Slow Food home | About us | Foundation | Editore | Sloweb | Press Office | Store     Sloweb     Home | Sloweek | Voices from the Slow world | Slow Talk | News | Watch & Listen             Brotherhood Across the Balkans 27 Jul 10 - Sloweb A communal desire to support small-scale traditional producers in the face of growing threats from regulations and the food industry united food communities from ten countries across the Balkan Peninsula last week for the first ever Terra Madre Balkans. During the three-day event in Sofia, Bulgaria, 165 representatives from Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, UNMIK Kosovo, Macedonia, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey took part in an exhibition area as well as conferences and workshops on the topics of sustainable food production and rural tourism development in the region, with a central focus on the fate of traditional foods in light of EU-membership. “Throughout the region home-made production is still widespread, demonstrating that food traditions are still playing a fundamental role in rural Balkan culture,” says Michele Rumiz, Slow Food co-ordinator for the Balkan region. “However those making a living as rural farmers often produce at too small-scale a level, and are threatened by the growing presence of industrial food. Furthermore, consumers don’t yet appreciate the value of artisan produce and public institutions often perceive them as a useless legacy of the past to be overcome, rather than a resource.” “Most of the countries in this area also have food safety standards that favor industrial production, which often means that small-scale producers cannot access the market,” says Rumiz. Strict safety standards imposed by the European Union and national governments pose further barrier to farmers, and, despite the benefits of small-scale farming to communities and the environment, many smaller farms in the area are leaving the food production system. It was for this reason that participants jointly called to step up regional action to hold politicians accountable for enforcing clear and accessible standards and legislation that benefit both small-scale producers and consumers. Themes of the meeting centered on raising awareness of the preservation of traditional food production and supporting producers to move beyond homemade production to artisan production to increase their presence on the market. Both Slow Food and the Terra Madre network have been well rooted in the region for a number of years, counting more than 500 members, nine Presidia, 47 Terra Madre food communities, and eight food and taste education programs in schools. Yet until now, the network from across the peninsula has never come together to exchange ideas in a meeting of this kind. Balkan countries share many similar food traditions and socio-economic conditions, therefore safeguarding their rural heritage needs collective efforts that go beyond national borders. “I have been to many meetings before this one and I don't think we’ve ever achieved as much as we achieved here,” said Slow Food Turda Convivium Leader Márta Pozsonyi who was among the participants. “We talked so much over the three days, staying up each night until the early hours of the morning, discovering our similarities and sharing our ideas. We have managed to create a real, functional network that we can now use in a great way.” For more information: Terra Madre Balkans website Click here for an interesting article on the event.   News archive from Terramadre News archive from Slowfood Foundation for Biodiversity News archive from University of Gastronomic Sciences News archive from Watch & Listen           News     United Kingdom - 18 Aug 10     Youth Food Movement at Terra Madre     The Youth Food Movement has announced it will host a dedicated youth area and meeting space at the 2010 Terra Madre world meeting of food communities. The space will aim to communicate the...           News archive     Brazil - 17 Aug 10     Gastromotiva     Terra Madre chef and Slow Food convivium empower disadvantaged youth to enter culinary careers ...     Russia - 16 Aug 10     Biodiversity Hangs in the Balance     Slow Food joins the protest against destruction of Europe’s largest repository of rare fruit ...     United Kingdom - 13 Aug 10     Food Justice     Slow Food UK praises social justice report’s call for action ...     Philippines - 10 Aug 10     Against the Grain     The Indigenous Taguibong people in the Philippines continue to practice the traditional rice threshing and milling methods of their ancestors ...     Georgia - 05 Aug 10     Meeting in the Birthplace of the Vine     First Terra Madre Georgia held with a focus on wine and small producers ...     Italy - 03 Aug 10     Strengthening the Indigenous Voice     Slow Food enters into a partnership to advocate for indigenous groups around the world ...     Archive previous news   Slow Food 2010 - All rights reserved - P.iva 91008360041 - Powered by Blulab