¡TIERRA!, Lavazza's Responsible Choice, Part 3

In the first two parts of this series, I wrote about the choices that business owners make in running their business. In part 1, I contrasted the choice of greed versus social responsibility, in part 2, I wrote about ¡TIERRA!, a project by Lavazza coffee to create sustainable and autonomous coffee growing communities in six countries on three continents, and today, I'm going to write about the roundtable I attended that inspired this series.

The roundtable, Partners for Sustainability, Together for a Sustainable Future at Salone del Gusto Terra Madre 2012. The roundtable was a discussion between Daniel R. Katz, founder and board chair of Rainforest Alliance, Ana Paula Tavares, executive vice president of Rainforest Alliance, Carlo Petrini, founder and chairman of SlowFood, and Giuseppe Lavazza, vice president of Lavazza.

Carlo Petrini spoke first. I have been familiar with Carlo Petrini since I discovered Slow Food back in the late '90s. This roundtable was the first time I hear him talk. He's a very smart man, committed to his cause, and he focused on what the true meaning of sustainable. An interesting point he made was about how something goes from  being a viable idea to something so big, that is just talk. When it gets to this point, the idea, no matter what it is, is not sustainable. He followed that with a warning that with the finite resources we have on the planet, mass consumption, is not an option.

Next to talk were Daniel R. Katz and Ana Paula Tavares of the Rainforest Alliance. I have to admit, I didn't know much about this nongovernmental organization. I knew that their mission was to stop the wanton destruction of rainforests, but that was it. I didn't know about their certification program, which from the brief description I heard, is quite impressive. First though, something that Daniel Katz said struck me as someone who is authentic in his purpose, this is paraphrase, that he'd rather build a solution than a bridge because bridges can be burned. To me that indicates long-term thinking with the focus on the mission, not the personalities involved. Also, he mentioned that the Rainforest Alliance's larger audiences are the United States and the United Kingdom, not Europe. Hopefully, that will change since they and now working with Slow Food International.

Back to the Rainforest Alliance's certification program. Ana Paula Tavares spoke after Daniel, and one of the topics she touched was the certification program. She said that there were different specific requirements for the different types of products they certify, but a few general requirements include access to healthcare, high quality production standards, schools on the land where the producing community is located, the right of the workers to organize, and that the minum age for work is 15 years old. To me, this defines what Daniel Katz said about building a solution, and not a bridge. Having a stringent requirements is a solution for all the people involved.

Giuseppe Lavazza spoke last. As a student of gesture, I'm constantly observing people. It fascinates me, and intuitively, it helps me read people. Lavazza's gesture was the most interesting. During the roundtable, whie the others were talking, Lavazza sat there in listening intently, while pondering what was being discussed. When it came to his turn to speak, he spoke with pride about the history of Lavazza and their commitment to social responsibility. His warm smile, his bright eyes and animated gesture, reinforced his genuine commitment to ¡TIERRA!. When some challenges were presented to him about the future direction of sustainability, especially in Africa, he sat listening intently again, and I'm convinced he took these challenges to heart.

All in all, this was a fascinating discussion to me. I learned a lot since I do have a keen interest in socially responsible business practices. Now that I'm aware of the scope of ¡TIERRA!, and the challenges that exist, I'll be following this project to see how it progresses, and to see if Lavazza caries on the sentiment expressed by Luigi Lavazza in 1935, "I don’t want to be part of a world that destroys Nature’s treasures.”

Time will tell, and so will social media.

¡TIERRA!, Lavazza's Responsible Choice, Part 2

In my previous post, I contrasted the sustainable and socially responsible choice that Luiggi Lavazza made in 1935 to change his business vision, with the choice of greed that some American corporations indicated they will make in 2014 when a new health care law goes into effect.

From Lavazza's Code of Ethics page (yes, a stated code of ethics) on their website:

The Lavazza Group has always been committed to observing all legislation applicable to the various business units, in the firm belief that the way in which business is conducted is just as important as the profits achieved and that nobody should operate under the false assumption that business targets are more important than legal and ethical standards.

¡TIERRA! is a project that demonstrates the Lavazza Foundation's commitment to a sustainable and socially responsible business model. The project started in 2002 and involves six coffee growing communities in Honduras, Peru, Colombia, India, Brazil and Tanzania. The project is focused on three key initiatives, the quality of the product sold to consumers. the living conditions in countries where the coffee is produced, and environmental protection. Logic tells me these intitavies are smart, long-term benefits to all, and not short-term benefits for a few. The success of this project is demonstrated by the fact that in 2009, three communities in Peru, Honduras and Colombia are now autonomous.

