terra madre & italia

like a magnetic beacon at the end of an impossibly long tunnel, terra madre is actually approaching.  thoughts, which have remained in the stratosphere for the last four months—as animals died, as the summer never stopped, and the piglets were born—thoughts which seemed surreal are now here.  we leave for italy in five days.

let me back up. 

slow food international:  a most excellent global presence supporting local sustainable solutions, fairly and cleanly produced food, and healthful food access in all the most important places.  it’s a global organization made up of increasingly more specific chapters by which to describe its members.  individuals form communities, communities form regions, regions form countries, and so on. 

example the me:  jared, a (young) farmer living in athens, georgia (not far from atlanta), raisespasture livestock in the georgia piedmont, in the southeast united states, has many different ways of identifying with the international slow food community. 

terra madre:  every two years this community comes together in torino, italy, to debate, educate, share, and teach one another about the world’s many invaluable food cultures.  almost half a year ago people from all around the world applied to become terra madre delegates and represent their homelands at this epic gathering.

it fills me with overwhelming joy to tell you that i will be attending terra madre as a usa delegate.  besides myself, farm255’s head chef/four courseman matty, managing partner olivia, and my partner in tomfarmery sous farmer/chef francois, were also selected to represent.  delegates gather from around the world, from hundreds of countries, each offering their own local perspective.  the focus for ‘oh ten will be “cultural and linguistic diversities - in recognition of the need to defend minority ethnic groups and indigenous languages, and with an appreciation of the value of oral traditions and memory.” to learn more details about the conference please refer to the official description.

i leave wednesday night.  and to turn this dream into an even larger fantasy, she’s meeting me on the tail end for a two week tour of italy. we’re hitting rome, florence, and venice* on our way through a handful of (magical sounding) tuscan farms and inns.

i can feel the momentum of terra madre building and sucking me in.  it’s tentacles are billowing out of torino—expanding far and wide—and pulling it’s children in with its’ warm embrace. i see the salumi, and the pasta, and the vino della casa.  i can taste it.   i can see the fish mongers, the bakers, the scavengers, the musicians, the farmers, the pastry chefs, the students, and the butchers all around the world—i see them cracking that same smile i am, as they too are plucked away to italy…  

to find your local slow food chapter in the usa: press there

to learn about terra madre press here

and to learn about the salone del gusto (the tasting room) which is the edible half of terra madre, read here. 

and for athens folk who don’t know:  the four coursemen are delicious