ARK OF TASTE 2012-2017 REPORT

SLOW FOOD INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS Chengdu 2017

1 INTRODUCTION

An updated list of Ark products and national commissions and the product nomination form can be found at www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en

Cover: © Marco Del Comune & Oliver Migliore Pu’er tea from the Xishuangbanna mountain forests, China – Ark of Taste

All figures correct as of September 5, 2017

3 CAPITOLO 1 – INTRODUZIONE

products in specific countries (one on the Ark products in * has already been produced, and another on is 2012-2017: in progress). The number of Ark products has quadrupled in five years, and there are now over 4,500 on board, plus more than 1,000 nominations currently under 5 YEARS OF THE evaluation. The majority of the new products come from Latin America and Asia, two continents where the threat ARK OF TASTE to is particularly grave.

Five years have passed since the relaunch of the Ark of Taste project at the 2012 International Congress in Turin. Back then there were just over a The battle to save thousand products on board Slow Food Ark. A great number, but not enough, given the speed at which our biodiversity is the battle planet’s resources are being destroyed. The erosion of food biodiversity (edible plant for the planet’s future. species and varieties, livestock breeds, traditional We can all do something: reflect before buying our food, foods like breads, cheeses, sweets, cured meats, choose to prioritize local and seasonal foods, support preserves, etc.), the result of traditional cultures sustainable family farming, find out about the origins of and ancestral knowledge, has taken on a breakneck what we eat and, of course, nominate products from our pace in the last 70 years. In the last decade it has disappearing heritage to join the Ark. become associated with a new phenomenon that few can ignore: climate change. Global agriculture The Ark is a first indispensable step—we need to know is both the victim of this phenomenon and one of its about products and places in order to take action—but it causes, thanks to the industrialization of agricultural is not enough. We need concrete measures: supporting practices and the spread of monocultures. the producers with Presidia and Earth Markets, involving chefs through the Slow Food Chefs’ Alliance, organizing Over the past five years, Slow Food, with the collaboration education projects in schools, supporting awareness- of its wide network, has started an intense process of raising campaigns and much more. research and nomination of products and livestock breeds at risk of extinction. At times the risk of extinction is acute, Rather than dwelling on what we have lost, let’s at others it is expected within a few years unless we see a focus on what we can still save! slowing of practices like deforestation, land grabbing, the abandonment of the countryside, the concentration of production and agricultural industrialization.

* The book can be downloaded here: During these years the University of Gastronomic Sciences https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/wp-content/ has introduced the Ark of Taste project into its teaching uploads/2017/09/ADG_Peru_digital.pdf program, and its students have provided great support to the research. They have contributed over 500 nominations as well as working on publications dedicated to Ark

4 2 ARK NUMBERS

5 CHAEPER 2 – ARK NUMBERS

THE ARK OVER TIME

4512 PRODUCTS 4000

3000

2000

1087 1000

1996 2012 2017

COUNTRIES 148 160 140 120 100 80 60 60 40 20

1996 2012 2017

ARK NUMBERS

ARK PRODUCTS THAT HAVE 4512 PRODUCTS ON THE ARK 460 BECOME SLOW FOOD PRESIDIA 1144 NOMINATIONS UNDER EVALUATION 19 NATIONAL COMMISSIONS EXPERTS WORLDWIDE COLLABORATING ON 148 COUNTRIES INVOLVED 100 PRODUCT SELECTION

6 CHAEPER 2 – ARK NUMBERS

ARK PRODUCTS AROUND THE WORLD 108 - PRODUCTS ON THE ARK 62 - China and South Korea COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST 60 - 62 -Australia 69 PRODUCTS ON THE ARK COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST OCEANIA ASIA 479 AFRICA 457 60 - Kenya 38 - PRODUCTS ON THE ARK 56 - South Africa 56 - South COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST EUROPE 2336 Italy 787 - 174 - 286 - MOST PRODUCTS ON COUNTRIES WITH THE Americas Europe Africa Asia Oceania Africa Europe Americas AMERICAS 1171 151 - Peru 200 - Brazil PRODUCTS ON THE ARK COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST 338 - United States

