Terra Madre
Encyclopedia
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
way. Terra Madre also refers to a major bi-annual conference held in Torino, Italy intended to foster discussion and introduce innovative concepts in the field of food, gastronomy
Gastronomy
Gastronomy is the art or science of food eating. Also, it can be defined as the study of food and culture, with a particular focus on gourmet cuisine...
, globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
, economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
. Terra Madre is coordinated by the Slow Food
Slow Food
Slow Food is an international movement founded by Carlo Petrini in 1986. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and regional cuisine and encourages farming of plants, seeds and livestock characteristic of the local ecosystem. It was the first established part of...
organization.
History
The first Terra Madre conference took place in Turin in 2004 and was attended by 5,000 delegates from over 130 countries. The program included 61 Earth Workshops at which the participants discussed topics such as organic certificationOrganic certification
Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products. In general, any business directly involved in food production can be certified, including seed suppliers, farmers, [food] processors, retailers and restaurants.Requirements vary...
, rural communication, rare livestock
Livestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
breeds, indigenous agriculture systems and small-scale fishing. The Torino (Turin) Terra Madre conference convenes every two years in the Fall. In October 2006 (October 26 to October 30), Terra Madre drew over 9,000 participants from all over the world. Presenters and attendees board in Torino as well as throughout the Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
region. Over 1,500 people in the Piedmont region opened their doors for Terra Madre delegates to stay with them as a place besides hotels. Terra Madre 2006 focused on the relationships between food communities, cooks, universities and scientists.
Terra Madre conferences
Headset (telephone/computer)
A headset is headphones combined with a microphone, or one headphone with a microphone. Headsets provide the equivalent functionality of a telephone handset with hands-free operation. Headsets typically have only one speaker like a telephone, but also come with speakers for both ears...
which relay simultaneous translation, similar to the presentation format in the United Nations General Assembly
United Nations General Assembly
For two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:* General Assembly members* General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
meetings. Admission to the event is paid, although the proceeds of admission go to pay for the cost of the conferences and their presenters and to support the objectives of Slow Food.
Topics
Terra Madre seminars are intended to focus on topics such as genetically modified foods (GM), the development of organic foodOrganic food
Organic foods are foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.For the...
, sustainability
Sustainability
Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...
, water rights, and the impact of globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
on traditional food cultures.
Participants and presenters
Examples of food communities that are members of Terra Madre are:- the North Kerry Organic Farmers’ and Breeders’ Community (IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
) - the community of bananaBananaBanana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
and sugarSugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
producers from Negros Island (PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
) - the community of wineWineWine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
producers of Chã das CaldeirasChã das CaldeirasChã das Caldeiras is a small community of approximately 1,000 inhabitants, situated within the crater of the volcanic Pico do Fogo on the island of Fogo, one of nine inhabited islands comprising the West African nation of Cape Verde...
(Cape VerdeCape VerdeThe Republic of Cape Verde is an island country, spanning an archipelago of 10 islands located in the central Atlantic Ocean, 570 kilometres off the coast of Western Africa...
) - the wild flower honeyHoneyHoney is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees is the one most commonly referred to and is the type of honey collected by beekeepers and consumed by humans...
community of Catarina (GuatemalaGuatemalaGuatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
). - Sea Presida
Terra Madre also hosts representatives of numerous international and local organizations working towards a better understanding of recent developments in food culture. For instance, at the GMO discussion group, Alexander Baranov of the National Genetic Safety Association (located in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) discussed the safety of human consumption of GMO food. Baranov presented slides from experiments conducted by Dr. Irina Ermakova on GM soy
Transgenic soybean
Genetically modified soybean is a soybean that has had DNA introduced into it in a way other than the combination of male and female gametes...
. Ermakova tested a group of females rats, feeding one group regular food, the other group regular food plus traditional soy, and the third - regular food plus genetically modified soy. The offspring of the female group fed GMO soy had mortality rates of 55% (natal mortality, percentage of offspring born dead). The offspring also showed deformities and size differences. Baranov explained the need to conduct further testing, including the monitoring of human GMO consumption. The results of Ermakova's research have been published, but have yet to undergo peer review
Peer review
Peer review is a process of self-regulation by a profession or a process of evaluation involving qualified individuals within the relevant field. Peer review methods are employed to maintain standards, improve performance and provide credibility...
In addition to presenting their studies, Terra Madre participants and presenters share ideas and propose policies to deal with emerging food issues. For instance, Baranov shared Russian ways of dealing with GM foods, such as a complete ban on GM foods in all schools.
Criticism of Terra Madre
Along with the slow food movement, Terra Madre has been criticized for being an elitist organization. For instance, some argue that by banning GMO foods in the developed world (i.e., Russia, Poland, 18 of 19 Italian regions ban GMO food), corporations will instead export their foods to developing regions such as Africa and South Asia. However, this criticism is rebutted by the large-scale consumption of GM foods in the US and Canada (see Dr. Jane GoodallJane Goodall
Dame Jane Morris Goodall, DBE , is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National...
, Harvest for Hope), and the recent attempts by developing countries such as Bolivia to ban all GMO foods — and the recent burning of a GM crop in Indonesia.
See also
- http://www.cifor.cgiar.org/publications/pdf_files/OccPapers/OP-22.pdf
- http://eau.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/15/2/87.pdf
- http://www.vitaminrelief.org/images/pdf_images/reasearch/vitaminsbehavior.pdf
External links
- TERRA MADRE OFFICIAL WEBSITE (in Italian, English, German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Japanese, Russian)
- Terra Madre Brasil (portuguese)