ARK OF TASTE · The Ark is a first indispensable step—we need to know ... Over the past five years, Slow Food, with the collaboration of its wide network, has started an intense

ARK OFTASTE2012-2017 REPORT

SLOW FOODINTERNATIONAL CONGRESSChengdu 2017

3

1INTRODUCTION

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

CAPITOLO 1 – INTRODUZIONE

4

products in specific countries (one on the Ark products in

Peru* has already been produced, and another on Brazil is

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 evaluation. The majority of the new products come from

Latin America and Asia, two continents where the threat

to biodiversity is particularly grave.

The battle to savebiodiversity is the battlefor the planet’s future. We can all do something: reflect before buying our food,

choose to prioritize local and seasonal foods, support

sustainable family farming, find out about the origins of

what we eat and, of course, nominate products from our

disappearing heritage to join the Ark.

The Ark is a first indispensable step—we need to know

about products and places in order to take action—but it

is not enough. We need concrete measures: supporting

the producers with Presidia and Earth Markets, involving

chefs through the Slow Food Chefs’ Alliance, organizing

education projects in schools, supporting awareness-

raising campaigns and much more.

Rather than dwelling on what we have lost, let’s focus on what we can still save!

* The book can be downloaded here: https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/ADG_Peru_digital.pdf

2012-2017: 5 YEARS OF THEARK OF TASTEFive 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

thousand products on board Slow Food Ark. A great

number, but not enough, given the speed at which our

planet’s resources are being destroyed.

The erosion of food biodiversity (edible plant species and varieties, livestock breeds, traditional foods like breads, cheeses, sweets, cured meats, preserves, etc.), the result of traditional cultures and ancestral knowledge, has taken on a breakneck pace in the last 70 years. In the last decade it has become associated with a new phenomenon that few can ignore: climate change. Global agriculture

is both the victim of this phenomenon and one of its

causes, thanks to the industrialization of agricultural

practices and the spread of monocultures.

Over the past five years, Slow Food, with the collaboration

of its wide network, has started an intense process of

research and nomination of products and livestock breeds

at risk of extinction. At times the risk of extinction is acute,

at others it is expected within a few years unless we see a

slowing of practices like deforestation, land grabbing, the

abandonment of the countryside, the concentration of

production and agricultural industrialization.

During these years the University of Gastronomic Sciences

has introduced the Ark of Taste project into its teaching

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

5

2ARK NUMBERS

6

CHAEPER 2 – ARK NUMBERS

ARK NUMBERS

THE ARK OVER TIME

PRODUCTS

COUNTRIES

4512 PRODUCTS ON THE ARK 4601144 NOMINATIONS UNDER EVALUATION

148 19 100 COUNTRIES INVOLVED

NATIONAL COMMISSIONS

EXPERTS WORLDWIDE COLLABORATING ON PRODUCT SELECTION

ARK PRODUCTS THAT HAVE BECOME SLOW FOOD PRESIDIA

1000

1996 2012 2017

2000

3000

4000

4512

1087

1996 2012 2017

160

140

120

100

80

60

40

20

148

60

7


ARK PRODUCTS AROUND THE WORLD

1171

2336 457

69

479

338 -

Unite

d Stat

es 20

0 - Br

azil

151 - P

eru 60

- Keny

a56

- Sout

h Afric

a38

- Moro

cco

COUN

TRIES

WITH

THE M

OST

PROD

UCTS

ON TH

E ARK

AMER

ICAS

EURO

PE

AFRIC

A

ASIA

OCEA

NIA

COUN

TRIES

WITH

THE

MOST

PROD

UCTS

ON

COUN

TRIES

WITH

THE M

OST

PROD

UCTS

ON TH

E ARK

COUN

TRIES

WITH

THE M

OST

PROD

UCTS

ON TH

E ARK

COUN

TRIES

WITH

THE M

OST

PROD

UCTS

ON TH

E ARK

108 -

India

62 - P

hilipp

ines

60 - C

hina a

nd Sou

th Kor

ea

62 -A

ustral

ia

787 -

Italy

286 -

France

174 - S

pain

Ameri

cas

Eur

ope

Afr

ica

As

ia

Ocea

nia

8


Ark Products

100 500300 700200 600400 800 900

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

9


Many Ark products have been nominated by Terra Madre’s

network of 370 indigenous communities.

Their inclusion in the Ark catalog represents a first step

towards supporting the communities, highlighting the

value of their traditional food systems.

Indeed, 67% of the world’s biodiversity is found in

indigenous lands and 95% of our cultural and linguistic

diversity is preserved by these peoples.

