Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2020 rallying over European policies

From the Good Food Good Farming campaign to the partnership with the EU Green Week, Terra Madre will be a driving force for mobilization to achieve policies to support small farmers and protect the earth, the soil, ecosystems and biodiversity

In its new version involving physical events in many places all over the planet and the digital diffusion of debates, conferences, videos and live reports, Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2020 will be placing a special focus on Europe.

The initiative will kick off on October 10 with a “Round the World Relay”, a five-part journey across continents and time zones in a global dialogue on the major questions of our time. The European stage will address the policies implemented by the Green Deal, in particular the Farm to Fork strategy for a healthier, more sustainable food system, in a debate involving Virginijus Sinkevičius, European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Johan Rockström, a scientist renowned for his work on global sustainability and former director of the Stockholm University’s Stockholm Resilience Centre, and Valérie Masson-Delmotte, an expert on climate change and currently leader of Working Group 1 (WGI) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Voting within the European institutions over the next few weeks will have a decisive impact on the food system of almost 500 million people, and Slow Food has committed to the Good Food Good Farming (GFGF) campaign which will proceed across Europe throughout October. Joining forces with hundreds of European organizations, many Slow Food groups will organize local events in the four corners of the continent in countries such as Greece, Rumania, Italy, Latvia, France, Croatia, Bulgaria, Austria and Spain to bring pressure to bear on politicians to make them implement or favor food and agricultural policies that  support farmers and agro-ecological systems, and protect the soil, water, ecosystems and biodiversity.

Slow Food is also a partner of EU Green Week 2020, promoted by the European Commission and scheduled to take place from October 19 to 22 2020, which will focus on the subject of nature and biodiversity. Following the adoption of a new EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 last May, the Green Week will highlight the contribution biodiversity can make to society and the economy, as well as the role that it can play in supporting and stimulating post-pandemic recovery with employment and sustainable growth. More specifically, on October 22 the President of Slow Food Carlo Petrini will speak at the session entitled It’s Alive! Why Soil Is The Most Important Habitat You’ve Never Thought About, dedicated to the health of the soil, a key element for achieving the targets of the European Green Deal, such as climate neutrality, zero pollution, sustainable food systems and a healthy, resilient environment. Ensuring that eco-systems are in good condition is essential for ensuring the sustainability of economic activities and human wellbeing. Marta Messa, director of Slow Food Europe and a member of the Slow Food International Council, will speak on October 21 at the session entitled Protecting Biodiversity For A Healthy And Sustainable Food System, devoted to the vital role biodiversity plays in achieving a sustainable food system that protects our planet whilst ensuring food security, food safety and diverse and nutritious diets for all.

Both events are included in the Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2020 program.

Also, within the context of the partnership with European Green Week, on October 17 an online conference will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the birth of the Slow Food Presidium project. The results of 20 years of work are extremely positive, with 5,400 food products mapped, more than 500 Presidia launched in 160 countries, a state-of-the-art labeling project and, since October 2020, for all the producers who have shared the project and subscribed to rigorous production protocols, a new logo: the Slow Food snail. The following day, Sunday October 18, will mark the first edition of Open Presidia, an initiative in which farms will open their doors to allow the public to discover the stories of the custodians of biodiversity and taste their products.

As part of the Food is Culture project, funded by the Creative Europe program with the patronage of Fondazione CRC (Carrara Savings Bank Foundation), a webinar entitled Food and Cultural Heritage: an EU policy perspective and mixing art, food, culture and politics will be organized on November 17, from 11am to 1pm. Participants will be asked to take a look at the online exhibition “What you didn’t know existed. Endangered food from around the world,” featuring the products at risk of extinction catalogued by the Slow Ark of Taste. The exhibition will also be staged physically in Turin. A round table will go on to explore the connections between food, agricultural and cultural policies, and a policy brief entitled “Food Is Culture” on the need for Community actions to protect the immaterial food heritage, as well as concrete recommendations on how to better integrate agricultural and cultural policies. Taking part will be representatives of the European Commission, Europa Nostra and Slow Food.

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.