Terra Madre Salone del Gusto is back in town!

 

The 14th edition of Terra Madre Salone del Gusto will take place in Turin from September 22-26, 2022. Terra Madre, the largest gathering of the Slow Food network, is a living example of how food can be a bridge to peace. It shows how, through inclusion and exchange, we can cultivate a better future together. The largest and most important international event dedicated to food politics, sustainable agriculture and the environment is organized by Slow Food, the Piedmont Region and the City of Turin.   Slow Food wants to harness the energy of its global movement by reuniting food producers and activists from all over the world in Turin. The goal of the event is to design a different future for food, a future that takes shape through the daily choices of individuals, in the collective efforts of communities, and in the policies of both public and private institutions.   Edie Mukiibi, Slow Food Vice-President, says: “Following the inevitable reshaping of Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2020 we are preparing for an edition where we will meet again; where the focus will be Regeneration in all its forms. To regenerate means to restore to a better state, and we’ll discuss that idea from various perspectives, favoring an (eco)systemic approach to what food is today, and what we think it should be tomorrow.”   While the 2022 edition marks a return to Turin and Piedmont, and all of the event’s traditional formats—the international market, with all its colors, aromas and voices—it will continue to expand its reach through digital activities; those who cannot come to Turin will nonetheless be able to join the conversations on the future of food online.

“Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2022 will be a great occasion to explore the questions that the current environmental, climate and public health crisis have raised, not to mention the geopolitical one, and the various responses offered. Our goal is to build a collective vision for the future of food that goes beyond political boundaries, putting the focus back on the communities who feed us and our relationships with them, as well as the wider connection between humanity and the rest of the natural world,” continues Mukiibi.   The regeneration of the event starts from its location. “We have chosen Parco Dora, a large park beyond the city center which stands on the site of an old steelworks. It’s a powerful symbol for the city and for Terra Madre, showing how ex-industrial areas can be transformed into green spaces, for the good of people and the planet”, concludes Mukiibi.   Regeneration is a transversal theme for Slow Food. Just as a tree that has lost one of its branches can grow it back, so soil that has been impoverished by monocultures and chemical inputs can be regenerated thanks to farming practices that nourish the land, ensuring nutritious crops, diversified diets and dignified livelihoods.   It’s also possible to regenerate abandoned mountain areas through sustainable livestock breeding and grazing, and reverse the depopulation of the highlands. Freshwater and saltwater ecosystems can be regenerated with the traditional knowledge of the cultures who handed down their techniques for centuries. Last but not least, cities can be regenerated by reducing the distance between food production and consumption. This distance, which is both physical and psychological, has widened over the last century, rendering the production of our food largely invisible to us.   This edition of Terra Madre Salone del Gusto builds on the experience of the in-person editions organized since 1996 and on the knowledge acquired in  2020, when the event was held in a hybrid format combining online events and smaller offline activities where possible.     Terra Madre was launched in 2004 as a global gathering of food producers from all over the world, and became a means of developing and applying the Slow Food philosophy worldwide. Its name was chosen in honor of Pachamama, as the indigenous people of South America call Mother Earth, and the event is now celebrated by millions of farmers around the world. Ever since it started, Terra Madre has been the beating heart of the Slow Food movement, and it is thanks to Terra Madre that Slow Food has been able to spread to over 160 countries.