The Terra Madre Salone Internazionale del Gusto just held in Turin, Italy (23-27 October) was a fantastic expression of collective passion for the diverse tastes, smells, colors, shapes and textures of food, as well as hope and vision for a future where quality food is more abundant and sustainably produced and consumed. Three pavilions were dedicated to the different regions of Italy with vendors showing off and offering samples of their local specialties. A fourth pavilion featured producer stands from around the world - many of whom have been working with Slow Food to connect with consumers for their quality products. The exhibits ranged from mountain herbs of Friuli to Sicilian cannoli, a wide assortment of cheese, meat, and preserves from all regions of Europe, coffee and chocolate from Africa and Latin America, and countless other sweet and savory delicacies.
The world’s culinary palette was further celebrated through a crowd-sourced collection of foods that grew and took shape throughout the event. The ‘Ark of Taste’ aimed to raise awareness of the vast and underutilized diversity of foods and “to document products that are quickly dwindling into extinction”. The neglected and underutilized species were in the spotlight in this display, which included wild melon (Cucumis melo) from India, Oxalis tuberosa (cuiba/ibia) from Colombia and Venezuela, flower buds of the cholla cactus (Cylindropuntia) from the United States, tigernut (Cyperus esculentus) from Ghana and fermented seeds of the locust bean tree (Parkia biglobosa) from West Africa. Rare varieties of more familiar crops were also on display, including a rainbow of maize and beans and a cornucopia of squash and apple varieties.
The Indigenous Terra Madre
Alongside the bustling exhibits were rich discussions concerning sustainability in food systems, family farming and the protection of biodiversity. Of particular relevance to neglected and underutilized species were several discussions that took place through the Indigenous Terra Madre. The roles of indigenous people as custodians of agricultural biodiversity and keepers of valuable knowledge on sustainable land management were highlighted and explored by representatives from indigenous communities around the world and organizations that have been working to support them.
Yon Fernandez Larrinoa (FAO) described how the many thousand underutilized plant species are mostly maintained in traditional indigenous territories and that these plants could be vital for ensuring food security for a growing human population. Danny Hunter (Bioversity International) described how traditional foods could be critical in reducing micronutrient deficiency that has emerged with simplification of diets. He gave an example from the Pacific island of Pohnpei where local orange-skinned bananas have been shown to have dramatically higher carotenoid content compared to the Cavendish cultivar that dominates world markets (8500 µg vs 5 µg). These local bananas could help alleviate vitamin A deficiency on the island and beyond. Kivalina - an indigenous woman from Alaska - also recognized the nutritional value of her traditional foods, mentioning that the wild green “sourdog” is equivalent to 1000 oranges and that she has noticed fish oil being sold as a health supplement, which is one of her traditional foods. These healthy foods are being abandoned due to challenges to their way of life (dwindling wildlife and fish stocks, habitat destruction by drilling companies, bans on whaling) and the appeal of fast food. Now diabetes is becoming a health problem among her people, which was never an issue before.
The shift away from traditional foods was further discussed in a session focused on millets. Bablu Ganguly (Timbaktu Collective) from India emphasized that outside of a restricted geographical band, India is not a rice-eating country. The traditional food culture of most of India is in fact based on millets but this has been changing due to greater availability and promotion of rice through breeding programs, extension, and the Public Distribution System, along with people’s desire for higher status (reflected in rice eating) and women's disinterest in carrying out the arduous processing required for millet. Stefano Padulosi (Bioversity International), who chaired the session, reported on work carried out through the promoting minor millets in India through value-chain interventions, including the introduction of machines that reduce drudgery in processing. He acknowledged that the Indian Government has recently included millet in the Public Distribution System, which should have a positive effect on millet production, consumption and conservation ('coarse grains' in the National Food Security Act, 2013).
Biodiversity maintained by indigenous people is a promising tool to reduce poverty, revitalize traditional culture and improve nutritional security but it was emphasized through the discussions that development for indigenous territories must be carried out according to the vision the people have for themselves, with full consultation and consent to ensure protection of their livelihoods, culture and the valuable resources they maintain. Indigenous people around the world face grave pressures including marginalization, disrespect of basic human rights, and land grabbing. Another problem is multinationals capturing the benefits of traditional knowledge and resources. Obadias Batista Garcia of the Satéré Mawé tribe in Brazil recounted how the rise of their traditional beverage - guaranà (Paullinia cupana) - as a popular soft drink did not benefit his people who had maintained and handed down the knowledge of this fruit for countless generations. Myrna Cunningham Kain (Indigenous Advisor to the WCIP/PGA and former Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues) and Antonella Cordone (Senior Technical Specialist on Indigenous People and Tribal Issues, IFAD) discussed the tools and legal frameworks that have been delineated in partnership with indigenous people to define and protect their rights at the international level. Ol-Johan Sikku of the reindeer herding Saami affirmed that we should be promoting these rules and ensuring that they are followed because they are critical to “protect food systems in different parts of the world”.
Territorial Indications and Labelling
One promising approach to protect indigenous people and other small producers interests while promoting their traditional foods is the use of territorial indications (see a recent publication on this topic). An engaging session was held by the BioCultural Diversity and Territories Platform reporting the results of a workshop that explored the merits and best practices for implementation of such territorial indications. The opening speaker of the session emphasized that we need to find approaches to give credibility and value to farmers and to encourage people to continue to be farmers, as working the land is not a very attractive occupation for young people these days. Giovanni Belletti (University of Firenze) reported that for the benefits of territorial indications to reach small producers there is a need for common rules, downstream integration in processing, quality signs and guarantees to consumers, collective organization of small farmers and participatory platforms between producers, consumers and other stakeholders. Aside from territorial indications, other labelling schemes can also be useful in protecting and encouraging small producers. Moko Morris described the certification system that has been created by her community wherein local people evaluate farms in the community to certify that they are producing their food using Maori traditional practice. Organic and fair-trade certifications can also help, which have been promoted by IFAD’s SAMCERT project in West Africa.
Hopeful Signs
Overall, the Terra Madre event was a source of great hope for the future of food systems. It revealed and contributed to a growing awareness for the need for a more sustainable approach to agriculture that is based in cultural and biological diversity. There were signs that people are taking action to conserve and promote heritage varieties and underutilized species. There was pasta made from Einkorn wheat (Triticum monococcum) and producers of other old wheat varieties: grano “Senatore Cappelli” (a high quality Italian variety of durum wheat bred by Italian geneticist N. Strampelli in the early 20th century) and red fife (a bread wheat variety from Ontario, Canada produced in the 19th century). There were vendors of a unique red celery variety and a special tomato (pomodorino del piennolo) that used to be stored fresh for months on the balconies of Neapolitan households. Producers from Calabria were selling Annona fruits and others from Mexico were selling bars and cakes made from amaranth. There was a clear passion, interest and awareness for the need to use crop diversity or lose it. We salute Slow Food for their great work and are on board to help build a world in which every person has access to good, clean and fair food!
Look out for the Indigenous Terra Madre event in October next year in Meghalaya. For more information visit the Slow Food webage or the NESFAS webpage.
View more photos from the event on flikr.