Loving the Earth

The theme of this year’s Terra Madre Salone del Gusto

In the heart of Turin from September 22-26, 2016

“Loving the Earth is the main theme for Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2016,” Serena Milano, General Secretary of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity explains. “Looking after the environment and the planet we live on is the most important issue of our time, and an obligation for everyone who works with food. We want to rediscover the pleasure of taking care of the Earth, together with producers, teachers, chefs, academics, farmers, food communities and above all, everyday people and families. For this reason, we are organizing workshops, conferences, tasting sessions and educational courses.”

The international event, which will bring together the best of the world’s artisanal production in Turin, will have three main goals, inviting visitors to learn more about: how to be a farmer, how to be a co-producer and how to be a home-gardener.

How to be a farmer

The Slow Food Presidia, which involve communities of farmers, herders and fishers from around the world all working to sustain high-quality food production, set a positive example for everyone. To name but a few: Don Tea from South Korea, Taliouine Saffron from Morocco and Tailin Panela from Peru. Five thousand Terra Madre delegates from over 160 countries will share their experiences and advice with visitors. The market is the place to meet the producers who follow the principles and philosophy of Slow Food and where visitors can also receive practical advice on how to start farming for themselves!

How to be a co-producer

Eating is the first agricultural act; so to go from being simple consumers to conscious co-producers it is essential to understand the production techniques involved in bringing food from the farm to the table. There will be interactive courses, conferences, Terra Madre Forums and Taste Workshops, all dedicated to Slow Food’s major campaigns: Slow Meat, which promotes responsible, sustainable meat consumption; Slow Fish, which raises awareness of the richness and complexity of marine life; and Slow Beans, which advocates the many nutritional properties of pulses (indeed, 2016 has been declared the International Year of Pulses by FAO). The crucial role of bees in protecting biodiversity will also be a focus, as well as the importance of sustainable agribusiness, such as collective purchasing groups and farmers’ markets.

How to be a home-gardener

To love the Earth, it’s important to get to know it first hand, and that means cultivating it. During Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, Slow Food Education will provide ideas and solutions for growing your own Slow vegetable garden. Workshops will be organized for schools and families to learn how to make compost, choose seasonal vegetables, and take care of seeds: in the ground, in pots, on balconies, in gardens, in the countryside and in cities.

Terra Madre Salone del Gusto—organized by Slow Food with the City of Turin and the Piedmont Regional Authority—has a completely new program this year. For the first time, the event will take place in and around some of Turin’s most iconic locations. The market will be held in Valentino Park, within which the Medieval Village will host educational events for adults and children, while the Terra Madre Forums will take place inside Valentino Castle. The conferences will be held at the Carignano Theater, the Taste Workshops at the Circolo dei Lettori and the Mole Antonelliana (the National Museum of Cinema). Beyond that, there will be some other events at the Egyptian Museum, Venaria Reale, Racconigi Castle and the Royal Palace of Turin.

For further information contact the Press Office of Slow Food International:

[email protected] – Twitter: @SlowFoodPress

Paola Nano, +39 329 8321285 [email protected]

Ester Clementino, [email protected]

Giulia Capaldi, [email protected]

Salone del Gusto, first held in 1996, is one of the world’s most important events dedicated to artisan and small-scale food and wine producers, as well as a forum of exchange for producers and consumers from around the world. The last edition, held at the Lingotto exhibition center in Turin in October 2014, attracted 220,000 visitors from over 60 countries, saw the participation of 3,000 Terra Madre delegates from around 160 countries, and featured a large market with 1,200 exhibitors from 100 countries, including 300 Slow Food Presidia producers and 400 Terra Madre food communities.

Slow Food involves over a million of people dedicated to and passionate about good, clean and fair food. This includes chefs, youth, activists, farmers, fishers, experts and academics in over 160 countries; a network of around 100,000 Slow Food members linked to 1,500 local chapters worldwide (known as convivia), contributing through their membership fee, as well as the events and campaigns they organize; and over 2,500 Terra Madre food communities who practice small-scale and sustainable production of quality food around the world.