of confronting it and the
complex problems it presents – such as bio-diesel.
We have already seen that bio-diesel opens the door to using
massive quantities of GMOs, with consequences in
agricultural production such as the price of corn reaching
an all-time high – devastating for populations who depend on
this cereal for their daily diet.
Councilors’ analysis of the situations in their home
countries painted an extremely encouraging picture, with the
number of members continuing to grow, as is the popularity
of the movement. The International Council approved the
proposed new statute, which reflects Slow Food’s evolution
and dedicates more space to developing countries.
Councillors also agreed on the way in which 42 countries
will be able to fly their delegates to the International
Slow Food Congress in Mexico this November.
One of the tasks necessary to undertake to participate in
Congress proceedings, suggested by Carlo Petrini and
approved unanimously, is for delegates to become learn five
Mexican songs. Therefore, we have four months to train our
voices! To prepare yourself, you will find lyrics and videos
of some Mexican songs
here.
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For those of you who want to know more about Puebla, which
will be the focus of the Slow Food universe this November,
here are a few notes on the city which will host our fifth
International Congress.
Puebla sits 2,160 meters above sea level in a volcanic
valley. Between the charming baroque streets (an
architectural style called
Churrigueresque),
the picturesque
Zocalo
(central square), colorful market and the towering
17th-century cathedral, there is much to admire. Just 30
minutes’ drive to the west of Puebla lies the city of
Cholula, where a colonial church rises above the ruins of
one of the world’s most important pyramids, dating back more
than 2,000 years. It is “ a great example of Mexican
culture, of the fusion of indigenous Indian and Spanish
religions”, as noted the great Mexican novelist Carlos
Fuentes.
Google Map |
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2.
Focus on Convivia
New Convivia
Slow
Food Activities in Turkey
Sixteen Turkish convivium leaders came together June 1-3 in Istanbul
for their first national meeting. Considering that up until last
January only one convivium (Bodrum) existed in Turkey, , this is an
exceptional achievement, indeed. Thanks to the enthusiasm and
dedication of three Turkish students from the University of
Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, in only five months 15 convivia
have opened across the country and two issues of a national magazine
and an information brochure in Turkish have been published. The
students have also worked to develop relationships with five Turkish
universities, who have signed a protocol of agreement with Slow Food
(http://www.terramadre2006.org/terramadre/img_sito/pdf/Prot_UNIV_eng2.pdf).
At the meeting, leaders discussed the Slow Food philosophy and
organizational issues involved in managing a convivium in Turkey. In
the following months, Turkish members will produce another two
editions of the national newsletter and undertake research to
identify new producers, cooks and academics to join the Terra Madre
network, encouraging its development at a local level. Turkish
participants at Terra Madre last October included four cooks from
Istanbul and Izmir and three food communities: Apricot Growers from
Mount Ararat, Tulum Tire Cheese Producers and Kars Cheese Producers.
Convivia in Action
Biodiversity Day Celebrations in Uzbekistan
The United Nations has officially proclaimed May 22 to be an
International Day of Biodiversity. For the occasion the Tashkent
Convivium organized its third festival to raise awareness among
citizens about the importance of protecting local species.
The first two festivals were held in the small village of Bruchmulla,
where guests were able to taste local dishes. This year, the
celebration was moved to the capital and featured films devoted to
the festival’s biodiversity theme.
The Tashkent Convivium always sees a great deal of lively
participation from younger generations in events and organized the
day in collaboration with the Tashkent Youth Art Center. Local
organizations and a group of young journalists participated in the
event and discussions.
Students encouraged to utilize local food networks at Congolese
school
Raising awareness of local consumption must begin with
the young. To that end, Slow Food Kiwandja, led by Léocadie
Mukamuhigirwa, organized a meeting with students and teachers from
Rutshulu Higher Education Institute on May 13 to teach the
philosophy of local consumption. The 72 participants were able to
put the discussion into practice immediately, with a meal following
the meeting prepared by the convivium from vegetables, pumpkin
leaves, dried fish and rice and accompanied by
Tangawizi
(ginger wine) and
Kigage
(sorghum beer).
