This is a CTP of initiative: Slow Food Italy
This critical turning point refers to the organization of the first edition of Salone del Gusto (“the Hall of Taste”), a huge showcase for foods of excellence from all over the world. This pioneer event took placed from 29th November to 2nd December of 1996, in the city of Turin (near to the city of Bra, the headquarters of Slow Food International). The aim of organizing the event Salone del Gusto was (and continues to be) to create specific spaces where food producers meet together and could present the products that they continue to produce following traditional practices, that fit in the “good, clean and fair” Slow Food´s motto. The most important characteristic is that, in comparison to other culinary events, Salone del Gusto focused from the beginning on artisan and small-scale food and wine producers.
The innovative idea of Slow Food is to create a new space where artisan producers could exhibit and sold their products “business to business”, between producers and operators or traders. In the pilot edition, the entry was restricted to the public and only 15.000 people received an invitation to visit the event. However, according to the Slow Food leaders, these numbers overcome the best expectations. The second edition (1998) gathered more than 126.600 visitors.
After the first edition of this event, Salone del Gusto soon became one of the world's most important gastronomic events. The last edition attracted to Turin more than 200.000 visitors from over 60 countries. This great achievement explains why the first edition has been pointed out as one of the main critical turning point in the Slow Food Italy´s timeline. Besides, during the celebration of 1996 Salone del Gusto, Slow Food presents its Ark of Taste project. “The Ark of Taste” has become the largest global catalog of endangered heritage food that Slow Food aims to recover and protect. Now, thousands of Ark of Taste products are presented in each edition of Salone del Gusto, including 300 Presidia products. The recent numbers give a glimpse of the significance that this forum have gained in 20 years, thanks as well as to the support of public institutions and the international media coverage.
The recent numbers give a glimpse of the significance that this forum have gained in 20 years, thanks as well as to the support of public institutions and the international media coverage. It has been pointed out that this event represents the first time which Slow Food Italy organized an activity that involves hundreds of people coming from all parts of Italy and even from some European countries. In 1996, both Slow Food International and the Italian national association were still small entities without the current structure and staff working in the headquarters. However, according to the respondent, the first edition of Salone del Gusto proved to be an excellent occasion to approach both food traditions and biodiversity protection:
Salone del Gusto and, later, Terra Madre, focused the public attention on the environment, the health of the environment, the issue of climate, agriculture and the effects of fertilizers on the nature. Later, increase our awareness on climate change and how the Western developed countries are worsening people´s living conditions in Africa. We have to contribute to the preservation of traditional ways of living in Africa. For instance, If Africa turns to intensive production practices, Africans will lose an important culture and heritage. Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre involved a greater sensitivity to the environment and to the African continent
When the first edition of Salone del Gusto was launched, the structure of Slow Food Italy was formed mainly by volunteers and few employees working for the headquarters office. The inspiring leadership of Carlo Petrini, the president of Slow Food Italy in these days was essential to the coproduction of the event. He and his colleagues were very proactive and creative. They innovate the way of framing culinary events, providing new spaces for traditional food producers and enhancing direct, face-to-face relationships between producers and traders and producers and consumers, creating a common identity that gathers food activists and people who claim on the regenerative values of food and community, not on the scale and economies of corporate multinationals. Petrini and Italian leaders comprehend food as a bridge that forges trust and community across boundaries, connecting rural communities to urban centers. Slow Food leaders that the interviewee mention are still connected to the Network:
One of the persons that compelled the Salone del Gusto is Carlo Petrini. I think he was the person who had the great idea. Also, there are other colleagues relevant, too, as Roberto Burdese, Paolo di Croce and Piero Sardo, who had the idea of creating our International Foundation for Biodiversity
They decide to celebrate this first edition of Salone del Gusto in the city of Turin, selecting a symbolic building, the Lingotto Exhibition Center, the former headquarters of the Fiat factory. It should be mention that most of the events organized in the 90s by Slow Food Italy occurred in the region of Piedmont, which supported or sponsored the national Slow Food Association.
The respondent mentions that the Italian societal context in these days was quite positive to innovative proposals in the agriculture/farming field. There was an increasing concern about the loss of food biodiversity and Italian´s culinary heritage. Despite the “consumerist” culture that many Italians embraced in the 90s, people always wanted to have more information about food and Italians were interested in participating in the activities that Slow Food conducted in several cities, like the taste workshops that the interviewee described in other CPT.
In these days, there was not regulation for farmer markets in Italy and the national initiative identified a niche of market to cover. The Salone del Gusto was an opportunity for learning, for exchanging experiences and knowledge thanks to face-to-face contact between producers and consumers. Moreover, the main goal was to improve the quality of life of traditional food producers, revitalizing rural areas and farming sustainable exploitations:
We are not talking about hobbies; agriculture is something highly important for the economy worldwide, as well as is important in terms of people’s health and quality of life
Finally, the press played a key role in the co-production of this CTP. The Salone del Gusto received, since de first edition, a positive and extend coverage from Italian and international media. The second edition of the event, hosted in the same place in 1998, the Salone del Gusto was covered by 700 journalists. The third edition (2000) counted with 2.000 journalists accredited. The media coverage explains how an event organized in a small city in the North of Italy has become an International event able to gather thousands of Slow Food activists.
Related events mentioned by the interviewee refer to the food courses that Slow Food Italy launched in 1994 too and that, he thinks, was a critical turning point that influence the following activities and projects conducted by Slow Food Italy, such as the Terra Madre Forum (2004) or the Slow Food University of Gastronomic Sciences, founded in 2004. Taste Courses also aimed to put consumers in touch with the producers that live and work in the local and rural areas, recreating the traditional relationship that was cut when supermarkets invaded the market place.