Lavazza ¡Tierra!, is the product that is the result of this project. It is a coffee that is 100% Arabica that is produced fully from sustainable farming. It's  certified by the Rainforest Alliance, an non-governmental organization that I will write more about next week. They are an excellent organization, with rigid standards required for their certification. The certification has been received for the coffee produced by the Peru, Honduras and Colombia communities, and is being pursued for the India, Brazil and Tanzania communities.

The coffee has a beautiful color, an enticing aroma, and bold, deep flavor without any burnt or acidic notes in the either the flavor or finish. I like it. A lot. When I first saw the Good Coffee, Good Karma tagline, the skeptic in me came out. After this roundtable though, I'm a firm believer that this tag line is apt. Let's a take a look at the Tanzania project as one example that kicked the skeptic to the curb.

In Tanzania, the project involves 750 local producers and their families. A school has been built, MaseRing Nursery School in the village of Maande in the Kirua region. The village sits at an altitude of slightly more than 3,900 feet on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro. The school will function as a the hub of the community  will use Montessori method to the teach children, enabling them to work towards their future human potential. The school will also be used for adults to meet and organize, and attend adult training sessions. The goal here is for the Tanzania community to achieve independence like the ¡Tierra! communities in Peru, Honduras and Colombia. From a Lavazza Press kit about the Tanzania ¡Tierra! community:

The main phases to achieve independence will have to be carried out in Tanzania as well: improving the living conditions, social development and economic growth of farming communities, improving the liveability of the territory, developing high-quality productions that are increasingly ecological and profitable, thanks to new agricultural techniques and production tools, aimed at greater competitiveness and independence.

In detail, the new ¡Tierra! phase in Tanzania saw the involvement of 750 coffee-growers and their families, for a total of about 3,750 people. The work carried out benefited from the ongoing collaboration of international and local partners, including Kirua West Cooperative Union (KWCU), Kirua Children Association (KChA), Kilimanjaro Native Cooperative Union (KNCU), Tanzania Coffee Research Institute (TaCRI), Tanzania Coffee Board (TCB), and City Coffee Ltd.

The ¡Tierra! project in Tanzania is aimed at providing constant training to coffee-growers, guaranteeing the quality of their product and improving economic and social sustainability, thus enabling them to access the international market and, in the near future, also to sell their coffee independently and in a competitive way.

There's nothing more that I can add to that except thank you to Lavazza for doing this, and to encourage you to look for all Lavazza products where you shop. You can go here to find ¡TIERRA!, scroll down to the fifth row. Amazon.com also carries it through the same seller as the previous link.

Steve Mc Curry is an excellent photographer, and storyteller whose work is world-renowned. He's taken the journey with ¡TIERRA! since the start, and here are some of his photographs that Lavazza provided at the roundtable. Click on a thumbnail, and the gallery will open on separate page where you can click through all the images.

Next week, I will write about the participants in the roundtale, Daniel R. Katz, founder and board chair of Rainforest Alliance, Ana Paula Tavares, executive vice president of Rainforest Alliance, Carlo Petrini, founder and chairman of SlowFood, and Giuseppe Lavazza, vice president of Lavazza, and what was discussed.

Gesture and Respect – Fulvio Pierangelini

As it turned out, the Theater of Taste workshop with Fulvio Pierangelini beacme an opportunity to hear him speak from the heart. He did prepare the food on site. The kitchen was off to the side of the theater. It couldn't have been better. Hearing the words, and seeing the emotions of the man behind the plate brought the expereince to a level that exceeded any expectations I had. Everything I've read about Pierangelini and his philosphy about food, endeared me to the man. He cooks from deep within his soul. As he said at the event, there's a transfer of energy when you cook, so it's important to respect where the food came from, and to demonstrate this respect in gesture when cooking. For example, for his Chickpea Puree with Shrimp, he won't allow anyone else to shelf the shrimp. He will do do so he sure the shrimp have been caressed before being placed on the plate. It's obvious from the dish I sampled, that he embodies his own philosphy. As a side note, I'm a big observer of gesture, so to hear this as core principle of philosophy captures my fascination.

