Yesterday was the final day of Terra Madre.  I feel like I owe anyone reading these posts a lot more details and stories, but it's been so difficult to find internet to be able to share the experience.  I have been able to post the past several times from computers at the conference which was great; however, you are limited to 15 minutes of internet. So I would spend the half an hour it took to wait in line writing on paper what I hoped to say and then 15 minutes scrambling to type and load a video.  It's been a fun challenge.  And actually, the time spent in the 'internet line' at Terra Madre has been just as interesting, if not more so, than sitting in one of the formal sessions.  You have time to talk to people.  Yesterday I spent time talking to a young woman from the Phillipines who works for a non-profit to help rice farmers get techonolgy and tools as well as encourage them to switch to organic production.  The organization also works with farmers to try to get them to save some of their harvest for themselves and their families.  Many times, they sell as much rice as they can because of the need for revenue.  By encouraging them to switch to organic and keep more of their harvest, they are helping farmers get healthier food to their families as well.  With 7,000 folks present at Terra Madre, I'd say there were 6,999 stories similar to this--and the folks that were able to attend are only a fraction of the total number doing similar work to help farmers, reconnect people and food, and build stronger food systems throughout the world.  
 
I've been trying to think of all the top take aways.  It's going to take a while and I don't know if they can easily be summed up on a list.  I'll share a couple that come to mind as I continue to attempt to beat the clock for remaining internet time....
 
The world is a lot smaller than I remember at times.  We need to remember our impact on each other--good and bad.  we can also make good changes and actively participate in fixing global problems at a local level, especially from the United States.  It's hard to explain this idea that's rattlin' around in my mind... but it's like this... Globalization, for all it's faults, can be used to encourage good practices which build/preserve healthier and more just food systems.  For me, Terra Madre really makes me feel united and tied in to the rest of the world... in work, message, and I'm inspired to go home work harder to help connect farmers, food, and folks.  (Sorry, that's kind of a hard thought to explain and a man is tapping his foot waiting for me to relinquish this coveted machine ;)
 
One other thought I'll leave my brave readers with--as our intent of this blog is to help people find local products and connect with local farms--being an eater is just as important as being a farmer when it comes to making good change.  Eaters have so much power to choose.  Going local whenever possible makes a difference.  (Sigh, so I leave you there for the time being as my internet runs away and we slip out for a couple days of rest before returning home). 

Highlighting the best products of each region in Italy, such as proscuitto from Umbria, beer from Piemonte, olive oil from Sicilia, and cheeses and wines from most every region, oh and don't forget the international marketplace as well, the Salone del Gusto is easily one of the biggest food expos in Europe.  "The five-day meeting will bring together food communities, cooks, academics, youth and musicians from all over the world, who are united in a desire to promote sustainable local food production in harmony with the environment while respecting knowledge handed down over the generations" (http://www.salonedelgusto.it/welcome_eng.lasso).  

Each region hosts its own section of stalls, as well as a restaurant where you can sit and have a traditional meal with explanation along the way.  What did we see and taste? wines, olive oils-more varieties than you could think of, salami and proscuitto-and all their meaty cousins, many breads and crisps, beers-our favorite made with chesnuts, omgoodness, tomatoes-dried, fresh, sun-dried, and sauced, apples, a ton of different types and colors of honey, fish, fish, fish, the famous red celery, risotto, flours, grains, PASTA, chocolates, gelato, and about a thousand different cheeses.  To be honest, my go-to Gusto are fresh little meat raviolis with a gravy type sauce with a plate of different salami from Calabria, my family's region.

Wish you were here.

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Today at Terra Madre there were country specific meetings and all the USA-ers gathered together.  I'm excited to tell you that my head count in yesterday's post was off.  There are over 700 US representatives from all states here and over 7,000 people total from around the world--and once again, we are all doing very similar types of projects and working from very similar values around local food and farming.  

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Hi, this is Sarah from the Pierce Conservation District.  I am the program coordinator for agricultural assistance at the PCD and often the voice behind these posts about this or that ;)  I am honored to be writing you today from Terra Madre (www.terramadre.org) in Turin, Italy.  I am one of around 15 folks from WA State, one of hundreds from the USA, and one of thousands from around the world here at Terra Madre. Terra Madre is a biannual international meeting, largely in part with Slow Food, gathering together over 5,000 farmers, fisherman, chefs, activists, educators, press, and more to talk about preservation of food and farming traditions, knowledge, and culture. 

Yesterday (and I am sorry for not getting my thoughts to you then, technical difficulties!) was the opening ceremony, marked with a parade of representatives of 152 participating countries.  The messages of Terra Madre are many, but my main take aways are to join together generations, voices, people and food to continually make positive changes.  This message was personified through the stories of five selected representatives from different continents.  One was a head chief and farmer from Ethiopia who vigorously addressed the crowd in his indigenous language.  A short clip of him reminding us of that, "food is life" is attached (attempting anyway ;)

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What were my key take aways from opening day?

One was from Carlo Petrini, founder and president of Slow Food.  He said that the next generation has an unprecedented opportunity to mix science with traditional knowledge.  Another was that this meeting affirms on a global scale what we are doing at home--in the US, in WA, in Pierce County, in Tacoma, in Key Center, etc.--our small-scale local level response to issues of food are happening around the globe.  They are powerful and this work is some of the utmost important we can do to affect positive change in our bodies, our families, our culture, our economies, environment, etc, etc.

(I am running out of internet time!!!)  More to come tomorrow.  

Best thoughts,

SArah

As Carlo Petrini discusses in the book, Terra Madre: Forging a New Global Network of Sustainable Food Communities, ""we eat food'" (2009; p.43).

Without having attended Terra Madre yet, I'd aim to say Terra Madre is about reconnecting and continually building our food community, of which we all have a very important role--consumers, or eaters as I like to refer to us all, farmers, and everyone else in between that is involved with how our food is grown and how food makes it to our plates and beyond. We all have an active role and a responsibility. Terra Madre is also about preserving biodiversity, the pleasure of food, food traditions, and culture.

Terra Madre is from the 21st-24th. Check out the blog for updates (prideofpierce.posterous.com ).