Throwing technology at Terra Madre

Interestingly, there is an article in the New York Times from Oct 22nd, when the anti-technology Terra Madre food meeting began, on genetically modified crops that are drought resistant – corn, wheat, and other grains. And Monsanto is taking the lead. Just the other side of the coin for those interested…

Ecogastronomy pleasure and GMOs

For the past few days, I attended Terra Madre, the very large (7000 people, 153 countries represented) Slow Food meeting in Torino Italy as a U.S. delegate but had the added benefit of also attending Salone del Gusto, a gourmet/artisan food festival held simultaneously and in the same venue. The opening ceremony for Terra Madre was quite grand and held at the Olympic stadium for the Winter Olympics in 2006. Carlo Petrini, godfather of slow food, and Vandana Shiva, anti-technology and GMO (genetically modified organism) hero, both spoke to the crowd, but the most amazing part was the music played from around the world and the flag procession, in which a native of the country carried their flag wearing traditional clothing. It was quite incredible to have 153 countries represented and says a lot about how the world is feeling about the global food system.

terra madre

The opening ceremony set the tone for the rest of the meeting – no GMOs, no chemicals, no pesticides. No ifs ands or buts about it. There was not too much scientific evidence presented, just passion in all its grassroots glory. I dont think scientific data is really the point of Terra Madre anyhow. Vindana said that GMOs did not promote more food production and that it was “a fact.” In her manifesto, she does not just count absolute tons of maize produced but the cultural and social fabrics that have been lost. Perhaps she is right, but to say that it is a fact may be a bit overstated. She was also quite negative about the African Green Revolution, which was disappointing. The Asian Green Revolution was not a perfect model by any means – so can’t we take the mistakes from the last revolution and at least try to make it better for Africa’s sake? Small holder farmers in much of Africa are struggling. I am a HUGE advocate of biodiversity and its subsequent diet diversity, but reason, evidence and rationale are needed to feed 6 billion souls high quality foods right now. I am not sure if bashing on companies who use technology without much care for diversity, is the most productive approach. Manifestos were passed out, with lead writer Vandana, on topics of climate change and the future of food, and the future of seed. You can find the manifestos here.

I also attended the US delegate meeting. Alice Waters opened and I always find her thoughtful and engaging. She signifies what slow food is all about. Josh Viertel, the new president of Slow Food, is a great story teller but has a lot of work ahead of him to really make an impact in the United States this coming year. In a world of fast food and fast eaters, and fat people, the slow food approach has not sunken in. Josh – i wish you luck.

US Delegate Meeting

I attended earth workshops of bee keeping, food security, climate change, Africa foods and others. Many had the same tone that GMOs were very bad and that farmers need to take back their communities and promote biodiversity. Biodiversity is key and is being lost by the day. But about GMOs and their reputation. GMOs could very well be “bad” but again, the science should be presented at these meetings, particularly to the youth who attend the meeting. Do it for the kids! I am not against what they are saying. I want to eat wholesome, unmanipulated, chemical and pesticide free food too. But when presenting anything as complex as our food system, it is always more productive to get many players to the table. The big companies and multinational agencies are here to stay. We need to learn to work with them and find a way forward together. Projecting a photo of two random wall street guys looking at numbers on the stock exchange and saying they are evil and have a plan to destroy bees, is not exactly productive or true (which is what they did at the bee seminar…).

pulito

One of the coolest aspects of the fair was the Slow Food Presidia that are funded and promoted by the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity. The program focuses on biodiverse projects of small scale producers from around the world demonstrating all aspects of Slow Food – good, clean and fair. There were very unique, rare products being promoted by local farmers such as lost cereals, diverse potatoes from peru, poultry and goat breeds, cheeses, honey in ethiopia etc etc. Textiles were also being promoted as part of this year’s Terra Madre.

slow food presidia projects map

Salone del Gusto hosts “neogastronomes” and it was so crowded I could barely stand it, being a slight clostraphobe. I always find conferences funny. When there is something free on a table, people are like ravenous wolves and will claw their way to get at whatever it is just because it is there and free. Salone, with all its high class ecogastrons was NO exception. People were like hungry beasts. So much for slow food. There was pushing, there was shoving, there was knocking people over, just to get a little 1 inch by 1 inch piece of bread with some olive oil drizzled on it. Isn’t this standard fare for Italians? If there was a piece of cured meat sitting out on a plate, forgeddaboudit.

Derek posted a great blog on the event here. and some more photos are here.

Hunger is still a challenge…

“The 2008 Global Hunger Index (GHI) shows that the world has made slow progress in reducing food insecurity since 1990, with dramatic differences among regions and countries. In the nearly two decades since 1990, some regions — South and Southeast Asia, the Near East and North Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean — have made significant headway in improving food security. Nevertheless, the GHI remains high in South Asia. The GHI is similarly high in Sub-Saharan Africa, where progress has been marginal since 1990.”

Off to Terra Madre

Next week I am off to the large Terra Madre meeting in Torino Italy. Can’t wait! I will post from there with all the latest. I will also be posting lots of photos on my photoblog site here. If you dont know what terra madre is, all is explained here.