Work on the Ark is part of a wider Slow Food and Terra

Madre campaign to defend the rights and cultures of

indigenous peoples.

The Ark of Indigenous Peoples

288

40

203

143

43

63 - Argentine

AMERICAS

EUROPE

AFRICA

ASIA

OCEANIA

40 - Kenya

16 - Russia

75 - India

40 - Australia

AmericasEuropeAfricaAsiaOceania

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

717 ARK PRODUCTS

76 COUNTRIES INVOLVED

370 INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

43 ARK PRODUCTS THAT HAVE BECOME PRESIDIA

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

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For over 10,000 years, farming communities around

the world have been skillfully selecting, storing,

reproducing and improving seeds, working in harmony

with the distinctive characteristics and resources of

their local areas.

After every harvest they would set aside the seeds

from the best fruits, leading to better and more

nutritious harvests and more resistant plants. But

every day, dozens of plant varieties are disappearing.

We are losing a world of different shapes, colors and

flavors. Our diet is becoming impoverished, based on

a handful of seeds produced by a few multinationals.

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

planet’s plant biodiversity.

The Ark of Seeds

138 205

51

78

2

41 - United States

10 - Kenya

95 - Italy

19 - India

2 - Australia


GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION BY CONTINENT AND COUNTRIES WITH THE MOST CEREALS AND LEGUMES ON THE ARK

254 CEREALS ON THE ARK


220 LEGUMES ON THE ARK


AMERICAS

EUROPE

AFRICA

ASIA

OCEANIA

Mossi Plateau Sweet Sorghum (Burkina Faso) © Marco Del Comune & Oliver Migliore

11


Two-thirds of marine resources are currently

impoverished, exploited or over-exploited. Waters are

acidifying and becoming warmer because of climate

change. Over-fishing by big fleets from a few countries

has devastated global fish stocks. The Ark of Taste’s

search for products is part of the international Slow

Fish campaign, which raises awareness about the work

of artisan fishers and promotes the neglected species

that survive in fresh or salt water and are often the

main food resource for small fishing communities.

The Ark of the Rivers and Seas

84 89

24

30

8

20 - Brazil

6 - Uganda

23 - Italy

9 - South Korea

6 - Australia


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

235 PRODUCTS ON THE ARK



AMERICAS

EUROPE

AFRICA

ASIA

OCEANIA

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

12


Over 80% of flowering plants are pollinated by insects.

By transporting pollen, they make reproduction

possible for most wild and domesticated plants. The

role of pollinating insects in preserving biodiversity

is crucial. And the world’s 25,000 species of wild and

domesticated bees are the most important of these

pollinators.

Additionally, even before agriculture and beekeeping

developed as we know them today, people were

collecting honey from wild bees. Honey is still found in

many cultures and culinary traditions.

But in Western countries honey bees are dying

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.

The Ark of Bees

23 26

222

11 - Brazil6 - Unite States3 - Peru

5 - Kenya 4 - Ethiopia3 - South Africa

10 - Italy3 - United Kingdom3 -Turkey

2 - Australia


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

77 HONEYS ON THE ARK


15 BEES ON THE ARK


AMERICAS

EUROPE

AFRICA

7

2 - China2 - India2 - Indonesia

ASIA

OCEANIA

Sicilian Black Bee (Sicily, Italy) © Alberto Peroli

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Animals on the Ark

547 ANIMAL BREEDS ON THE ARK

60 52 GOAT BREEDS ON THE ARK

139 CATTLE BREEDS ON THE ARK

124 POULTRY BREEDS ON THE ARK

120 SHEEP BREEDS ON THE ARK

68 INSECTS ON THE ARK

ANIMAL BREEDS ON THE ARKTHAT HAVE BECOME PRESIDIA

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

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

14


In just one year, 60 Chinese products have joined the

Ark of Taste: an impressive achievement, made possible

by the collaboration of the New Rural Reconstruction

Movement, a network of organizations that brings

together experts, agriculturalists, academics and

agricultural producers working to preserve biodiversity. It

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.

The Ark in China

60 ARK PRODUCTS

1 SLOW FOOD PRESIDIA

From the top:Tibetan Plateau Yak Cheese Slow Food Presidium (Qinghai ) © Paola VanzoKam Sweet Rice (Guizhou)Xishuangbanna Mountain Forest Pu’er Tea (Yunnan)

15


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PRESIDIA AND ARK PRODUCTS IN CHINA

ARK P

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SLOW

FOOD

PRESI

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

www . s l o w f o o d f o u n d a t i o n . c o m

Documents

ARK OF TASTE · The Ark is a first indispensable step—we need to know ... Over the past five years, Slow Food, with the collaboration of its wide network, has started an intense