Animal Welfare in the Spotlight at the Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre 2012

The 2012 edition of the international Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre, Slow Food’s biennial event bringing together small-scale farmers, artisan producers, fishers, experts, academics, chefs and young people from over 160 countries, will be an important forum of exchange between producers, consumers and experts on the importance of animal welfare. A series of educational initiatives as well as conferences will be looking at the challenges and opportunities concerning the welfare of animals.

The conference Too Much at Steak! on Thursday October 25 at 6pm will be a chance to reflect on the impact of the increasing demand for meat and animal products on health, the environment, animal welfare and food security. In this occasion, Slow Food will be presenting a guide to good, clean and fair meat consumption, in collaboration with ActionAid and Compassion in World Farming, to promote a more conscious consumption of meat and respect for the environment and the welfare of animals. The guide will be available for download at the link www.slowfood.com

The European Commission’s DG SANCO (Directorate General for Health and Consumers) will be present with a stand throughout the five days of the event, where children and adults can take part in interactive games and quizzes and learn more about the world of animals used for food.

As animal welfare is an important component of this world, a special moment at the Salone will be the presentation of the European Commission’s video on working animals, which will underline the importance of good animal welfare practices, for the benefit of both humans and animals.

A highlight of the Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre is the conference Animal Welfare: A Win-Win Opportunity for Animals, Farmers and Consumers organized in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) which takes place on Monday October 29 at 3pm. The Conference will be opened by Piero Sardo, president of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity and Daniela Battaglia, responsible for the FAO programme on animal welfare and will feature Mateus Paranhos Da Costa, Professor of Ethology at São Paulo University and a top authority on animal production and welfare in Brazil. Guest speakers include Andrea Gavinelli, DG SANCO, European Commission, Mike Baker, CEO of the World Society for the Protection of Animals, Rupert Ebner of Slow Food Germany and Silvia Gennero, Veterinary Medical Research Institute for Piemonte, Liguria and Valle D’Aosta. The conference will also be a great opportunity to learn about the direct experiences of farmers and will feature producers from the Terra Madre network: Aurelia Maria Castellanos Quintero, Cuban Association of Animal Production; Richard Haigh, Slow Food Presidium of Zulu Sheep, South Africa; Alice Mukandakezi, Community of the Ankole Cow, Rwanda.

For further information:

www.slowfood.com

www.fao.org/ag/animalwelfare.html  – twitter.com/FAOawelfare or contact [email protected]