Slow Food: A burgeoning movement for agro-biodiversity
Yuba Nath Lamsal
In the wake of MacDonaldisation in the world of food, Slow Food Movement emerged out of the concept of preserving, defending and promoting indigenous and traditional food production and food culture. This is an international campaign started in Bra of Italy at the initiative of Carlo Patrini, an Italian professor and food columnist in an Italian magazine.
Now the movement has spread to 43 countries in the world with its national chapters called Connivium opening in almost every part of the globe. Patrini is, now, president of International Slow Food Movement, whose headquarter is in Italy.
Philosophy:
Food is life. The philosophy of Slow Food is to attach greater importance to food habit, promotion of indigenous food production, preparation and conservation of biodiversity. Sustainable food production and conservation of biodiversity are almost synonymous, which our forefathers had always cherished and promoted throughout history. Now food is becoming scarce in the world and there has been greater demand and call for food security to feed the world population.
The present system of food production is not sustainable since it has threatened ecological balance and biodiversity. Once biodiversity is threatened and weakened, production cannot be sustainable. Thus, there has been burgeoning ecogastronomic movement in the world, thanks to Slow Food.
According to Patrini, the world is losing many species of fruits and vegetables each day. We are losing domestic animal species as well. And one can't be a gastronome without being an ecologist anymore, he said. Yes, one cannot recognize and appreciate food and its flavour unless one knows the environment and ecological condition in which the food is grown.
Greater threat:
And now the pleasure of good food as well as indigenous method of growing such natural food are being heavily threatened by the growth of fast food chains and modern method of farming which depends more on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. "Those pre-packaged convenience foods that are as short in preparation time as they are on flavor,” says Patrini.
The Slow Food Movement seeks to discourage the preparation and use of tasteless and stale stuff in favor of fresh, home grown and home prepared food on which we the people of the developing countries were raised. The movement now encourages farmers to revive the old environment-friendly method of cultivation and grow organic and natural food. Slow Food also encourages campaign to promote all indigenous food habit and culture in the world as they throw light on the history and culture of a community and society.
Slow Food Award:
The Slow Food Movement organized a grand international gathering of gastronomists, environmentalists, journalists and food writers in Bologna of Italy in October 2000 to award five best people in the world who made outstanding contribution for conservation of biodiversity and environment through sustainable agriculture and promotion of Slow Food philosophy.
The five winners of the Slow Food Award 2000 Special Jury Prize, dedicated to meritorious projects in defense of biodiversity and the world agro-industrial heritage, were announced in a special function in the Aula Magna of the University of Bologna.The winners were selected from a shortlist of 13 by a committee of jury members including food expert, environmentalist, scientist and Journalist ( I was one of them) and endorsed by about 500 participants from 82 countries in all five continents.
The winners of Slow Food Award 2000 were:
Nancy Jones (Mauritania) for her work in camel breeding, which has created jobs and saved the livelihood of nomad shepherds.
Veli Gülas (Turkey) for conserving traditonal bees and methods of honey-making in his native Anatolia.
Jesus Garzón Heyde (Spain) who, by reviving traditional transhumance, has helped preserve the natural Spanish landscape.
Maria Mikhailovna Girenko (Russia) for her experimental work on plant preservation at the Vavilov Institute in St. Petersburg.
Raul Manuel Antonio (Mexico) for his efforts to maintain the traditional vanilla crop in the forests of the Chinantla region.
As the participants of Slow Food Award were more than 500, it was dubbed as the 'United Nations of Gastronomy' and the award, which contained 10,000-euro cash and citation letter, was described as the ‘Nobel Prize’ for the agro-industrial and environment sector.
The Slow Food Movement, thus, asks its members and all others to acknowledge, reward and promote the work of all peasants, farmers, fishermen, breeders and shepherds who work day and night to feed the population but often remain unrecognized, unheard and unsung.
Farmers are the ones who preserved ecology, biodiversity and all the species of plants and animals throughout generation. But these are now being threatened because of so-called modern and advanced technique of cultivation.
The Slow Food Award is the recognition and gratitude to the farmers for the cause of preservation of agricultural biodiversity. The symbol of Slow Food is snail, which symbolizes slow but steady pace of eating and growing food. The concept needs to be promoted and the movement strengthened in order to protect our indigenous food system and culture throughout the world and more in South Asia--once home to rich food and agricultural diversity and indigenous food and food growing which is being slowly invaded by immigrant influences.
