Slow Food identifies six key elements at the heart of the new report on the participatory process presented at the Slow Beans event in Capannori (Italy), which charts the path for the movement’s future strategy. 
The recently launched Slow Food Participatory Process Report gives a voice to the Slow Food network and outlines the results of a global debate among farmers, fishermen, food artisans, indigenous peoples, cooks, youth, educators and activists regarding a transition to a healthy diet, rich in plants, promoting agroecological agriculture and artisanal fishing.
“It’s time to say it loud and clear: we all know how detrimental the increase in consumption of industrial foods of animal origin over recent decades has been to food security and human health, disastrous for animal welfare and has greatly contributed to the climate emergency. “, comments Richard McCarthy, Slow Food board member. “We must act, and we must do it now. Our food system plays a key role when we talk about loss of biodiversity, emissions or pollution, especially when we refer to the impacts of factory farming and intensive fishing on the environment, public health , food sovereignty, animal rights and much more. What Slow Food is doing, particularly with this report, is developing a broader vision that supports agroecology.
“In this perspective, we must take into consideration the fact that a significant part of the world’s population does not have access to sustainably produced and artisanal foods, and we aim to give voice to the most marginalized segments of the population and shine a spotlight on the situation. to local needs,” adds Francesco Sottile, Slow Food board member.
In the Plant the Future report, the voice of the Slow Food network emerges on the most current topics ranging from intensive agriculture and fishing to pesticide use, from food sovereignty to public health. “The solution is agroecology, designed as a holistic and integrated approach that simultaneously applies ecological and social concepts and principles to the design and management of sustainable agricultural and food systems,” he concludes. Agroecology is much more than a simple set of agricultural practices and Slow Food, alongside many civil society organizations, is convinced that it can play an important role in changing social relations, empowering communities local and priority to short production chains.
Slow Food’s response
In order to introduce the movement on a delicate political subject and begin to prioritize actions, Slow Food led a participatory process with its network to gather their direct knowledge of the situation in their local contexts. Thirteen round tables were organized in March and April 2023, involving more than 200 people from around fifty countries, representing all continents and specific interest groups. These sessions discussed the most pressing issues around livestock and fishing in different areas, potential solutions and the priorities that Slow Food is committed to focusing on based on the needs of the local network.
“The purpose of this report is to provide an analysis of the results of this participatory process, which reflects and includes the voices of a global multitude, including groups who are often marginalized from the debate. These results will be used to develop a new Slow Food strategy to address these issues in light of the diversity of contexts and local priorities, and to establish a timetable leading to the next International Congress in 2026,” comments Ottavia Pieretto, Slow Food program manager. “The results reflect the complexity and diversity of the Slow Food network around the world, and what emerges is that there is no a unique path to follow to counteract industrial agriculture and intensive fishing in favor of agroecology. Instead, our solutions must be modeled according to the local environmental, social and economic context.”
Let us reject industrial farming and intensive fishing. Choose agroecology
By talking about “plant-based” foods, the Slow Food network seeks to distance itself from ultra-processed foods, which are typically produced from crops grown in intensive monoculture systems and which contain no information on the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. It is therefore important to highlight how a plant-rich diet incorporates the sourcing of animal-based foods from agroecological farms, while adding more vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, as well as mushrooms and algae, thus contributing to a healthier diet. Furthermore, the Slow Food network clearly asked to improve the agroecological supply of foods of animal origin, that is to say to support breeders, fishermen and cheese makers who put agroecological measures into practice on a daily basis .
Build on On this thought, legumes represent a valuable source of protein and offer a solution to many of the challenges we face. Their cultivation, if it follows methods based on agroecological principles, has a low environmental impact compared to industrial products of animal origin or the industrial cultivation of legumes, due to their significantly lower GHG emissions, as well as their less use of water and land. They should be seen as a valuable and enriching part of our diet, not just a substitute for animal products. That is why Slow beanswho takes held in Capannori (Italy) from October 27 to 29, offers the ideal opportunity to present this document.
The Slow Food Plant the Future report in 6 points
- Agroecology – For most Slow Food communities, agroecology represents the keystone to guaranteeing universal access to nutrient-rich and crop-friendly food; to preserve biodiversity and natural resources; to address the climate crisis and to restore agriculture and farmers to the central role in the food system, ensuring social justice and human rights. TWe must make it rain on agroecology at all levels.
- overconsumption – Meat and animal by-products are consumed differently all over the world: in most Northern countries, there is overconsumption of industrial products of animal origin, while the right to food of millions of people is n is not guaranteed.
- Resource hoarding – Populations in the Global South, as well as indigenous peoples, suffer from resource grabbing, a process that allows the very existence of the global industrial food system, based largely on industrial products of animal origin that depend imported food.
- Local needs – There is no miracle solution that can be implemented in all countries; Different approaches should be designed based on the most pressing issues in specific local contexts. To properly address issues related to the climate crisis, intensive livestock farming and industrial fishing, the key targets that have emerged are food producers, cooks, young people and policy makers, starting at the local level .
- False solutions – Concerning factory farming, the Slow Food network clearly expresses its opposition to proposed “solutions” that arise from the same industrial models that have led to the current food system, such as lab-grown meat, highly processed foods (even those based on plants). based) and the industrial production of insects intended for food.
- United efforts – Such a complex struggle must be a collective effort, uniting like-minded organizations, research centers, politicians, universities and local authorities.
This process was possible thanks to the collaboration with Meatless Monday, a global movement that encourages people to reduce meat in their diet for their own health and that of the planet, in association with the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.
THE PLANTING THE FUTURE. Respect animals, protect the planet the report is available here.
