This year the Terra Madre Forums will be expanding.
The forums are a well-established format, organized to broaden perspectives on the world of food. The participants are members of the Slow Food network—producers from the food communities and Presidia, chefs, activists and experts—who will be discussing issues linked to agriculture, diet, sustainability, biodiversity and production models.
What’s new at this year’s Terra Madre Salone del Gusto
As well as the “classic” forums, open to large numbers of participants and based on topics like climate change, agroecology, GMOs, food waste and much more, the innovation in 2018 will be the thematic forums. Their “streamlined” formula is intended for a smaller number of people, and they are designed to keep the focus on certain specific issues, which will be explored in an in-depth, multi-faceted way.
What are they about? Find out for each theme:
- Slow Meat The Slow Meat forums will be focusing on quality livestock farming, animal welfare, the importance of protecting biodiversity and native breeds and the problems caused by factory farms. Attention will also be paid to the topic of food choices and awareness-raising campaigns that aim to emphasize the importance of more conscious eating habits.
- Slow Fish The Slow Fish forums will be giving space to the relationship between the seas and the environment—from microplastic pollution to the risks generated by the overheating of the world’s oceans—as well as ocean grabbing and the challenges facing traditional fishing communities, the environmental damage caused by salmon and shrimp farming and certification schemes in the seafood sector.
- Seeds The forums dedicated to seeds will be exploring rural seeds, the role of farmers who act as custodians of traditional knowledge and skills, the many types of food garden (school, urban, the Slow Food gardens in Africa) and soil fertility. There will also be more targeted meetings on spices, oilseeds and their properties and historic gardens that preserve heirloom varieties of fruits like apples, figs, bananas and oranges
- Bees and insects The forums on bees and insects will look at the strong link between agricultural models and the well-being of bees, different apiculture models, different types of bee (black, stingless, etc.), honeys, the importance of insects to agriculture and insects as a “new” food source
- Food and health The food and health forums will explore the impact of our food choices on our bodies and the consequences of widespread pesticide and antibiotic use in farming. They will also look at salt, sugar and fat and the differences between industrial and artisanal products—which can we choose and how can we consume them to minimize the risks to our health?
Seed Biodiversity as a Response to Climate Change
So small, and yet so powerful. Farmer-selected seeds are alive and dynamic, the result of a gradual adaptation to the characteristics of a particular territory and climate. In this event we will discuss why a rich and diversified agricultural system […]
The Unnatural Age: History, Landscape, Ecology – Lingua Madre 2018
The discourse on the emergencies—both environmental and social—that are currently developing cannot disregard a reconnection and a dialog between nature and culture, between scientific knowledge and the imagination, between practice and poetry. Artistic and literary production, particularly by women, is […]
Where is Organic Farming Headed?
Since the 1980s, the amount of land dedicated to organic farming has increased steadily and organic farms are getting bigger. In the last decade, organic chain stores have multiplied and certified organic products have become increasingly available from large-scale distributors. […]
Fighting Food Waste with Intelligence and Creativity
According to estimates from the FAO, one third of all food produced worldwide goes to waste. Table scraps are only the final step in a long chain of waste that begins in the fields and continues through warehouses and supermarkets. […]
Plant more flowers for the Bees!
Agricultural farms have become food deserts for bees and pollinators in general. Farmland is often dominated by one or two plant species, devoid of flowers for most of the year and contaminated with pesticides. To save the bees from extinction […]
Antibiotic Resistance: A New Health Emergency
Most antibiotics found on the market are not for humans, but are sold to intensive animal farms. These antibiotics are used on these farms to prevent or treat the many diseases that affect animals due to poor sanitation, overcrowding and […]
Opening Ceremony and Presentation of the Indigenous Terra Madre Strategy
Indigenous Terra Madre (ITM) is a network of indigenous communities, partners and organizations that aims to bring indigenous peoples’ voices to the center of the food and culture debate, as well as to develop other regional and global networks. It […]
Nuts and Oil Seeds
Almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, and even sunflower, flax, sesame, and pumpkin seeds, oil seeds are found throughout the world. A small handful a day is enough to enrich our diet with beneficial elements, such as vitamins, proteins, and minerals. We will […]
Quality Farming – Chickens
Chicken that we buy in supermarkets is raised intensively, grown quickly and was slaughtered at 35-60 days old, while for free-range traditional chickens it’s necessary to wait at least 4 months. What parameters identify quality farming in the case of […]
A Sea of Plastic
Annual plastic production has increased from 2 million tonnes in 1950 to over 400 million tonnes in 2015. In 2050, the weight of plastic in the oceans will eclipse that of fish. Over time, large plastics break down and becoming […]
Food For Change: grow a climate-friendly future
Agriculture is simultaneously one of the main causes of climate change and one of its most sensitive and vulnerable victims. Most importantly, agriculture can still be one of the solutions. For Slow Food, the strong connection between climate change and […]
What the Label Doesn’t Tell You
Labels are very important for ‘deciphering’ the food we buy. However, to fully understand labels, it is often necessary to read between the lines. Many labels don’t provide the whole picture: Information may be left out, or deceptive information added, […]
The Art, Music, Cuisine, and Poetry Allied with the Sea
Not only fishermen, politicians and environmental organizations have a say in sustainable fishing, the selection of fish offered to consumers, and which recipes from the local gastronomy best celebrate those fish. Artists, chefs, directors, musicians, and poets all offer complementary […]
High-Altitude Honey
High-altitude beekeeping is an important resource for fragile mountain economies. This practice involves following bees’ seasonal migration, moving their hives to habitats higher than 1,200 meters above sea level during the summer. At these higher altitudes bees pollinate plants and […]
Poison on the Plate
For many years now, synthetic chemicals have been invading our food and every aspect of our daily lives Pesticides are spread in the fields, then make their way to our table in the fruit and vegetables we eat. Our food […]
Where do Spices Come From?
