11.15.2006

By Mikey Azzara

(Editor’s Note: Mikey Azzara is the Outreach Coordinator for Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey.)

TORINO, Italy — Imagine walking into a room full of 5,000 food producers, 1,000 chefs and 400 university researchers representing 1,600 food communities from 150 countries.
Eyes widen and hairs stand up!
This was the scene for the 10 New Jersey farmers and chefs who attended the second Terra Madre: A World Meeting of Food Communities on Oct. 26–30.
The five-day event, first held two years ago, was organized by Slow Food International, a non-profit, member-supported organization that was founded in 1989 to counteract fast food and fast life, the disappearance of local food traditions and people’s dwindling interest in the food they eat, where it comes from, how it tastes and how our food choices affect the rest of the world.
With more than 80,000 members worldwide and several hundred in the Garden State, Slow Food was the perfect organization to call this meeting of Terra Madre.
So what is “Terra Madre” you ask? The English Translation: Mother Earth.
The topic: Sustainability and the creation of a vibrant local economy that provides food that is “good, clean and fair.”
In essence, Terra Madre is about creating a viable future for farms and farmers like us in Garden State.
New Jersey food communities were well represented by sustainable farmers, fishermen, food lovers, students and chefs of Central, South and North Jersey, including David Zaback, a 24-year old farmer at Cherry Grove Organic Farm in Lawrenceville; Gabrielle Carbone, co-owner of The Bent Spoon artisan ice cream and good ingredient bakery in Princeton; Meg Metz, 28-year old organic farmer in Hunterdon County; Laura Sayre, a New Jersey farmer and freelance food writer; Doug Duda, chef, educator, and New York Times travel journalist; Gary Giberson, executive chef at The Lawrenceville School; Katie Anderson, a student at Princeton University; Jonathan White of Bobolink Dairy and Bakeyard in Sussex County; along with the Cape May Oyster Presidia ... and me!
To open the event, Carlo Petrini, its founder and president, emphasized “we are planting a seed with Terra Madre, and that seed is the practice of the local economy ... (because) this local economy is in perfect harmony with nature.”
He continued, “We must adopt the habits that shorten the distance between the producer and the consumer, to contribute to the well-being of the community, to help those who work in the fields prosper, to give health, to give beauty to our land… If we want to bring about sustainable development, we must reinforce the elements of the local economy. ...”
Throughout the five days, New Jersey delegates could choose from a dizzying array of “Earth Workshops,” all under three main themes: Networks, specifically strengthening the network of and communication between food communities, cooks, and universities; Agro-ecology, all forms of agriculture that respect the environment; and Market Access, finding new outlets for small-scale producers who face competition from industrial producers and distribution, through associations and cooperatives and collaboration with cooks and universities.
“Earth Workshops” included integrated agricultural systems, agritourism, healthy soil, water, cheese, breads, coffee, beer and traditional brewing styles, producer-only farmers markets, health and safety regulations for small-scale producers, sustainable wine, honey, rice, roots, oils, teas, tubers, as well as the importance of food origins, chocolate, alternative energy, fruits, vegetables, local food education and the future of seeds.
We all came home with the “Manifesto on The Future of Seeds,” prepared by Vandana Shiva, a physicist and author from New Delhi, India and The International Commission on the Future of Food and Agriculture.
This short book touts the benefits of seed diversity and proclaims, “Every seed saved is a seed of freedom for the farmer.”
Concurrently throughout, meetings were held for countries and regions, as well as a Terra Madre Generations Meeting, which focused on the passing of knowledge and experience from the older generations in order to train a younger generation of sustainable farmers.
At the USA Regional Meeting, renowned California chef Alice Waters announced Slow Food Nation, a celebration of American foods to be held in May 2008, featuring a marketplace of more than 200 artisan food producers from throughout the U.S., as well as taste workshops and seminars on the life-enriching benefits of sustainable food and farming.
How else can we bring Terra Madre home, we wondered?
Many of us left with a strong need to educate the New Jersey consumer, especially Gary Giberson, Executive Chef at The Lawrenceville School.
“As a school chef, I view it as my responsibility to educate young people about the implications of their eating choices. Eating is something we all do every day, and if we can grow, cook and eat local, sustainably-produced food, we can make a huge difference for the environment.”
Similarly, David Zaback, a third-year apprentice at Cherry Grove Organic Farm in Lawrenceville, left knowing that “a farm is not an isolated thing, separate from the community, but rather we are producing food that can connect us all.”
Megan Metz, a Hunterdon County organic farmer, said she made a special effort to talk to other farmers one on one.
“We are a living history and we all have similar stories,” she said.
She was also fascinated that she traveled all the way to Italy “to connect with farmers from my own country, especially the Northeast.”
Katie Anderson, currently a student at Princeton University, intends to further push a Sustainable Dining Initiative for the campus and is looking for New Jersey farmers to supply.
And I have come home with a renewed spirit to continue my work promoting organic and sustainable agriculture, teaching young people about how food grows, and creating more and more options for our New Jersey farmers to shorten the distance between the farm and the consumer.
After all, in the words of Carlo Petrini, “we are all co-producers.”
Most importantly, in coming home, we all agreed that we, as ‘co-producers,’ need to take time to enjoy food ourselves, with our families and with each other.
As a first step, we are planning a huge Terra Madre Dinner in the next few weeks, combining some great Italian products like Prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Aged Balsamic from Modena, White Truffles from Piemonte with our own “Jersey Fresh” bounty!
If you want to come, just let me know … You can reach me at 609-737-6848, or e-mail: mazzara@nofanj.org.