It was more of a conversation than a talk. At first, he chose to sit on the edge of the stage instead of standing on it. He said he felt more comfortable sitting down and talking to people. I liked that. It's was more informal, and it felt like my family tradition to sit down at the kitchen table while sharing food and conversation.

There were many Pierangelini quotes that I loved, but this one in particular, "The more simple the dish, the greater margin of error," stuck out in the context of the gesture and respect he kept referring to. This dish we sampled was shrimp, chickpea puree and olive oil. When you have three basic components to a dish, they must all compliment each other, and each must the highest quality. "It's better to make an excellent Veal Cutlet Milanese, than it is to make a mediocre Chocolate Sole," was another Pierangelini quote. He was saying that technique was more important than trying to invent something that doesn't work. "Sole does not need to be cooked with chocolate," and he's right. There is no respect for the nature of either of those ingredients, and the gesture of combining the two demonstrates a need to invent more than to work with the inherent qualities in sole and chocolate.

Below is the dish I sampled. Very simple, and respectful. Pierangelini said he's not much for decoration. He feels it's an unecessary gesture. He wants the ingredients to speak for themselves, and they did in the form of poetry.

This dish was sublime. If the finest silk was liquid, it would have the viscosity of this puree. The taste was fresh and pure, enhanced by a nutty undertone. When Pierangelini was asked about how he gets his puree so smooth, he replied that he uses the best chickpeas, and the water they cook in. I'd like to find these chickpeas.

The shrimp came from San Remo, and the fisherman who caught them was there. He spoke in a quiet, humble tone about how sweet tasting these shrimp are compared to other shrimp. They swim 600-900 meters below the water surface depending on how hot the air temperature is. I can see why Pierangelini chose him for a supplier. His respect for the shrimp was matched with his quiet and humble gesture when he spoke about them. †he shrimp were a deep red and white, and when sliced, a nice pure white. They were tender, sweet and slight hint of salt, which completed the nutty undertone of the puree.

Pierangelini grows his own olives, that should tell you about the quality of this oil. Quite frankly, it was the best olive oil I've ever tasted. There are many artisian olive oil producers at Salone gel Gusto Terra Madre, and I tasted some really fine samples, some will be written about in future posts, none came close to what completed that plate.

As someone who studied the fine arts in college, I never had the opportunity to hear any of the masters who influenced me speak. I would rank Peirangelini up with them as major influences on me. I've read a lot about him, and I admire his philosphy about food. To hear him have a conversation with us a group, and to cook his signature dish as well, was a tremendous honor. I thank him, and Slow Food International for allowing me to experience what he means about respect and gesture. Going foreward it will be a large influence on my work.

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My Plan for Turin and Salone del Gusto

I leave on Tuesday, and I'm excited and grateful. I'm scheduled to arrive in Turin, Italy,  Wednesday, at 10;30 a.m Turin time. Unfortunately, I won't get to the preopening press conference and subsequent events on Wednesday. My hotel reservation were wrong, I had to cancel it. The person making the reservation was confused. That person was me. I was fortunate to find a studio apartment about 3 miles away from the center of Turin. Check in there is at 2:00 p.m., and I'm sure I'll want to get acclimated after a long day of travel. Here's a taste of what's on offer for this week.  La Veneria Reale

My home for this four-day trip will be La Venaria Reale, a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), world heritage site. A brief description;

The Reggia di Venaria Reale is an extravagant baroque Royal Palace used as a Savoy residence in the 17th to 18th centuries. Built in the mid-17th century, it's one of the most significant examples of baroque art and architecture in existence and is one of the most beautiful royal residences in Europe. Inside are many beautiful frescoes and original paintings.

My studio apartment is located on the perimeter of this complex. The gardens are vast, and I can't wait to stroll through them. The video below will give you sense of their scale.

Hopefully, I'll take a gondola ride on one of the ponds in the gardens here, and there's installation of Brian Eno's music that would be a unique experience. I've been a fan of his since his time with Roxy Music.

Salone del Gusto Terra Madre (SGTM)

It all starts with a taste.

By understanding where our food comes from, how it was produced and by whom, adults and children can learn how to combine pleasure and responsibility in daily choices and appreciate the cultural and social importance of food.

