(PNA image courtesy of Slow Food Negros)
BACOLOD CITY – The Slow Food Community of Negros Island will host the first-ever Terra Madre Visayas in this city on Nov. 15 to 19 to promote small-scale, traditional, and sustainable food production in the region.
Terra Madre Visayas is the Filipino iteration of the Italian event, Terra Madre Salone de Gusto.
“This event marks an important milestone in the Filipino culinary world, celebrating the diversity and richness of (the) Philippine cuisine. We are thrilled to bring the Italian global gastronomic event, Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, to our homeland,” Slow Food Negros, headed by its president Reena Gamboa, said in a statement on Wednesday.
To be held simultaneously with the 16th Negros Island Organic Farmers Festival hosted by Negros Occidental province at the Capitol grounds here, the event will gather delegates from various Slow Food communities in the Visayas and representatives of Slow Food International in Italy.
“Terra Madre Visayas aims to unite food communities, academe, youth delegates, and stakeholders to promote small-scale, traditional, and sustainable food production,” Gamboa said.
According to slowfood.com, a Slow Food community is “a group of people who share the values of the international Slow Food movement, starting from its primary principle: that everyone has a right to good, clean and fair food and that Slow Food will not give up the fight until every last person on the planet has access to it.”
Negrense organic producer Ramon “Chinchin” Uy Jr., councilor of Slow Food International for Southeast Asia, said both the organic farmers and slow food festivals will serve as “catalysts for change.”
“These would unite individuals and communities in the pursuit of a more sustainable and environmentally conscious future, ensuring a legacy of regeneration for generations to come,” he added.
Terra Madre Visayas’ central theme, “Visayas: Food and Culture Biodiversity,” highlights the festival’s commitment to eco-friendly farming practices and collectively envisions the future of food systems and the planet.
The Slow Food Community in Negros Island organized the event in collaboration with Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda, National Commission for Culture and Arts, Department of Tourism, Negros Occidental’s provincial government, 3rd District Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez, Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez, and Slow Food International. (PNA)