7 CHAEPER 2 – ARK NUMBERS Ark Products

15 VINEGAR 11 SEAWEED 59 MISCELLANEOUS 134 DISTILLED AND FERMENTED BEVERAGES 13 CACAO 21 COFFEE 254 CEREALS AND FLOURS 145 SWEETS 870 FRUITS, NUTS AND FRUIT PRESERVES 15 MUSHROOMS 47 INSECTS 433 CHEESES AND OTHER DAIRY PRODUCTS 220 LEGUMES 77 48 OIL 637 VEGETABLES AND VEGETABLE PRESERVES 149 BREADS AND BAKED GOODS 20 PASTA 235 FISH, SEAFOOD AND FISH PRODUCTS 547 BREEDS AND ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 31 SALT 243 CURED MEATS AND MEAT PRODUCTS 175 SPICES, WILD HERBS AND CONDIMENTS 34 TEAS AND INFUSIONS 75 WINES AND GRAPE VARIETALS

100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900

8 CHAEPER 2 – ARK NUMBERS The Ark of Indigenous Peoples

Many Ark products have been nominated by Terra Madre’s network of 370 indigenous communities. ARK PRODUCTS Their inclusion in the Ark catalog represents a first step 717 towards supporting the communities, highlighting the value of their traditional food systems. ARK PRODUCTS Indeed, 67% of the world’s biodiversity is found in 43 THAT HAVE BECOME PRESIDIA indigenous lands and 95% of our cultural and linguistic diversity is preserved by these peoples. INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES Work on the Ark is part of a wider Slow Food and Terra 370 Madre campaign to defend the rights and cultures of indigenous peoples. 76 COUNTRIES INVOLVED

Above: Desert Quandong (Australia) To the right:Serra Catarina Nut (Brasil)

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION BY CONTINENT AND COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST INDIGENOUS PRODUCTS ON THE ARK

EUROPE 40 AMERICAS ASIA 288 143 16 - AFRICA 63 - Argentine 203 75 - India OCEANIA 43 Americas 40 - Kenya Europe Africa 40 - Australia Asia Oceania

9 CHAEPER 2 – ARK NUMBERS The Ark of Seeds

For over 10,000 years, farming communities around the world have been skillfully selecting, storing, CEREALS ON THE ARK reproducing and improving seeds, working in harmony 254 with the distinctive characteristics and resources of their local areas. LEGUMES ON THE ARK After every harvest they would set aside the seeds 220 from the best fruits, leading to better and more nutritious harvests and more resistant plants. But COUNTRIES INVOLVED every day, dozens of plant varieties are disappearing. 80 We are losing a world of different shapes, colors and flavors. Our diet is becoming impoverished, based on ARK PRODUCTS a handful of seeds produced by a few multinationals. 61 THAT HAVE BECOME PRESIDIA Just like a language, seeds are the expression of a culture and of knowledge with deep roots in a local area. By including hundreds of traditional varieties in the Ark of Taste, Slow Food is highlighting the value of a heritage that belongs to all of us. Slow Food’s Presidia are a powerful political move, encouraging and supporting the custodians of biodiversity, while the international campaigns like the one against GMOs inform and raise awareness about the threat to our Mossi Plateau Sweet Sorghum (Burkina Faso) planet’s plant biodiversity. © Marco Del Comune & Oliver Migliore GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION BY CONTINENT AND COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST CEREALS AND LEGUMES ON THE ARK

EUROPE

AMERICAS 205 138 ASIA 78 95 - Italy AFRICA 41 - United States 51 19 - India OCEANIA Americas 2 Europe 10 - Kenya Africa Asia 2 - Australia Oceania

10 CHAEPER 2 – ARK NUMBERS The Ark of the Rivers and Seas

Two-thirds of marine resources are currently impoverished, exploited or over-exploited. Waters are PRODUCTS ON THE ARK acidifying and becoming warmer because of climate 235 change. Over-fishing by big fleets from a few countries has devastated global fish stocks. The Ark of Taste’s COUNTRIES INVOLVED search for products is part of the international Slow 45 Fish campaign, which raises awareness about the work of artisan fishers and promotes the neglected species ARK PRODUCTS that survive in fresh or salt water and are often the 19 THAT HAVE BECOME PRESIDIA main food resource for small fishing communities.

To the left: Fal Rivers Oyster (United Kingdom) Above: Horseback-fished Brown Shrimp (Belgium)

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION BY CONTINENT AND COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST FISH AND SEAFOOD PRODUCTS ON THE ARK

EUROPE 89 AMERICAS ASIA 84 30 23 - Italy AFRICA 20 - Brazil 24 9 - South Korea OCEANIA 8 Americas 6 - Uganda Europe Africa 6 - Australia Asia Oceania

11 CHAEPER 2 – ARK NUMBERS The Ark of Bees

Over 80% of flowering plants are pollinated by insects. By transporting pollen, they make reproduction HONEYS ON THE ARK possible for most wild and domesticated plants. The 77 role of pollinating insects in preserving biodiversity is crucial. And the world’s 25,000 species of wild and BEES ON THE ARK domesticated bees are the most important of these 15 pollinators. Additionally, even before agriculture and beekeeping COUNTRIES INVOLVED developed as we know them today, people were 32 collecting honey from wild bees. Honey is still found in many cultures and culinary traditions. ARK PRODUCTS But in Western countries honey bees are dying 12 THAT HAVE BECOME PRESIDIA because of the use of pesticides or attacks of varroa mites, while in the global south their habitats are at risk from deforestation. The Ark includes many local types of bee and wild species of culinary interest, while Slow Food uses its campaigns to raise public awareness about the role of bees in our planet’s future.