As you can see from that quote, Slow Food International is devoted to preservation of biodiversity, and to the education about why it's so important. To that end, take a look the work of their Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, their education programs and their University of Gastronomic Sciences. That's an impressive commitment, and too much to try cover in one blog post. Once I get to SGTM, and participate in the demonstration of Slow Food International's commitment, I can provide real-time examples of what they do.

There will a large international Marketplace, where Terra Madre producers from around the world will have their products on display. There will be four plazas, three will feature Italian producers, one will feature international producers. There will be a tour for the press, but as I mentioned earlier, I won't be able to attend the pre-ceremony events. I have a tentative personal shopping experience set up, and I hope that does come through.

If not, there is so much being offered, that I'm not worried about filling my schedule.

Chocolate and Historical Caffes

Turin, chocolate and historical caffes in Italy are blended together in the official drink of the Piedmont region, the Bicern, which is a layered hot drink made with espresso, hot chocolate and whole milk;

The Caffè Al Bicerin has been serving the drink in Torino's Piazza della Consolata since the 18th century, and some authorities believe that the drink was invented there. Others believe that it originated around 1704 in the Caffè Fiorio which still stands on what is now Via Po.

The relationship between Turin and chocolate is honored with a yearly chocolate festival, chocolate tours, and a choco pass that is a tasting tour of some of the chocolate shops in the city.

There will be so much to see and do, and I welcome you along for the ride. I will updating the blog as much as I can. I anticipate they will be short bursts of information, with more comprehensive posts when I get back.

Theater of Taste – Fulvio Pierangelini

This will be my first time attending Salone del Gusto Terra Madre. The event offers an array of options for the attendees. It was a real challenge to figure out how I would cover this as a blogger. With all the bookable events, I didn't want to book myself into a corner by scheduling every second of my time. Being press, I needed to leave time for the opportunities that will offer. There will a lot going on, and I want to savor as much of it as I can. For me, that's not scheduling every minute of the day.

The Theater of Taste at Salone del Gusto, is an opportunity to watch a famous chef in action. In an amphitheater setting, while video cameras capture their every move and project them to big screens around the venue, the chef will prepare their signature dish. Afterwards, the audience gets to sample the dish, which in my event, will be paired with wine. Here's the Theater of Taste line up this year;

This year the Terra Madre network will be playing a big role, with six Theater of Taste events organized in collaboration with food communities and chefs from Latin America and North Africa: from Brazil, Beto Pimentel, cook and agronomist, and Roberta Sudbrack, exponent of modern brasileira cuisine; from Venezuela, Carlos Garcia, using local ingredients in haute cuisine; Virgilio Martinez, explaining the biodiversity of Peru; Enrique Olvera from Mexico presenting his evolving cuisine; and Meryem Cherkaoui, interpreting Moroccan tradition with cutting-edge techniques she learned in France’s best kitchens.

Closer to home, the story of Italian cuisine will be represented by four Theater of Taste events inspired by a book about Italian chefs, Cronache golose by Marco Bolasco and Marco Trabucco, published by Slow Food Editore. Come sample the historic dishes created by Fulvio Pierangelini, Davide Scabin, Valentino Marcattilii and the Iaccarino family.

Tough choice there. It would be worth the trip, just to attend the Theater of Taste events alone. My choice, Dishes That Made History; Fulvio Pierangelini's Chickpea Puree with Shrimp. How could I pass up the opportunity to watch Pierangelini's create, and than sample his signature dish? Since his legendary restaurant, Gambero Rosso, is now closed, and Peirangelini is now consulting, I had to make my reservation. For so many reasons, I'm glad I did. The biggest reason though, is I agree with his approach to food. Here's a quote about his approach from a 2007 Gourmet magazine review of Gambero Rosso;

“The first step in my cuisine,” Pierangelini tells me, “is to find the best materials, even those that others can’t find. Then it’s a matter of how I work with them. One must know them, feel them; one must decide all that one can do with them and still remain natural. To cook like this is to walk a tightrope, way up high, with no net. If I fall, I fall.”

I like this process of using the best ingredients, making them you own and working with them intuitively. For me, that honors the inherent goodness in nature. I take the same approach when I garden. I find the best, authentic seed sources, create high quality compost to nurture my plants, and then create garden beds  in the best location for my plants to grow. When I harvest the fruit or vegetables, they are the highest quality possible because I honored nature's process. I extend this process to how I prepare food.