The taste education project was created to inform people about the Ark of Taste products, and to educate people in traditional, local, healthy food. Taste workshops were the starting point. Continuously, we developed the subsequent events that everybody knows, Salone del Gusto, Terra Madre or the Slow Food University
Within the first Salone del Gusto, the international network launched the “Ark of Taste” Catalogue of endangered foods and culture heritage. Later, in 2000, the network creates the “Presidia” project and, in 2003, The Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity is formed. These initiatives aim to recover groceries or animal breeds that were at risk of extinction with a global appeal.
The idea of creating our International Foundation for Biodiversity comes later, as well as the Foundation Terra Madre. This is posterior to Salone del Gusto
Later events evoked by the interview connect with other critical turning points, such as the first edition of Terra Madre Forum, called the world meeting of food communities, which launched in 2004, giving birth to the Terra Madre Network[1]. Until that moment, Slow Food was mainly a European movement but, as a consequence of the celebration of this 1st Terra Madre Forum, Slow Food was spread in places it had never been before, including many African, Latin American and Asian countries. Besides, the celebration of both Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre international events permitted Slow Food professionalize its structure in order to be able to fundraise and coordinate all the international gatherings and future and projects.
Without the custody of the territory, without the recovery of land use, the careless of the environment, the landscape, there wouldn't be food production. The work of land is critical. There organization of the Salone del Gusto was a critical moment, as you say. We were offering information on regional products. Terra Madre organized meetings between producers, but Terra Madre is a global, international movement and, within Terra Madre is Slow Food. Terra Madre it was another important moment, from an organizational, political, cultural view
[1] http://www.terramadre.info/en/organization/terra-madre-foundation
The interviewee did not report any counter voice against the event related to this critical turning point. Pioneers considered that the first edition of Salone del Gusto could be as a successful event and pioneers and the work team involved in the project had the needed experience to lead the activity in an appropriate way. Of course, the strong leadership of the charismatic president Petrini guarantee the success of the event and no counter voices arise.
Perhaps, some voices criticized the pilot edition in terms of the limited entrance, which was improved in the following editions. As it was explained in the above, the first edition was oriented only for food producers and market operators and traders. Wide public was not able to participate and only a reduced number of people could enter in the event and invitation, because the organizers underestimate the potential interest of the general public and, the event exceeded organizer´s expectations. Many people who asked to enter were not able to do it and protest about this inconvenience. These inconveniences were settled in the following editions.
According to the interview, the first edition of Salone del Gusto, in November 1994, was not anticipated at that moment as a critical turning point that comes to be. Actually, Slow Food Italy only wanted to create an original event where food producers could make direct contact with other professionals of the food sector. It looked interesting and they tried. But, in the first edition the coordinators were very cautious.
The forum has held in a small place where not many people were expected to participate. Certainly, the team involved had doubts about how it was going on, because Slow Food had not experience organizing such kind of events and they have no idea about the feedback of the public targeted. They had to understand well if producers were interested in it, but the certainty was only when the event started and they celebrate the accomplishment.
Only two years later, in the second edition of the Salone del Gusto, Slow Food Italy realized the real dimension of the event and future possibilities that could be developed. Indeed, in 1998 the conceptualization of the event change and turned out into an international event, open to the general public -not only for the food sector-. In the first edition only 100 producers participated in the Salone del Gusto.
In the following edition, this number increased more and more. In twenty years thousands of peasants, farmers and producers have attended the gathering. Press also helped to reinforce the significance of the event at national and international scale.
Learning outcomes from this critical turning point relate with the increasing interest of citizens on food topics which also connect with environment, agriculture and food system issues. Food activists learnt that “ordinary people are willing to learn about food, too” and join activities where to learn and meet like-minded others. This arising interest on food explains the big expectation that the first edition of Salone del Gusto created and that organizers were not able to anticipate.
Second, Slow Food Italy draws many lessons and know-how to organizing and holding an event of such dimensions. Even, the pioneering work-team managed to capture the attention of press, radio and TV, which covered the first edition in a very positive way. Also, they gained the support of public institutions, which endorse and funded the event.
Slow Food Italy took advantage of the positive outcomes and good reputation gained in the first edition of Salone del Gusto and launched, the next year “Cheese”, Slow Food’s first international fair dedicated to dairy products which was hold in Bra for the first time in 1997. Besides, as we explained in the previous sections, learning from this pilot activity allowed promotes to correct some errors and improve their organization competence in the following editions, growing into one of the most important international fairs dedicated to artisanal, sustainable food and small-scale production.
Besides, Such learning permitted Slow Food to upscale the activity to other regions of the world, such as the Salão das Comunidades do Alimento launched by Slow Food in Brazil in 2005. Also, Slow Food Italy contributed to the creation of Terra Madre network, in 2004, aiming to maintain linkages among practitioners, supporters, Slow food communities and food activists from over the world. According to the respondent, over the time, the Salone del Gusto gained in participants and diversity. Despite being hosted in Italy, it became an international event that enhance the emergence of a new cultural movement:
Terra Madre has become an international movement, present in all parts of the Earth
The celebration of Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre, since 2000, gives participants -in special, Slow Food activists- the opportunity to live a significant experience, feeling that they belong to a global community, that they are attached to a new movement. Slow Food has learnt that such international events are expected spaces for pleasure, for having fun with friends, but also for learning.
Picture: What media say about the Salone del Gusto
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