Mercado Capital Verde Becomes a Slow Food Earth Market

A new market in Mexico City will join the worldwide network on Saturday March 19

The network of Earth Markets, farmers’ markets that follow Slow Food principles, is expanding in Mexico, bringing the total number of markets to 78 worldwide.

The Mercado Capital Verde in Mexico City will be the country’s fifth Earth Market. In this globalized megalopolis—one of the largest and most populous cities in the world, dominated by a frenetic lifestyle—it can be hard to find markets that directly involve farmers and producers. This is a real obstacle to the adoption of healthy food choices oriented towards a traditional Mexican diet and agricultural biodiversity. The Mercado Capital Verde was created with the aim of reconnecting consumers with good, clean and fair food production.

Since it was first started in 2019 in the Azcapotzalco neighborhood, the Mercado Capital Verde has been envisaged as a commercial space that encourages a direct relationship between peri-urban producers and city dwellers, without intermediaries, in order to promote health, the local economy and environmental protection.

On March 19, 2022, a second location in the Bosque de Aragón park will be inaugurated and will officially join the Earth Market network, committing to following the Slow Food philosophy. Both Mercado Capital Verde locations now join the Earth Markets network.

Held every Saturday from 10am to 4pm, the new market will be located in Bosque de San Juan de Aragón in the Gustavo A. Madero neighborhood.

It involves around 30 producers who sell a wide range of products, made following agroecological methods. Fresh fruits and vegetables are always available, along with chocolate and cocoa, cheese and other dairy products, preserves and fruit juices, herbs, herbal teas and condiments. Amaranth, bread and vegetarian dishes are also on sale.

“Our objective is to create a place where producers and consumers can meet, a place for exchanging knowledge, dialog and nourishment,” says Ana Ximena, the spokesperson for the local Slow Food Community. “And we want to create a place where we can give more visibility to local producers who practice agroecology.”

“At the market it is possible to buy ready-made meals and to attend cultural events and workshops related to better eating, the local economy, home gardening and more,” explains Luis Octavio Navarrete Zendejas, the Slow Food Capital Verde Earth Market coordinator. “The market is trying to reduce the use of disposable plastic as much as possible. Many businesses are located in the Mexico City Rural Conservation Zone, which is also protected by the government for the environmental benefits it offers to the central region of the country.”

Since the middle of 2021, Mercado de Productores Capital Verde (MCV) has been working as a representative of Responsible Consumption Initiatives with the Coalición Un Cambio Responsable, organized by Greenpeace A.C. in Mexico City. The methodology and criteria of the Mercado Capital Verde were designed by FAO Mexico, which put the project together, with support from SEDEREC in 2017.

Info & contacts

Slow Food Community spokesperson: Ana Ximena

Earth Market coordinator: Luis Octavio Navarrete Zendejas

Tel. +52 55 6218 9565

[email protected]

https://mercadodeproductores.com.mx/

Slow Food International Press Office

Paola Nano – [email protected] (+39) 329 8321285

Alessia Pautasso – [email protected] (+39) 342 8641029