Slow Food in the Nordic Countries are coming to Italy for Terra Madre Salone del Gusto

A delegation of about 40 people is set to take part in the most important international event dedicated to changing food systems.

To be held from September 26 to 30 in the Parco Dora in Turin, Italy, Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2024 will mobilize the energies of the Slow Food delegates and activists who will be gathering from over 120 countries with the aim of transforming the food system.

Slow Food delegations from Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden are from a widespread group of countries that nevertheless share many of the same challenges and needs for change overusing the planet’s resources in our industrialized food systems. And at the same time stand for culinary innovation, indigenous knowledge and sustainable practices.

Chairperson and International Councilor for the Nordic countries is Jannie Vestergaard. About Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, she says, «I am extremely proud to be part of the international Slow Food network, and to represent a delegation that will take part in the 20th anniversary edition of Terra Madre Salone del Gusto! I am sure that, through exchange and dialogue with people who differ in culture, language, and customs, every one of us will return home richer and with new enthusiasm for pursuing our activities and striving for a better future for our planet.»

Jannie Vestergaard will participate as speaker in the Slow Fish conference “What happens beneath the surface”, where she will present the work of regenerative ocean farming in the Nordic countries.

From Sweden we are very pleased to welcome Magnus Nilsson, Director General of the Curt Bergfors Foundation and the Food Planet Prize. Magnus used to run the Michelin star restaurant Fäviken Magasinet in Järpen. He also runs an apple orchard and makes cider in the south of Sweden. Erica Miller-Herren is a member of a Slow Food Community and has been farming since she was a teenager.  She got a Master’s degree in Agroecology at The Swedish University of Agriculture. She works with Community Supported Agriculture, running grassroot advocacy initiatives, creating connections between individual and collective societal well-being and food and farming. She is an expert in Swedish grown seed varieties; and Gertrud Edström, expert in foraging and leader of Slow Food Gästrikland convivium, who will facilitate a forum on agroecological practices of foraging and wild harvesting together with representatives of Vild Mad, from Denmark.

The Curt Bergfors Food Planet Prize (Sweden) is participating at Terra Madre as an exhibitor. It is the world’s biggest environmental award, rewarding one winner yearly with 2 million USD. The Food Planet Prize supports initiatives that significantly reduce the environmental impact of the way we eat – because no other human activity puts more strain on our environment, and to stop eating is simply not an option. Unlike most other awards, The Food Planet Prize focuses on future impact rather than past success. It can only be issued to projects working within food systems. Anyone can nominate an initiative, and the nominations are accepted throughout the year via The Food Planet Prize website www.foodplanetprize.org.

From Finland, we will be welcoming William LaFleur, member of Slow Food Helsinki convivium, anthropologist and political ecologist.

Norway is sending, among others, a delegation from Slow Food Bergen convivium, which develops interesting activities in the framework of Slow Fish Network and community gardening.

From Iceland, Dóra Svavarsdóttir, chef, teacher and food activist, will take part in a forum dedicated to agroecological practices of wild harvesting.

Betina Bergmann, from Denmark, is chief procurement officer for the Municipality of Copenhagen; she manages the supply of sustainable and organic food to 900 public kitchens the city. She is also a member of the EU Stakeholder Expert Group on Public Procurement and will speak at the conference The living city: Nature in urban ecosystems.

In the Slow Food Farm area, one of the core areas at Terra Madre 2024,  dedicated to agroecology, there will be several talks where Nordic delegates will participate, as well as tastings of herbal tea from wild herbs and of the Icelandic lamb. There will also be a Taste workshop on foraging in which a seaweed dish (among others) from Iceland will be prepared.

Jannie Vestergaard – International Councillor for the Nordic Countries

[email protected]