The spread of COVID-19 around the world is having enormous impacts on our lives. In Italy, the government has placed all of the Lombardy region as well as several other provinces in the north of the country under quarantine, in order to slow the spread of the virus.
Schools, universities, cinemas, gyms and other places of public gathering have been closed across the country. In our home town of Bra, Piedmont, the streets are quiet as people stay at home as much as possible.
“Until a few weeks ago, the bogeyman of the European economy was the tariffs the US government applied to some food products of the old continent, but today the expansion of the coronavirus has completely reshuffled the global papers. To make the economic scenarios gloomy is no longer an aggressive protectionist measure, on the contrary we are faced with an unprecedented situation that opens equally unprecedented scenarios. Stationary tourism, the limited mobility of citizens at all latitudes, closed schools and emergency hospitals are conditions that we have never seen all together and that at the moment no one is able to circumscribe over time. Not to mention the very object of the emergency, a virus that, although at the moment it still seems to be under control, continues to spread and has now touched all Italian regions and the vast majority of European, Asian and North American countries,” said Carlo Petrini.
Here at Slow Food, we are continuing to work on the projects and programs we’ve been carrying forward for 30 years, all while adhering to the latest government decree, washing our hands often, avoiding close contact, and being cautious when coughing and sneezing. We will continue to go ahead with our work to promote a good, clean and fair food system, strengthening our network and supporting each other during this difficult time. Our mission to promote the work of communities around the world will continue to drive our goals, whether we work from the offices of our headquarters in Bra, from our homes, and everywhere else we’re present around the world.
“So here is the time of solidarity and no longer of competition, it’s time to find strength to emerge not with the desperation of all against all but with a renewed solidarity of momentum and with the reconstruction of a sense of community that for too much time we neglected … A season full of obstacles and unknowns awaits us, but we can play the game with awareness and determination: solidarity, community and cooperation are the keys to start again. “
Our movement is not defined by physical location so much as by the people whose hearts are fully committed to fighting for equality and food sovereignty for all. We will use this situation to reinforce our human connections, rather than creating panic.
This is the time for solidarity, not competition. It’s the time to rediscover our collective strength, so that we may come through the other side of this difficult period with a reinforced sense of community that we the world has neglected in recent decades.