Purchase 4 Progress

Purchase For Progress is a fantastic program in theory spearheaded by WFP and other biggies such as Gates and World Bank. The idea is that WFP will buy food from small-holder farmers in developing countries that would then be used to feed those within the country where the purchases were made. WFP spends roughly 1 billion dollars per year to feed 90 million people. This year, they will buy 40,000 tons of food from these farmers to feed 250,000. Doesn’t seem like too much in the grander scheme of 90 million mouths to feed but it is start. In the past, WFP has received foodstuffs from US that have been offloaded onto the developing world, essentially leaving smaller farmers in these developing nations, off the market.

The project is meant to not only supply WFP with the necessary food, but to set up infrastructure of financing and associations and boost productivity, all part of the African Green Revolution. Gates has given a cool $75 million to the project and I am sure there is more to come if they can show success quickly in the 21 countries. They anticipate helping out 350,000 farmers to start.

I think the idea is fantastic however I do hope that the program taps into areas of gender and nutrition that are so desperately needed to be linked with agriculture productivity. I also hope farmers are empowered and utilized not only as food producers but as knowledgeable “stakeholders” in indigenous food production, promotion and processing. We have a lot to learn from the rural African farmer.

Snacks and other tidbits

Some of the interesting:

WHO World Health Report – 2008 report just released

MDG Report 2008 – released during UN Africa development meetings

New York Times Food Prices and Supply news series

Enlighten yourself with Raj Patel’s blog stuffed and starved

Global Food Prices – monitoring and assessing impact by IFPRI

World Food Day

As we all know, every day has some sort of cause or celebration. AIDS day, Earth day etc. Well, tomorrow is World Food Day. And the focus is on food insecurity around the world, compounded with rising food prices. There are supposedly “celebrations” of this around the world and you can get involved in the festivities, or at least get involved.

All about Food for a Foodie

I woke up today, on my 37th birthday, to the New York Times Magazine’s Sunday issue – and its all about food! How apropos. The Pollan and Bittman articles are good, the Locavorism article is timely, and the tipping article is an interesting read, particularly when you live in a country where tipping is not the norm (kenya).

Tre COOL

The New COOL law Country Of Origin Labeling goes into effect September 30th 2008. This law as part of the farm bill requires:

“Many, but not all, retailers to ensure that country of origin information is provided for certain beef, lamb, and pork products (covered commodities). The law also directs the Secretary of Agriculture to issue regulations to implement these labeling requirements. USDA is expected to publish an interim final rule implementing the law.  Because that publication is not a final rule, some aspects of the regulation could still be subject to change. Packers and processors that supply covered commodities to their retail customers must provide COOL information to the retailers. That information can be provided to retailers in a number of ways, including providing the labels to the retailer or labeling the product directly.”

This includes foods such as fresh meat, poultry, fish, fruits and vegetables, peanuts and certain nuts. Unfortunately, all the processed foods are not included and most food services are excluded and the issue of mandatory or law, is up for much interpretation. It is a start though, after six years of infighting…If you are confused, there is a guide to help you out.  Read it and know it. If your local shop doesn’t have the label, demand for one. Unless you live outside the US such as myself…

Food Declaration

The Food Declaration is a statement to the government of the United States that it is their moral obligation to provide a healthier food system. I think food is on the mind of everyone these days and healthier and more nutritious foods are becoming issues of public good. This is optimism at its finest. Getting governments and industry to come to consensus on the way food should be made, processed, delivered, and consumedwith homegrown organic-ers and slow fooders is a tough sell. With huge challenges of population, climate change, poverty, agriculture and health (both undernourished and obese), the enormity of the situation sounds dire, as Paul Roberts says “the end of food.”  The declaration has twelve principles:

1. Forms the foundation of secure and prosperous societies, healthy communities, and healthy people.
2. Provides access to affordable, nutritious food to everyone.
3. Prevents the exploitation of farmers, workers, and natural resources; the domination of genomes and markets; and the cruel treatment of animals, by any nation, corporation or individual.
4. Upholds the dignity, safety, and quality of life for all who work to feed us.
5. Commits resources to teach children the skills and knowledge essential to food production, preparation, nutrition, and enjoyment.
6. Protects the finite resources of productive soils, fresh water, and biological diversity.
7. Strives to remove fossil fuel from every link in the food chain and replace it with renewable resources and energy.
8. Originates from a biological rather than an industrial framework.
9. Fosters diversity in all its relevant forms: diversity of domestic and wild species; diversity of foods, flavors and traditions; diversity of ownership.
10. Requires a national dialog concerning technologies used in production, and allows regions to adopt their own respective guidelines on such matters.
11. Enforces transparency so that citizens know how their food is produced, where it comes from, and what it contains.
12. Promotes economic structures and supports programs to nurture the development of just and sustainable regional farm and food networks.

Endorse it or dont. But I think everyone wants these principles to come to fruition. It is just a matter of how to do it.