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3. Terra Madre
Lessons in the vegetable patch
In the small city of Molo, Kenya, producers from the
Terra Madre network who started the Rift Valley Convivium are
collaborating with NGO NECOFA to promote organic agriculture to the
nearby rural communities through an educational school garden at
Michinda elementary school. “Project 4K” was initiated by NECOFA a
year ago and today it is supported by the Rift Valley Convivium. The
principle objective is to raise awareness among the children of
sustainable food production and environmental management.
Students are introduced to organic agriculture methods through
practical lessons in the school garden, in which they principally
grow local vegetable varieties. All students have a good
understanding of the basic principles of organic agriculture and are
able to accompany visitors through the garden. Some are able to
explain each section of the plot in great detail.
A number of trees have been planted around the perimeter of the
garden by the children. They represent Kenya’s environmental
struggle, with forests now covering less than 2 percent of the land.
Garden produce is used in the school canteen and eaten in lunch
meals by the very students who cultivated it in their little plots.
The vegetable garden is a place for learning, promoting ideas and
carrying out experiments and research and where even parents who are
themselves farmers have learned from their children’s experiences.
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4. Events for Learning, Meeting and Tasting
Slow Food 2007 – Good Taste Market, Stuttgart, Germany
Slow Food Germany, in collaboration with the Region of Baden
Württemberg, organized Slow Food 2007 – Good Taste Market in
Stuttgart with great success. The fair attracted 10,000 supporters
of regional and quality food production who sampled and purchased
artisan food products of every type and had the opportunity to meet
and engage in discussions with the 200 producers who came from
Germany, Austria and Italy.
The fair also included an educational component for children that
was devoted to the five senses, recording everything covered during
the whole exhibition, and an educational space where schools,
organizations and publishing houses were able to meet and present
proposals for organic school catering, activities, publications and
educational eco-gastronomy games. To see photos of the event or for
further information:
http://www.slowfood-messe.de.
Traditional and new gastronomy meet in Brazil.
The Brasilia and Pirenópolis convivia recently
participated in the gastronomic festival “Brazil Sabor”, held in
Brasilia April 17-May 20 this year. Organized by the Brazilian
Restaurateurs Association (Abrasel) in collaboration with the
Ministry of Tourism and Sebrae (Serviço Brasileiro de Apoio às Micro
e Pequenas Empresas), the event aimed to promote and highlight
traditional national cuisine.
During the seminar
Slow Food, Ecogastronomia e os
Saberes e Sabores do Cerrado, representatives
of Slow Food in Brazil, among them Roberta Marins de Sá, coordinator
of Slow Food projects in Brazil, and Francisco Ansiliero, a cook
from the Terra Madre network, described the activities of the Slow
Food movement, presenting the good, clean and fair principles of a
new gastronomy to the public. The other central theme to the meeting
was the wealth of resources in the Cerrado region, the “Brazilian
Savanna”. Tastings of simple and flavorful dishes, prepared by
Francisco and other cooks with produce from local food communities,
were also offered.
Women from the French Alps share their knowledge
Two days dedicated to the “Savoir des femmes”, to
traditional knowledge and its dissemination, are at the center of
the annual Coolporteur Convivium event. From June 30 to July 1, the
Alpine city of Gap will host this event where women have the
starring role as repositories of ancestral knowledge, from the
kitchen to the use of wild plants and more. Alongside cooks,
professional and amateur alike, women of fields typically dominated
by men will participate in numerous meetings and workshops. These
participants include formidable winemakers like 90-something Lucie
Peyraud of world-renowned Domaine Tempier (Bandol) and Iris
Rutz-Rudel, a German expatriate undertaking a large project in
Languedoc; members of a cheese cooperative; and Nathalie Herre,
producers of a delicious artisan vinegar from Banyuls. There will
also be a female delegation from the Pinerolo Convivium, led by the
cook Giulia Porta, who will prepare
gnocchetti al seirass
(a Slow Food Presidium) with mountain thyme for the herb-themed
lunch organized by Renée Chauvet.