I would've loved to have travelled down the coast of Tuscany to Gambero Rosso while it was open. Alas, that's no more. I am grateful though to have this opportunity to watch one of the top chefs in the world create, and to sample his signature dish. This event is one of many reasons why I'm so excited to attend Salon del Gusto Terra Madre.

I will be updating this blog as much as I can while I'm there. I anticipate there will many short posts, with some longer ones mixed in. I will have my iPad, so I'll be able to shoot photos/videos, write and upload all from a single device. I also have an external, solar/light powered keyboard which makes typing more efficient. Please feel free to stop by from 10.25-10.28 to share in this experience with me.

Licuri Palm Nuts – Woman Gathers and 90% of the Lear's Macaw Diet

So many stories, so little time. While reading through the information provided to me by Slow Food International's press office, I came across the the story of licuri palms. The palms produce a local, traditional food that's harvested by women gathers grouped together by a local cooperative, and the fruit is essential to the diet of two very beautiful birds, Lear’s macaw, which 90% of it's diet is from this tree, and the hyacinth macaw. Both birds are threatened by extinction due the habitat destruction of the licuri palm. I didn't know about the licuri palm until I read this article by Josenaide de Souza Alves, coordinator of the Brazilian Licuri Slow Food Presidium. (A Slow Food Presidium is a local project that focuses on preserving traditional foods and creating a viable program for local producers to stabilize production, establish stringent production procedures and promote local consumption.) From the linked article;

The imposing licuri palm is also called the solitary palm of the Brazilian caatinga, the characteristic biome of the northeast of the country, running from northern Minas Gerais to southern Pernambuco, through the states of Bahia, Sergipe and Alagoas. The palm was once an integral part of the landscape and its fruits a common food. Even O Tratado Descritivo do Brasil, published in 1587 by the Portuguese explorer Gabriel Soares de Sousa, contains a description of the flavor and quality of the licuri palm fruits.

That date, 1587, is significant. It establishes a baseline of knowledge about this tree in modern history. A lot of exploration of the new world was happening than, and while all of this was new to the Europeans, to the indigenous species of the region, these discoveries were centuries old.

As with any local food source, the licuri nut plays an integral role in the local economy. Here in the United States, a big push is on for people to get back to buying local. For many people in the world, as matter of necessity, it's always been the local economy  Traditionally, woman would gather the licuri nuts, and process them. Again from the article on the Salone del Gusto Terra Madre website;

In the Piemonte da Diamantina region, in the heart of the Bahian caatinga, the main harvest takes place between January and May. The bunches are cut using a knife or a scythe, collected in a typical basket made from woven lianas called a balaio and transported on the backs of mules or on women’s heads. The women both pick and process the fruit. Sitting at home or in the shade of a tree, they use a stone to break the shells of the small nuts.

The nuts are also part of the traditional Easter meal in the region. Since 2005, a cooperative, Coopes, groups 120 different woman gathers from 30 communities to harvest the nuts, and process them into products for sale.

As with most local food sources, the licuri nut is a food source for all inhabitants of the region, including the hyacinth macaw and Lear’s macaw. From the link;

An amazing 90% of the Lear’s macaw’s diet comes from the Licuri palm. There can therefore be no confusing the fact that the macaws are totally dependant on this palm and their conservation has to ensure the continuation of the Licuri into the future. Unfortunately however, as the human population in this region has expanded the number of small subsistence farms have increased, further reducing the available natural habitat. Perhaps an even greater concern is the grazing of cattle over large ranches. In many case land is cleared by fire and consequently many Licuri palms are lost. Efforts may be made to protect adult palms by the people clearing the land but this is only because their fruit bunches can be fed to cattle.

Think about that, what if your 90% of your diet was from one source and it was disappearing? Scary prospect I would say. As mentioned, the pressure on the licuri plam comes from land being cleared by fire. The fact that one species of life relies on the fruit of this tree for 90% of its diet, should raise the value of this tree above anymore land needed for cattle grazing.

This tree was described in 1587 by an explorer of the new world. The nut of this tree provides 9o% of the diet of the Lear's Macaw, and is traditional food of the people who live in this region of Brazil. It's part of their Easter meal, which to the people who are devout, and celebrate Easter, this holiday is most revered. It's demonstrates of the value of biodiversity, that being the dependence on one tree for one species of a bird.