Sicilian Black Bee (, Italy) © Alberto Peroli

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION BY CONTINENT AND COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST BEES AND HONEY PRODUCTS ON THE ARK

EUROPE 26 AMERICAS ASIA 23 7 10 - Italy 3 - United Kingdom AFRICA 11 - Brazil 3 - 22 2 - China Americas 6 - Unite States Europe 3 - Peru 2 - India OCEANIA 2 - Indonesia 2 Africa 5 - Kenya Asia 4 - Ethiopia Oceania 3 - South Africa 2 - Australia

12 CHAEPER 2 – ARK NUMBERS Animals on the Ark

547 ANIMAL BREEDS ON THE ARK 52 GOAT BREEDS ON THE ARK ANIMAL BREEDS ON THE ARK 60 THAT HAVE BECOME PRESIDIA 124 POULTRY BREEDS ON THE ARK 139 CATTLE BREEDS ON THE ARK 68 INSECTS ON THE ARK 120 SHEEP BREEDS ON THE ARK

Left from above: Navajo-Churro Sheep (United States) Ankole Long-Horned Cattle (Uganda) Maguey Gusano Blanco () © Marco Del Comune & Oliver Migliore

Right from above: Patagonia Guanaco (Argentine) Gournay Hen (France)

13 CHAEPER 2 – ARK NUMBERS The Ark in China

In just one year, 60 Chinese products have joined the Ark of Taste: an impressive achievement, made possible ARK PRODUCTS by the collaboration of the New Rural Reconstruction 60 Movement, a network of organizations that brings together experts, agriculturalists, academics and SLOW FOOD PRESIDIA agricultural producers working to preserve biodiversity. It 1 wants to give a new boost to rural areas and preserve the country’s vast wealth of food biodiversity. Alongside the first project started in China, the Tibetan Plateau Yak Cheese Presidium (2004), the country is now represented in the Ark by eight native rice and millet varieties (both grains originated here), ten varieties of fruits and vegetables, three types of tea, five sweets, three animal breeds and many other products, testifying to the richness and diversity of traditions and environments. They range from sweet potato and date rolls made by the Muslim community in Beijing, to Huanghua buns shaped like animals, flowers and fruit, made for centuries by the poor so that they would have something to bring to the altars of their gods, to qianshi seeds from a plant in the waterlily family, cultivated for over 3,000 years around Loufeng. Two native pig breeds, the Xiaohuo and the Qingshuidi, are also included in the Ark (half of all the pigs in the world are farmed in China, which is home to over 60 native breeds at risk of extinction), as well as spices and condiments like wild liliim powder, Peitian turmeric and Hanyuan pepper. China, which founds its agricultural system on heavy industrialization, risks losing its extraordinary heritage of agricultural biodiversity, traditional knowledge and local food production practices. This genetic erosion is threatening the country’s long-term food security and agricultural sustainability. For this reason, Slow Food’s work to protect the biodiversity and rich farming culture of China is more important than ever before. From the top: Tibetan Plateau Yak Cheese Slow Food Presidium (Qinghai ) © Paola Vanzo Kam Sweet Rice (Guizhou) Xishuangbanna Mountain Forest Pu’er Tea (Yunnan)

14 CHAEPER 2 – ARK NUMBERS

PRESIDIA AND ARK PRODUCTS IN CHINA Jilin 1 1 4 Fujian Jiangsu Tianjin 1 Shandong 2 5 PECHINO Beijing Jiangxi 1 2 1 Hebei Guangdong 1 1 Henan 3 Hubei Shanxi 2 2 3 Mongolia

Shaanxi Inner Chongqing Guangxi 7 Guizhou 7 1 Gansu CHENGDU 8 10 Sichuan Yunnan Qinghai SLOW FOOD PRESIDIA ARK PRODUCTS

To see the complete list of the Ark of Taste products from China: https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/nazioni-arca/china-en/

15 www.slowfoodfoundation.com