After a short break, the international festival dedicated to good, clean and fair food is back. Don’t miss the packed program of exciting events!
2020 is over, and despite the many challenges the year brought, the Slow Food team has worked tirelessly to ensure that even in these complicated and precarious times, the 13th Terra Madre Salone del Gusto could still take place.
An unprecedented version of the event, with all of its components revised, began in October. It will continue in its global, digital and physical form until April, continuing to be enriched with valuable opportunities for debate and in-depth analysis around the issues and figures that animate the world of food.
One of the key elements to Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, indeed the beating heart of the event, has always been the Italian and international marketplace. This meeting place for thousands of producers from across the world and hundreds of thousands of visitors offered a unique occasion for exploring the gastronomic diversity of every continent. Naturally, this too has had to be completely redesigned thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This year, the official Terra Madre platform is hosting both a showcase and an e-commerce shop through which it is possible to discover products from 498 exhibitors from all over the world. Anyone living within the Schengen area can then buy many of the featured products and have them shipped to their home.
As the first month of 2021, January marks a new chapter in this most extensive of Terra Madre editions. Are you ready to find out what events are coming up next?
- Seeds: Safeguarding, Preservation and Sovereignty
January 22 – 5 pm (CET)This event organized by the Slow Food Sumapaz Agroecological Community in Colombia offers an opportunity to learn about the importance of seeds and their role in the cycle of life. It will raise awareness about the importance of preserving and conserving native seeds in order to ensure food sovereignty. We’ll also hear the story of Miecodespensa, a group of agroecological producers in Colombia who work together with the Bogotá Earth Market.
Free digital event. For more information and to follow the streaming, click here.
- Cooks and School Canteens: An Alliance to Feed Future Generations
January 25 – 5 pm (CET)Education requires consistency from educators. The messages we give in the classroom must be reflected in our daily behavior, both at school and beyond. Unfortunately, the use of single-use plates and cutlery, food that is both unhealthy and environmentally unfriendly and badly managed waste are frighteningly common in school canteens around the world. At the same time, there are plenty of virtuous experiences of school dining out there, many people who work to make sure a meal eaten at school is in itself a moment of education. A meal is an opportunity for children to learn about concepts like food biodiversity, traditional gastronomic knowledge and local cultures. In this forum we will be discussing a different kind of canteen, one that’s good, clean and fair.
Access to the event is free, but must be booked in advance here before 12 pm on January 23. Once registered, you will receive a link to participate in the event.
- From the Mediterranean Diet to Natural Food
January 30 – 11 am (CET)The nutritional value of the Mediterranean diet is widely recognized by researchers and scientists. At the base of its food pyramid are large amounts of fruit and vegetables, bread and pulses. It features less animal proteins and more vegetable proteins, and daily consumption of extra-virgin oil. But is it sufficient to talk about “bread” in general? Are all oils the same? What are the best choices for our health? Are all fruit and vegetables equally good, or should we take into account the way they’re grown? Do hybrids and native breeds have the same nutritional characteristics? Slow Food believes we must go beyond a simplistic conception of the Mediterranean diet and pay more attention to the quality of the foods we eat and their effects on our bodies. We should ensure that our food is natural, meaning it should be cultivated with respect for natural resources, and without the use of additives, preservatives, commercial starter cultures, dyes, antioxidants and industrial yeasts.
Access to the event is free, but must be booked in advance here.
- The Health of the Planet and the People
February 5 – 6 pm (CET)Covid-19 has had an enormous impact in every country around the world. The outbreak of the pandemic and its devastating consequences have reaffirmed the importance of radically changing our lifestyles and food choices. Scientists, together with the World Health Organization, see the decline of biodiversity as one of the main causes for the spread of new contagious diseases. Can we deal with malnutrition by protecting and promoting biodiversity? Will biodiversity help us preserve the health of ecosystems? What role can politics play in promoting sustainable food systems? Slow Food will release and discuss its position paper on food and health during the conference.
Access to the event is free. Register here.
- Soil and Food: No-Soil Tomatoes and Lab-Grown Meat
February 19 – 5 pm (CET)Among the world’s largest exporters of fresh tomatoes is the Netherlands, which has no historic culture tied to the fruit. The secret lies in their no-soil growing systems and advanced agricultural technologies which can grow fruits and vegetables with no need for earth or sunshine. Meanwhile, some of the world’s biggest corporations are undertaking research and development activities aimed at growing meat in laboratories without any animals or farming. Is this the future of food? Will technology feed a constantly growing population with lab-made food? Is this the response to reduced soil fertility: to do away with the soil altogether? Or, in another possible future, will food be reconnected to the cycles of the soil, water and the sun?
Access to the event is free and open to all.
- Pulses, Food of the Future
February 20 – 9 am (CET)On World Pulses Day, the Slow Beans network discusses cultivation techniques and how it’s promoting these products together with chefs, who are working to raise awareness about the wonderful world of pulses.
Access to the event is free, but must be booked in advance here.
- Slow Meat: Another Agriculture is Possible
February 21 – 9 am and 5 pm (CET)Over the last 70 years, industrial animal farming has threatened the existence of small-scale livestock farmers, as a production model that pollutes aquifers, depletes the soil, makes animals suffer, reduces biodiversity, wastes large amounts of water, provides low-quality meat and tears down forests has become dominant. The consequences have been devastating. This Terra Madre forum gives space to small-scale farmers from around the world to tell their stories, learn from each other, share their vision, and show that a better, more respectful animal farming is possible.
Access to the event is free, but must be booked in advance here.
These are just some of the many events you can find in the Terra Madre Salone del Gusto program, which is constantly being updated. To find out more, visit the official website: www.terramadresalonedelgusto.com.
Have you already seen the latest episodes of “Food Talks,” the new format for Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2020? To watch, click here.
For more information:
Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2020 Press Office
Slow Food: [email protected] – Paola Nano, Gioia Baggio (+39 329 8321285)
City of Turin: [email protected] – Luisa Cicero (+39 011 01121932)
Piedmont Region: [email protected] – Donatella Actis (+39 011 4322549)
Terra Madre Salone del Gusto is the most important event dedicated to good, clean and fair food and small-scale agriculture in the world. It is organized by Slow Food, the City of Turin and the Region of Piedmont in cooperation with MIPAAF (the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies) and MATTM (the Italian Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea Protection). Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2020 is made possible thanks to the support of businesses that believe in the projects. Among them, we’d like to thank our Platinum Partners: Pastificio Di Martino, Unicredit, Lavazza, Acqua S.Bernardo, Quality Beer Academy; our Gold Partners: Agugiaro&Figna, Astoria, BBBell. With the support of Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Torino, Associazione delle fondazioni di origine bancaria del Piemonte. With the contribution of IFAD and the EU. In collaboration with SANA and Turismo Torino e Provincia.