Slow Food in 2022: A Historic Year For Our Movement

“The role of food as the main culprit in environmental disaster is emerging ever more clearly,” commented Carlo Petrini addressing delegates of the 8th Slow Food International Congress in July 2022. “Our movement, which has been working for 30 years to ensure good, clean and fair food for all, must have the courage to take a leading political role in curbing this trend and its catastrophic implications. We need governance that leaves space for new generations; we must be able to merge the past with our present.”

Edward Mukiibi, better known as Edie, embodies this exciting leap into the future. Elected Slow Food president last year, Edie was born into a farming family in 1986—the same year the Slow Food movement began at Rome’s Spanish Steps in protest against the opening of a nearby McDonald’s.

According to Mukiibi: “The time has come when we must step out of our social and geographical bubbles and forge links with others who share the same vision of a good, clean and fair food system and those who are working to regenerate the planet. This interconnection inside and outside our network creates a mosaic that may initially look imperfect. But in the end the small pieces of this mosaic all come together to build a powerful image of a snail.”

Like the snail that symbolizes our movement, our impact on revolutionizing the food system has been slow but steady, and driven by delivering the change that we need. This report highlights our achievements by outlining the range of projects our network has pursued and showcasing the impact of some of our global interventions.

To give a taste of what Slow Food achieved last year, we managed to mobilize:

• 376,400 students involved in 1,882 school gardens in Africa
• 15,000 Ark of Taste nominators around the world, who interviewed farmers, cooks, artisans, cheesemakers, butchers and bakers and reported on endangered varieties, breeds and food products.
• 3,000 visitors for the RegenerAction digital toolkit, which was developed to provide concrete tools to help Terra Madre participants take immediate action.
• 400 children and 40 teachers and educators involved in Romania’s food gardens
• 10,000 volunteers to organize 100 Disco Soup on all continents, saving 40 tons of food from being wasted.

Our Annual Report addresses our entire network: activists, leaders, volunteers, members, stakeholders and all those who follow us and are committed to be change-makers. It is also meant for individuals who have participated in our events, projects and other activities that benefit communities, the environment, society and the food system in general.

The issues and projects outlined in this document are those that have characterized our activity in 2022 and are most significant in communicating the value of our vision to external stakeholders and demonstrating the validity of the projects they support.  Drawing on the annual reports prepared by the different working groups, this 2022 Annual Report features the most important projects around the world.

In keeping with previous years, we have structured the report around our three priorities:

• Biodiversity: defending cultural and biological diversity
• Education: educating, inspiring and mobilizing citizens
• Advocacy: influencing policies in the public and private sectors

The importance of our mission is as clear as ever: we must continue to respond to the now global and interconnected emergencies and stand by the people who are too often left behind. We will continue to grow our network and mobilize broader support.

Because it is only by working together to secure good, clean and fair food for all that we can overcome the challenges humanity faces and shape the future we want.