The Slow Food premier event – Terra Madre and Salone del Gusto – happens every two years in Turin, Italy. We present an overview of our experiences.
We present Carlo Petrini’s reception speech to the Slow Food USA delegates to the 2012 Terra Madre conference in Turin, Italy.
It will take several other articles and videos to give a more rounded overview of the event, as it is really several events all rolled up into one. We were chosen as International Congress delegates, which was a completely separate event that is held only once every four years and is attended by those chosen for their work in advancing the core tenants of Slow Food – “Good, clean and fair.” To say we were honored to be among the likes of Alice Waters, Vandana Shiva, Carlo Petrini and 650 others is a monumental understatement. On two separate occasions we felt we were in hallowed company. The first was the opening ceremony for the 230 Slow Food USA delegates where Carlo had some remarks that were amazing. I walked up to the front of the room just before the opening ceremony started to get a photo and stood there for a minute looking at everyone getting settled and chatting with their new neighbors. It was both humbling and inspiring to be in the same room with so many talented, dedicated, passionate and brilliant people who are all working at the same goal from so many different angles – good food that is real and honors all who are involved with it. The second time was in the gorgeous theatre that housed the opening ceremony for the International Congress. This theatre was in the renovated Fiat factory that has its own test track on the roof, a huge building in itself. The theatre was red velvet and oak, with all 650 delegates sprinkled throughout. It was the same feelings as with the USA delegates, but on a larger scale; especially when we heard several of the speeches of what other countries were working on or had accomplished.
With that teaser, we present for your enjoyment “A World of Taste – Slow Food Terra Madre/ Salone del Gusto 2012.” This is a short overview of photos and some short video we took while attending the event. This is only a small sampling, so stay tuned for more to come!
The co-founder of Slow Food International, Carlo Petrini took the stage after the opening ceremonies at the Slow Food USA delegate meeting during the 2012 Slow Food Terra Madre and Salone del Gusto conference in Turin, Italy this past October. He gave his remarks to about 230 delegates from all across the USA who are working daily on the core tenants of “Good, clean and fair” food for everyone. It was impressive to see the amount of passion, dedication, talent and genius gathered together in that room, all for the sake of one of our most important yet overlooked foundations of life; food.
Carlo seemed to be impressed as well, with comments like “What you’ve done in America is extraordinary, not just for the USA but for the rest of the world. A Slow Revolution toward respecting food, a deeper appreciation of food that serves as an example for the entire world.” He went on to say that we’ve helped “Achieve the most important thing that Slow Food needs to achieve – given back a holistic sense of food.” We’ve started to show that food is not and never can be a commodity, merchandise, just a price point.
Its story is important – the memory, the people and its history. By reducing food and everything about it to its commodity values of productivity and profit, we are approaching a brink. That brink is the loss of diversity, not only of the varieties of foods that have nourished us for thousands of years, but the loss of human and cultural diversity as well. Those different types of diversities have enabled us to withstand and overcome many different challenges over the millennia, adapting and growing stronger in the process. Without all of those diversities, we are all weakened and more vulnerable to changes, whether expected or unexpected, human or natural caused.
Carlo closed by saying that the people of Slow Food have the holistic vision of the path back to the healthy diversity that will make our food and our communities whole again. Slow Food delegates practice that vision daily, working to strengthen our food connection everywhere we are, every day. Watch the video and see Carlo’s thoughts for yourself!
A World of Taste – Slow Food Terra Madre and Salone del Gusto 2012
The Slow Food premier event – Terra Madre and Salone del Gusto – happens every two years in Turin, Italy. We present an overview of our experiences.
Carlo Petrini’s Speech to Slow Food USA Delegates
We present Carlo Petrini’s reception speech to the Slow Food USA delegates to the 2012 Terra Madre conference in Turin, Italy.