Carlo Petrini in the United Kingdom
Carlo Petrini visited London recently to present
Slow Food
Nation, the English-language edition of his
book
Buono, pulito e giusto: principi di una nuova gastronomia
(Good, Clean and Fair: Principles of a New Gastronomy) to the
British public and press. Petrini’s activities during the trip
included meeting with the head editorial team of
Time Europe,
which in 2004 called him “Hero of Our Time”; giving a talk at the
Royal Society, organized with
The Ecologist
magazine and Daylesford Organic and accompanied by a buffet of
Presidia products from across the UK; meeting with the Prince of
Wales and giving numerous interviews. Among these, you can listen to
an interview with Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/news/video?videoId=56371&videoChannel=5. |
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5. Slow Education
Target reached: Italian convivia establish 102 vegetables gardens
At the last Slow Food Italy Congress (June 2006) a motion
was passed to create a network of at least 100 school gardens run by
convivia across Italy. A year later, this target has been achieved:
102 school gardens have been established with support from
Federcasse Bank, and these programs involve 3,500 children, 500
teachers and 6,000 parents.
School Gardens in Convivia is an educational project spanning three
years which involves various people: students, teachers, “gardener
grandparents” (who assist with cultivation and are bearers of
agricultural knowledge), parents, local authorities, Slow Food
convivia and, according to individual situations, possibly also
local producers and restaurateurs. School Gardens in Convivia is a
truly national project, made possible by a strong collaboration
between all the Italian convivia and the coordination role offered
by the Education Office in the headquarters at Bra.
Today, school gardens managed by Slow Food outside of Italy number:
19 in Europe, 27 in the Americas, 1 in Africa, 7 in Asia and
Oceania, for a total of 54 overseas. |
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6. Biodiversity Projects
Prisons, produce, pastries and Presidia!
Slow Food Italy has launched a new project which will involve a
group of inmates from the Saluzzo prison. The project will commence
with the reconstruction of the vegetable garden where the detainees,
led by agronomist Ezio Giraudo, will learn growing techniques and
raise fruits and vegetables. Thanks to a series of cooking lessons,
held by chef Giuseppe Barbero (Osteria Boccondivino, Bra), detainees
who are already working in the canteen will learn how to best use
their garden produce. Thus, beyond the educational aspect, the
creation and management of the garden will bring a significant
improvement to the inmate’s diet.
Finally, the pastry chef Federico Molinari (Laboratorio di
Resistenza Dolciaria, Alba) will hold a pastry workshop, preparing
sweets and biscuits using raw ingredients from presidia in the
developing world, which may then be sold outside the prison,
providing some income to these same inmates.
Slow Food and the United Nations
A ‘local development’ training course was held June 7, 8 and 11 in
Turin, Italy, at the International Training Centre of the
International Labour Organization (a United Nations agency which is
concerned with human labor rights and social justice issues). Slow
Food was asked to contribute by discussing biodiversity issues –
specifically, the results achieved with the Presidia. Participants
also visited two Italian presidia and participated in a Taste
Workshop.
Protecting the Giant Istrian Ox
The second phase of this presidium, carried out by the Istriana
Region and AZZRI, the agency for rural development in Istria, in
collaboration with the Agricultural Department of the University of
Zagabria, the association of Istrian ox breeders and the Slow
Foundation for Biodiversity, is planning the establishment of a
Regional Center for the Protection of the Istrian Ox. The structure
will include a reproductive center, a slaughterhouse and a meat
processing workshop, in this way guaranteeing the traceability of
the entire production chain. The center will also house the
headquarters of the Association of Breeders and a restaurant which
specializes in dishes using the animal’s meat. |
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UNISG: Life on Campus
Alumni around the world…
Since completing a Masters at the UNISG, 75 alumni are
today occupied in various positions in the food sector around the
world, from Japan to Austria to California. Another 60 students from
the degree course in Pollenzo will graduate this year, ready to
dedicate themselves to a professional career in food and the new
gastronomy.