Brazilian Licuri Slow Food Presidium is a great example of the role of a Slow Food Presidium. To the local populations, the licuri plam is staple in their lives and traditions, and essential to the survival of Lear's Macaw. To lose the palm and Lear's Macaw would be tragic. With a local Slow Food Presidium working to ensure the survival of the licuri palm, the chances are much better for survival, and to ensure that part of the inherent biodiversity of our planet doesn't disappear.

This is one example of the information that will be shared at Salone Del Gusso Terra Madre. Josenaide de Souza Alves, coordinator of the Brazilian Licuri Slow Food Presidium will be there. If I find him, and  some licuri nuts at the Marketplace, I'll be sure to let you know.

Countdown to Terra Madre – A Primer

A month from now, October 23, 2012, I will be leaving for Salone del Gusto Terra Madre in Turin, Italy. I didn't plan to have my first post up exactly a month out. It just worked out that way. (wink) I'm excited and honored to be attending as press since my paternal grandparents are from Calabria, and my maternal grandparents are from Basilicata. All of them were from farming families. I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to attend this event, whose organizer works to preserve food heritage and traditional farming practices. That honors my heritage. The high fructose corn syrup free icing on the cake would be, if my dual citizenship with Italy is confirmed before I leave. It will be close. In April, I was told it would be at least six months before I would received my certificate of Italian citizenship. October is the sixth month. Considering this is my first trip to Italy, taking the first step onto Italian soil as citizen, would  a moment on my lifetime. If not THE moment.

If the above is not enough inspiration, there's more. Slow Food International (SFI) has put together a comprehensive educational event that fosters a strong community. Let's start with SFI's description of the event from a recent press release;

For the first time, Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre merge to create a single event that will be held on October 25-29, 2012 in Turin, Italy. The biennial event organized by Slow Food, the City of Turin and the Region of Piedmont in collaboration with the Italian Ministry for Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, will display the extraordinary diversity of food from all continents and unite small-scale farmers and artisans from around the world who follow the principles of good, clean and fair.

To support this mission, the following will be presented. From the from the Salone del Gusto website;

Taste Workshops – In the year that the Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre merge to create a single event that can better communicate Slow Food’s message, the Taste Workshops will also reflect this change. They’ll be giving more space to the network’s key issues and campaigns: the importance of biodiversity and sustainability, the protection of the landscape and the rediscovery of traditional knowledge. As usual, they will feature tastings led by producers, chefs, winemakers, brewers and experts.

Master of Food: A Taste for Learning  – The Master of Food courses at the Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre offer a series of practical activities, stimulating and reinforcing learning through direct experience. That’s the spirit behind the courses, “Horticulture” and “Cooking Without Waste,” dedicated to sustainable production and consumption and designed to cater to visitors from both Italy and abroad. The production and cooking techniques outlined in these courses are simple yet powerful ideas that have the potential to change the world. Translation into English will be provided.

Theater of Taste – Chefs take to the stage, surrounded by an amphitheater of audience members. Their every move is followed by video cameras that capture their dexterity and culinary tricks and broadcast them on a big screen. The chefs will be preparing their signature dishes for the audience to sample and reveal the secrets behind their preparation.

Meetings With the Makers – Eagerly awaited by connoisseurs and professionals, or anyone who likes the idea of trying out new beers or following the last 30 years of Italian wine history, glass in hand: Meetings with the Makers events are held in a salon in the heart of the Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre, where you will be welcomed with delicious tastings and delightful stories, anecdotes and confessions from great figures from the international food and wine world.

Dinner Dates – Take a tour of the world’s cuisines: 39 chefs will be coming to Piedmont for 23 Dinner Dates, hosted by prestigious restaurants in and around Turin and famous wineries in the Langhe.

Slow Food Education – To help explain how food changes the world Slow Food will be organizing many fun and educational activities that invite visitors of all ages to rediscover the pleasures of conviviality, shop and eat responsibly, respect the seasons, benefit from biodiversity, train the senses and get to know the people who farm, catch and produce the foods that end up on our plates every day.

Conferences – Food changes the world through the choices of responsible consumers, chefs and producers who care about the stories of the products that they eat, cook and make. The Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre Conferences are an opportunity to talk about these experiences, to open up the debate on how responsible eating habits can improve our health and that of the planet’s and call into question the distortions and paradoxes of large-scale production and distribution systems.

The offer is on for a great experience. I can't wait. I seemed to have worked out some minor technical issues with posting from iPad, so I plan on updating as much as possible. I'll have more specific posts in the next 30 days.