Terra Madre
1,600 Food Communities
A profile in words and images of the world's most significant food summit and the people who are struggling to keep our diverse cultures and traditions alive.
In October 2006 the international Slow Food movement held its second biennial gathering of the world's "food communities" in Turin, Italy. Described by some observers and participants as the "United Nations of food," Terra Madre brought together 5,000 small farmers, fishers, and artisan food producers from 120 nations, as well as 1,000 exemplary and innovative cooks and a host of academic researchers--all of them sharing the common goal of developing a grassroots alternative to the one-size-fits-all, globalized agriculture and food system.
The fact sheets contained in this book are divided by continent and country and describe all the 1,600 food communities that participated in Terra Madre, along with other details on production and contact information. Providing this information in one place is a powerful means for strengthening, expanding, and publicizing the membership of this unique grassroots network.
In addition, some 300 of the food communities at Terra Madre are also considered "presidia"--projects launched by the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity to directly support small producers (farmers, breeders, fishermen, cheese makers, and agri-food artisans of all types). This book devotes a whole page to each of these community presidia.
Other special features include reports on various associations that play an important role in disseminating the principles on which the Terra Madre network is founded. In the sector dedicated to the United States, two insets outline the significance of farmers' markets and CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). In Italy, likewise, a fact sheet describes the school garden educational project.
The Terra Madre book offers an important glimpse into the heart of a growing world movement, one that aims to take back our fundamental right to control our common food heritage and at the same time attempts to forge a new model and destiny, one that is based on foods that are good, clean, and fair.
About the Author
Slow Food Editore
Slow Food Editore was founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world. It now has more than 80,000 members in 120 countries around the world. ...
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