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 Peru* has already been produced, and another on Brazil 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 biodiversity is particularly grave. Five years have passed since the relaunch of the Ark of Taste project at the 2012 Slow Food 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 CHAEPER 2– ARK PRODUCTS AROUNDTHEWORLD EUROPE 2336 ASIA AMERICAS 479 1171 COUNTRIES WITH THE COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST MOST PRODUCTS ON PRODUCTS ON THE ARK AFRICA 787 - Italy 108 - India COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST 286 - France PRODUCTS ON THE ARK 457 62 - Philippines 174 - Spain OCEANIA 60 - China and South Korea 7 338 - United States COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST 69 200 - Brazil PRODUCTS ON THE ARK 151 - Peru 60 - Kenya COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST 56 - South Africa PRODUCTS ON THE ARK 38 - Morocco 62 -Australia Americas Europe Africa Asia Oceania 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 HONEY 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 Araucaria Nut (Brasil) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION BY CONTINENT AND COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST INDIGENOUS PRODUCTS ON THE ARK EUROPE 40 AMERICAS ASIA 288 143 16 - Russia 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