In the wake of MacDonaldisation in the world of food, Slow Food Movement emerged out of the concept of preserving, defending and promoting indigenous and traditional food production and food culture. This is an international campaign started in Bra of Italy at the initiative of Carlo Patrini, an Italian professor and food columnist in an Italian magazine.
Now the movement has spread to 43 countries in the world with its national chapters called Connivium opening in almost every part of the globe. Patrini is, now, president of International Slow Food Movement, whose headquarter is in Italy.
Philosophy:
Food is life. The philosophy of Slow Food is to attach greater importance to food habit, promotion of indigenous food production, preparation and conservation of biodiversity. Sustainable food production and conservation of biodiversity are almost synonymous, which our forefathers had always cherished and promoted throughout history. Now food is becoming scarce in the world and there has been greater demand and call for food security to feed the world population.
The present system of food production is not sustainable since it has threatened ecological balance and biodiversity. Once biodiversity is threatened and weakened, production cannot be sustainable. Thus, there has been burgeoning ecogastronomic movement in the world, thanks to Slow Food.
According to Patrini, the world is losing many species of fruits and vegetables each day. We are losing domestic animal species as well. And one can't be a gastronome without being an ecologist anymore, he said. Yes, one cannot recognize and appreciate food and its flavour unless one knows the environment and ecological condition in which the food is grown.
Greater threat:
And now the pleasure of good food as well as indigenous method of growing such natural food are being heavily threatened by the growth of fast food chains and modern method of farming which depends more on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. "Those pre-packaged convenience foods that are as short in preparation time as they are on flavor,” says Patrini.
The Slow Food Movement seeks to discourage the preparation and use of tasteless and stale stuff in favor of fresh, home grown and home prepared food on which we the people of the developing countries were raised. The movement now encourages farmers to revive the old environment-friendly method of cultivation and grow organic and natural food. Slow Food also encourages campaign to promote all indigenous food habit and culture in the world as they throw light on the history and culture of a community and society.
Slow Food Award:
The Slow Food Movement organized a grand international gathering of gastronomists, environmentalists, journalists and food writers in Bologna of Italy in October 2000 to award five best people in the world who made outstanding contribution for conservation of biodiversity and environment through sustainable agriculture and promotion of Slow Food philosophy.
The five winners of the Slow Food Award 2000 Special Jury Prize, dedicated to meritorious projects in defense of biodiversity and the world agro-industrial heritage, were announced in a special function in the Aula Magna of the University of Bologna.The winners were selected from a shortlist of 13 by a committee of jury members including food expert, environmentalist, scientist and Journalist ( I was one of them) and endorsed by about 500 participants from 82 countries in all five continents.
The winners of Slow Food Award 2000 were:
Nancy Jones (Mauritania) for her work in camel breeding, which has created jobs and saved the livelihood of nomad shepherds.
Veli Gülas (Turkey) for conserving traditonal bees and methods of honey-making in his native Anatolia.
Jesus Garzón Heyde (Spain) who, by reviving traditional transhumance, has helped preserve the natural Spanish landscape.
Maria Mikhailovna Girenko (Russia) for her experimental work on plant preservation at the Vavilov Institute in St. Petersburg.
Raul Manuel Antonio (Mexico) for his efforts to maintain the traditional vanilla crop in the forests of the Chinantla region.
As the participants of Slow Food Award were more than 500, it was dubbed as the 'United Nations of Gastronomy' and the award, which contained 10,000-euro cash and citation letter, was described as the ‘Nobel Prize’ for the agro-industrial and environment sector.
The Slow Food Movement, thus, asks its members and all others to acknowledge, reward and promote the work of all peasants, farmers, fishermen, breeders and shepherds who work day and night to feed the population but often remain unrecognized, unheard and unsung.
Farmers are the ones who preserved ecology, biodiversity and all the species of plants and animals throughout generation. But these are now being threatened because of so-called modern and advanced technique of cultivation.
The Slow Food Award is the recognition and gratitude to the farmers for the cause of preservation of agricultural biodiversity. The symbol of Slow Food is snail, which symbolizes slow but steady pace of eating and growing food. The concept needs to be promoted and the movement strengthened in order to protect our indigenous food system and culture throughout the world and more in South Asia--once home to rich food and agricultural diversity and indigenous food and food growing which is being slowly invaded by immigrant influences.
Comments
Post a Comment