Terra Madre Day, December 10th, is the day the worldwide Slow Food community has set aside to celebrate our connections to the land; terra madre; mother earth. This is a day to reflect on our relationships to food and community and on ways we can deepen these relationships.
This October, I was honored to attend Terra Madre—Slow Food’s biennial meeting in Turin, Italy. From our own food community, Larry and Sharon Adams of Walnut Way, and myself, a dietitian and good food advocate, joined the more than 6,000 delegates, from over 150 countries. Small producers, chefs, farmers, fishers, educators, and activists, came together to connect, share stories, and strengthen their voices through the collective, international work. Over sixty meetings and workshops took place at Terra Madre, exploring subjects such as Food Policy, Sustainable Education, Healthy Food in Schools, Eco-Friendly Farming, Fair Trade, Agro-biodiversity, Food Sovereignty, Hunger & Poverty, Slow Fish, Cooks & Places, the Youth Food Movement, and so much more. The experience was, in short, amazing.
I ran into other Wisconsinites, such as Chef Dan Fox of the Madison Club, and Joe Sabol of Sabol Family Farm, in the bustling halls of Terra Madre. And while next door at the Salone del Gusto, an incredible exposition hall of place-based foods from around the world, I was delighted to find a larger than life picture of my friend and past delegate, Martha Davis Kipcak, former Slow Food WiSE chapter leader, current Slow Food Regional Governor, and food activist, along with a prescient quote, “To act locally means to know your community and be a part of it.” This led me to think about other past delegates from our community—chef Dave Swanson of Braise, urban farmer Will Allen of Growing Power, farmer Jeff Preder of Jeff-Leen Farms, farmer Katie Bjorkman of Earth Harvest Farm, and student (at the time) Lianna Bishop, now of Slow Food WiSE & Center for Resilient Cities. All people devoted to creating a good, clean, and fair food system, here and beyond.
Terra Madre is not just a simple meeting or conference. It is a network of people from around the globe working together to create a united voice in support of transforming the way we eat. “Food is life. Food is us,” said an Ethiopian elder at the Opening Ceremony. On this Terra Madre day, if not every day, we can take time to remember this concept because food is life. Happy Terra Madre Day to you and yours!
If you’d like to talk about Terra Madre, food traditions, or biodiversity, please contact me at jcasey@slowfoodwise.org.
Peace,
Jennifer Casey
Read more about Terra Madre.
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