Carlo Petrini

thumb|Carlo Petrini in 2010 Carlo Petrini, AKA "Carlìn", (22 June 1949 – 21 May 2026) was an Italian activist, author, sociologist, and founder of the International Slow Food Movement, and Terra Madre festivals. Quotes Gastronomy is about ethics, politics, science, economics and ecology. If a gastronome isn’t an environmentalist, they’re an idiot, because they’ll never know what they’re putting on their customers’ plates. From the speech In Italy 2022" held at the Università per Stranieri di Perugia, 27 May 2022; as quoted in Carlo Petrini, fondatore di Slow Food, a Perugia: «La gastronomia non è intrattenimento, basta sciocchi in tv», umbria24.it, 28 May 2022. We Italians tend to think that "sustainability" is synonymous with protecting the environment and with financially viable business practices. Well, that is not the case; ‘sustainable’ means ‘long-lasting’. Our products must ‘last longer’; the focus should not be on increasing GDP growth, but on improving the quality of production, ensuring ethical standards, and adopting fair pricing policies. The old farming communities had non-wastefulness and the wise use of resources in their very DNA. Now we have reached a stage of intensive production, harmful to the environment and biodiversity, which is fuelled by neurotic consumerism. We are in a new historical era, a period of transition – the ecological transition – which will last for years, decades, perhaps a century. This is because this process is so essential and revolutionary that it will require a fundamental change in our way of life. It will affect the economy, social life, and, above all, the ways in which we travel, consume and produce. You young people are the protagonists of this change, which is, first and foremost, an ethical one. You must act always bearing in mind that the planet’s resources are finite (let us abandon the axiom that underpinned the Industrial Revolution!) and that the earth — your earth, our Mother Earth — is already suffering greatly. The gastronome must be an environmentalist, and environmentalists who are not lovers of gastronomy are to be pitied. It need not be so, for ethical gastronomy is a path towards liberation. From the speech In Italy 2022" held at the Università per Stranieri di Perugia, 27 May 2022; as quoted in Carlo Petrini, fondatore di Slow Food, a Perugia: «La gastronomia non è intrattenimento, basta sciocchi in tv», umbria24.it, 28 May 2022. Incipit of some works Buono, pulito e giusto Carlo Petrini, Buono, pulito e giusto, Giunti/Slow Food Editore, 2016. ISBN 9788809820197 I would ask the reader for a little patience, as this chapter describes a well-known situation which I nevertheless consider essential as a prelude to the discussions that follow. A new gastronomic perspective cannot ignore certain observations, which must be made clear at the outset so that we may better understand the connections with gastronomic science later on, and grasp how the correct application of certain principles in the food sector can bring overall benefits in the future. Cibo e libertà Carlo Petrini, Cibo e libertà. Slow Food: storie di gastronomia per la liberazione, Giunti/Slow Food Editore, 2013. ISBN 9788809787353 I can still clearly picture Beppe Colla, then president of the Barolo Barbaresco Protection Consortium, weeping on television in the wake of the methanol wine scandal. His tears were barely contained, a mix of pride and despair. At that moment – it was early April 1986 – it truly seemed as though the entire Italian wine industry was finished. Storie di Piemonte Carlo Petrini, Storie di Piemonte, Slow Food Editore, 2012. ISBN 9788884993137 Manuela Ceruti is the daughter of a carpenter from Borgosesia, a town known since the second half of the 19th century for its spinning mills, whose economy has been based primarily on industry and craftsmanship. Like many other young people, Manuela left Borgosesia to study economics in Pavia and, until she was thirty, believed that her future lay elsewhere. Terra Madre Carlo Petrini, Terra Madre. Come non farci mangiare dal cibo, Giunti/Slow Food Editore, 2009. ISBN 9788809744363 Terra Madre is a new initiative that has been making its mark on the global political and economic landscape since 2003. It began as a major gathering of people from all over the world and soon evolved into a permanent network – or, if you prefer, a collection of networks – in which its members across the globe work day in, day out towards a new economic, agricultural, food and cultural model. External links Category:1949 births Category:2026 deaths Category:Authors from Italy Category:Sociologists from Italy