Slow Food Great China Launched in Beijing

The creation of Slow Food Great China was officially announced on January 27. The launch – held at the Italian Cultural Institute in Beijing – was attended by the President of Slow Food Great China, Qiao Ling; Yang Fanxing, from the Ministry of Agriculture; Paolo Di Croce, General Secretary of Slow Food International; and the Italian ambassador in Beijing, Alberto Bradanini.

Slow Food Great China will form part of the international Slow Food association, referring to its values, principles, processes and structure. As China has an essential role in the food system. it can play a crucial part in the fight to save the planet’s food biodiversity, a main focus for the global vision of Slow Food.

“With its vast culinary culture, its wealth of plant and animal diversity, and with the choices of Chinese consumers impacting the entire planet, China cannot not be a country in which we work,” said Paolo Di Croce. He also emphasized that the objective of Slow Food Great China will be to guarantee that everyone has access to good, clean, and fair food.

Also speaking at the event, Qiao Ling emphasized that she is honored to take on the office of President of Slow Food Great China, but also recognized that it would be challenge stating that “although China is based on agriculture, agriculture as well as farmers and the countryside constitute the country’s biggest problem. However, after 20 years of fast development, China is now finally paying more attention to quality and sustainability. An adequate slowness has to be the pace for development in order to diminish social inequality. Development has created many problems in the food industry and I think that Slow Food can help us to go back to our origins and preserve the rich gastronomic diversity in China”.

Photos from the event