Sustainable development blog : ecology and humanitarian aid

Coping with fast-food and relying on the "Slow Life" concept, the international association Slow Food has, since 1986, been advocating the "green gastronomy way of life". So far more than 100,000 people around the world have joined this movement. Large-scale food production and the fast food restaurant industry have distanced us fromour gastronomic folklore; this is a well-known fact. We are facing a growing lack of interest in nutrition and flavour, which has meant the decline of local farmers.

According to Slow Food, “Food must be good, clean and wholesome. It must have taste, be produced without harming the environment, animal species or our health, and the producers must be rewarded properly". Green gastronomy was founded upon these principles and with the following goals:

1 - Respect for food biodiversity Food and recipes are part of the cultural lore of each country, and we need to protect this diversity. Slow Food acts through campaigns and projects to save natural food diversity and inherited food production techniques.

2 - Educate about taste Slow Food has set up numerous programs to educate or re-educate people about the pleasures of the palate, starting activities and workgroups at schools and during public events, market days, etc.

3 - Connect producers and co-producers Slow Food helps enhance alternative supply networks and sets up public events and market places worldwide to enable local producers to exhibit their food. All these initiatives together form the network Terra Madre. This movement has thousands of participants who work to promote sustainable food production.