This year is special!
© Slow Food (video and text below)
"In 2012, the international Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre world meeting will be held together as a unified event for the first time, displaying the extraordinary diversity of food from all continents and uniting small-scale farmers and artisans from the north and south of the world who follow the principles of good, clean and fair production – food that is defined not only by excellent taste, but also environmental sustainability and social justice.
Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre will be held in Turin, Italy over October 25-29 at the Lingotto Fiere and Oval arena. The consolidated event builds on the success of the past eight editions of the Salone del Gusto - which has established an extensive network of outstanding producers, top chefs and supportive institutions and developed the Taste Workshops and other innovative food education activities – as well as the experience and knowledge of the Terra Madre network of food communities, academics, cooks and young people from 150 countries who have met in Turin since 2004.
The new format aims to foster the most important international event dedicated to food, capable of uniting the pleasure of taste with responsibility and respect for those who produce it and the environment. Thus, the experience and enjoyment of food and wine – one of the pillars of Salone – will go hand in hand with discovering the stories of the men and women who grow, farm and process food products sustainably around the world, and the places and traditions these foods are tied to.
Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre will explore some of the key issues connected with food production and consumption: from the role of young people and small-scale traditional producers for the future of agriculture, to the safeguarding of landscapes; from the fight for GMO-free farming to the protection of herders and small-scale fishers; from the need to strengthen the relationship between producers and consumers, to the promotion of responsible food choices made with awareness of their impact on health, the environment and the production system.
This year Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre are fully open to the public, offering visitors the opportunity to enjoy the tastes of Italian regions; to discover European, Asian, African and American food communities and Presidia and their unique products; to meet the people behind the 1,000 food gardens that Slow Food is establishing with African communities; and to participate in a wide range of food education activities for adults and children. The rich program includes conferences and debates, the popular Taste Workshops, Theater of Taste, Master of Food courses and meetings with the producers. These gastronomic journeys are lead by exceptional guides, such as well-established and emerging chefs, wine producers and food experts, offering unique opportunities to taste unusual foods and to get to know them intimately.
The future of food is the future of the planet and it is more crucial than even that we come together in Turin this October. A better, cleaner and fairer world begins with what we put on our plates, and our daily choices determine the future of the environment, economy and society. "