Though interest in the origin of ingredients has grown in recent years, there is still a category that has yet to gain attention of the “localvores,” despite its essential contribution to the flavor of food. We are talking, of course, […]
The Mediterranean, a Unifying Sea
There are many keys to interpreting “Mare Nostrum.” One is food and the relationship between different yet similar gastronomic cultures. This is what we’ll be discussing at this event which inaugurates the fourth International Festival of Mediterranean Cooking, an initiative […]
Is Agriculture Possible without Animal Farming?
Animal and plant agriculture developed together over 12,000 years ago. Man had always cultivated the land using fertilizer derived from animal waste, however industrial agriculture has broken this link with the introduction of chemical fertilizers. How will the relation be […]
Climate Change: Indigenous Peoples in Danger
The harmful effects of climate change on marine ecosystems are increasing at an alarming rate. Traditional fishing communities are among the first victims. These communities have always operated in harmony with the environment, but are now suffering due to the […]
Slow Food Travel
Every territory contains traditions, tastes, and artisanal practices preserved by men and women who have built their identity, cultures, and cuisines over centuries. In recent years, interest in rural tourism has increased, but not all itineraries capture or interpret places […]
Shortening the Supply Chain
The names vary—GAS in Italy, AMAP in France, CSA in the USA, GASAP in Belgium—but the idea is the same: Groups of farmers and citizens who make a pact to support, clean, local, community-driven agricultural systems. Then there are farmers’ […]
Beyond the CAP: working toward a common food policy
The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is unable to cope with social tensions—in fact it often heightens them. Numbers of farmers and farms have decreased dramatically, the emphasis on productivity has led to a decline in biodiversity, and young people […]
Origin, diversity Territories: perspective on Territories in Transition
The Forum ‘Origin, Diversity and Territories‘ brings together a global panel of stakeholders, all engaged in new ways of thinking and doing development. This knowledge sharing platform explores new ways of thinking and doing development, where the identity, the origin, the quality […]
Slow Cheese: In Defense of Raw Milk
At Cheese 2017, Slow Food launched the worldwide network of raw milk cheese producers, with the aim of creating an international community that could confront common challenges and share solutions. Raw milk is illegal in many countries, and denominations of […]
Mountain Producers
Across all latitudes, mountains preserve extraordinary heritage and systems of production, even though living in these areas means facing incredible difficulties every day. Over the years, many people have abandoned the highlands, but some resist and others are returning. Those […]
Mead: The Drink of the Gods
Mead, obtained from alcoholic fermentation of honey, is considered one of the oldest beverages in the world, with over 15,000 years of history. At Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, we will compare the mead of producers from Poland (Polish Mead […]
Food, Health and Spirituality
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” In the 5th century BC, Hippocrates of Cos laid the foundations of a new medicine,based not only on empiricism, but also on knowledge of the body, a connection with nature […]
School Gardens
In Berkeley, California, in the mid-nineties, the famous chef and activist Alice Waters conceived and cultivated Slow Food’s first school garden. Since then, school gardens in the Slow Food network have flourished everywhere, there are over 500 in Italy, more […]
Quality Farming – Cattle
Industrial farming has reduced animals to machines and has completely deprived cattle of grazing and life in the open air. Furthermore, to produce one kilogram of industrial beef, 36.4 kilos of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere and about […]
Slow Fish Caribbean
Launched in 2017, Slow Fish Caribbean involves several Caribbean countries, including Mexico, Colombia, Honduras, Barbados, and Costa Rica. It aims to strengthen and disseminate models of conservation and responsible consumption in protected areas and to care for marine and coastal […]