If you know of opportunities for work or internships, please contact
David Szanto,
d.szanto@unisg.it, to assist in creating a database of potential
employers of work related to new gastronomy. With your assistance,
we will develop and reinforce the world network of Slow Food and
help play a decisive role in changing production methods and food
consumption patterns.
…and the world at UNISG
The Afghan Vice-Minister of Culture, Omar Said Sultan,
accompanied by a delegation of politicians and students, visited the
University of Gastronomic Sciences on May 25. In Turin for the
opening of “Afghanistan, Rediscovered Treasures”, an exhibition
which presents 220 masterpieces from the National Museum of Kabul,
the delegation met UNISG Director Vittorio Manganelli and toured the
campus. Struck by his visit to Pollenzo, the Vice-Minister expressed
keen interest in the themes of the school and Slow Food. At Terra
Madre 2006, Afgahnistan was represented by raisin producers from the
Herat region and by delegates from the Faculty of Agriculture of the
University of Herat. |
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8. Communications
Slow
Food on GMOs: “This is not the future of Europe”
Slow Food views the approval of a threshold tolerance of
GMOs at 0.9% as an extremely serious matter. This level was voted
for by the Council of Agricultural Ministries of the European Union
within the regulation of organic agriculture. This is evidence of
how top European politicians fail to listen to public opinion. On
March 29, in fact, the European parliament approved by a large
majority a directive which established a threshold of 0.1% - close
to zero tolerance.
NEW!
To help you explain Slow Food, we have prepared a
Powerpoint
presentation that describes the
objectives and activities of our association around the wrold. You
can find it on the website in the Convivium Leader Area. Use it,
share it and don’t hesitate to send us your comments and/or
questions.
The
multimedia section
of the Slow Food website
www.slowfood.com is now available in English: it is an
invaluable resource of images and voices from the world of good,
clean and fair food. Within this area of the site you will find
photo galleries dedicated to Slow Food events, audio and video
recordings of interviews with producers and extracts from addresses
by Carlo Petrini, Vandana Shiva and Ferran Adrià at Terra Madre
2006, podcasts of Slow Food meetings, short films on eco-gastronomy
themes and much more. Access to this section is open to everyone:
please make use of it and don’t hesitate to download material you
like or find interesting. Please also help us to improve the
site by sending us your photographs and any audio or video
contributions.
Photography
Slow Food has amassed a vast photography collection, which ranges
from events to the key themes of our organization. You can request
photos, either in low resolution (useful for websites and Powerpoint
presentations) or in high resolution (useful for printed materials
and event graphics). Send your request to
communication@slowfood.com and we will respond within two weeks.
Convivial Pursuits
An example describing a school garden in Perth, Australia, has just
been added to Convivial Pursuits:
http://content.slowfood.it/upload/3E6E345B1900629CCAOpi369C0BC/files/perth_schoolgarden.html.
Don’t forget that all of you are invited to contact us and tell us
about your convivium activities,
projects and/or events.
Convivium Activities
Remember to post announcements about the activities you are
organizing on www.slowfood.com, through the Convivium Leader Area.
Pollenzo Mon Amour
Those who find them selves in Bra during the summer holidays will be
pleasantly surprised by
Pollenzo Mon Amour:
five evenings of parties, aperitivi, food and music to be held July
6-28 in the courtyard of the Agenzia di Pollenzo Hotel and the
University of Gastronomic Sciences (3 km from Bra). Go to
http://www.agenziadipollenzo.com/pagine/ita/eventi/pollenzo_mon_amour.lasso
to download a pdf program in Italian or English.
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