Latest news with #SlowFood
Agriland
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Agriland
Blas na hÉireann rewards 3 Producers' Champions
Blas na hÉireann, the Irish Food Awards, has announced not one, but three exceptional individuals as this year's Producers' Champions. They are described as a trio of advocates whose work consistently shines a spotlight on Ireland's food makers and artisan producers. Caroline Hennessy, Santina Kennedy, and Anthony O'Toole are Blas na hÉireann Producers' Champions 2025. According to the awards organisers, each has their own unique voice and perspective, and their collective impact across Irish food writing, curation, hospitality, advocacy, and sustainability is both significant and impressive. Blas na hÉireann awards Chosen directly by Irish producers from across the country, the Producers' Champion title is awarded each year based on nominations from within the Blas na hÉireann network. It celebrates those who go above and beyond to support, elevate, and promote Irish food and drink. Founder and chair of Blas na hÉireann, Artie Clifford said: 'We are thrilled to announce these three unique supporters of Irish food as this year's Producers' Champions. 'Each of them in their own way has shown a serious and ongoing commitment to the people behind the produce. 'They share a deep understanding of what it takes to grow, make, market, and champion Irish food having all had a background in production, and therefore an understanding of the challenges that producers can face.' Winners Caroline Hennessy has been a steadfast voice in Irish food for over two decades. As an award-winning writer, author, MC, and editor, she has consistently used her platforms to tell the stories of local producers. With a sharp focus on sustainability and regional food systems, her work weaves the story of Irish food into media, events, and podcasts, helping producers reach new audiences and communities. Santina Kennedy is a food consultant and curator whose work brings Irish food to life through unforgettable experiences. Whether creating immersive dining events at the National Gallery of Ireland or developing food tourism strategies with Fáilte Ireland, Santina places Irish produce centre stage. Pairing food with art, place, history and storytelling, her focus is always on keeping local food, ingredients and their narratives central to a destination's offering. Anthony O'Toole, chef, writer, Slow Food advocate and lifelong champion of seed sovereignty, is behind some of the country's most forward-thinking food initiatives. From launching Fat Tomato, his organic, edible garden and horticulture project in Co. Wexford, to co-founding Taste Wexford and #thisisirishfood, Anthony's work connects chefs and producers through sustainability, education, and celebration of heritage ingredients. He is a sought-after adviser and an advocate for food as a tool for cultural connection and ecological resilience. All three now join the prestigious roster of Blas na hÉireann Producers' Champions – a list that includes: Darina and Rachel Allen; Rory O'Connell; John and Sally McKenna; Neven Maguire; Jess Murphy; Kate Ryan; Conor Spacey; Brian McDermott; Laura Bradley and Johnny McDowell from Indie Füde; and Simon Coveney.
Scoop
22-05-2025
- General
- Scoop
Guardians Of Diversity: Slow Food Highlights Seed Saving Stories For World Biodiversity Day
World Biodiversity Day 2025 falls this year just weeks after the release of FAOs 'Third Report on the State of the World's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture', 15 years after the second report, which aims to monitor and map the health of agricultural biodiversity. According to FAO, genetic diversity is key to creating more resilient agrifood systems that withstand challenges such as shifting climate patterns. Since 80 percent of the food we consume is plant-based, preserving a wide range of genetic materials allows farmers to grow crops and varieties suited to their local environments, enhancing food security and livelihoods. As the world faces widespread hunger, malnutrition, and poverty, exacerbated by biodiversity loss, climate crisis, land degradation, and conflicts, there is an urgent need to halt the loss of the genetic resources that support agrifood systems. Although the number of materials stored ex-situ (in bank refrigerators) seems reassuring, in reality, it emerges that about 20 percent of collected seeds should be regenerated to ensure germinability , and that, too often, information on those stored is lacking. In addition, traditional knowledge related to seeds is almost never documented. ' Dedicated policies for agricultural diversity in the fields are absent in many countries or do not adequately involve all stakeholders. In all 128 countries that contributed to the FAO report, instead, the presence of informal seed systems emerged, consisting of farmers and local communities that play a central role in the conservation of agricultural biodiversity and in defending farmers' rights. We need a legal framework that can sustain and grow agroecology, which offers a pathway for a transition towards sustainable food systems. We also seek support from institutions at all levels, to counter the serious risk to global food security' says Edward Mukiibi, president of Slow Food who calls himself a 'seed farmer'. 'Industrial production systems in fact destroy agricultural biodiversity because, by limiting plant diversity to a small number, they make ecosystems more vulnerable, putting our food and future at risk. They also require an intensive use of chemicals that pollute the environment and cause a loss of resilience of agricultural systems. We can nourish people if we support them to farm their local products'. The network of Slow Food activists around the world is resisting the loss of agricultural biodiversity by saving, exchanging, and cultivating traditional seeds. We report only a few testimonies of women, farmers, and activists who have made this battle an important part of their lives. Leidy Casimiro, Slow Food International Councillor for Latin America and the Caribbean, Cuba: 'The Slow Food group in Cuba has implemented several strategic actions to safeguard seeds, based on a deep agroecological approach and developed experiences. Among these, the Slow Food Farms are more than 90% independent in the procurement and conservation of resilient seeds adapted to their environmental and sociocultural conditions. They participate in seed exchanges between farmers and communities in the country. Many of these seeds are delivered to community nurseries for seedling reproduction and efficient distribution. We also implement international collaboration projects that promote the creation of agrobiodiversity networks and fairs. We involve women in food conservation and seed production: the active participation of these women and their families in the selection, experimentation, multiplication and conservation of seeds constitutes a viable alternative for increasing yields on the basis of greater varietal diversification. We have catalogued 52 products in Cuba's Ark of Taste, the world's largest catalog of cultural and traditional biodiversity related to food and agriculture created by Slow Food, and identified new products that should be safeguarded, such as, among others, purple malanga, honey from the melipona bee, creole pork, cassava, and agroecological potato.' Melissa de Billot, Slow Food International Councilor for Biodiversity, South Africa: '. As a backyard suburban farmer, I had been growing my own food for many years and learning how to save my own seeds. Since working on the Ark of Taste, the world's largest catalogue of endangered foods, I began collecting rare and endangered South African traditional seeds, such as Rainbow Maize (now a Slow Food Presidium, i.e. a Slow Food project that bring producers together and help them carry on their invaluable work thanks to technical support, promotional activities and exchanges with experts). Other Ark of Taste seeds we are saving are Witboer pumpkin, nastergal, mokopane African horned cucumber,jugo beans, Cape rough lemon , together with cowpeas, double lima beans, sorghum, millet. These seeds are being distributed to farmers and home growers in the region to start propagating and telling the stories of these seeds in the hope of reviving interest in traditional products. My food garden, The Seed Studio has been recognized as a Slow Food Farm. I am hoping that through growing the Slow Food Farms network, we will be able to expand the campaign of seed saving, by training farmers and food growers in saving their own seeds and creating community seed banks. This is key in unlocking the ability for biodiversity in agriculture'. Claudia Rânja, Slow Food Târgu Mure, Romania: 'The love for seeds was planted in me in the fall of 2016 when I volunteered at the Nyéléni Forum for Food Sovereignty, held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. So, in the spring of 2017, I started my journey as a gardener, on borrowed land, with 32 different peasant, open-pollinated seeds. And since then, my seed library (which I named FLORA, after my mother) has grown to almost a thousand different open-pollinated seeds. Every year, I grow a generous variety of annuals along with the many perennials that I have planted over the last 8 years, using agroecological practices and an agroforestry approach to bring balance and resilience to the space of the garden, providing shelter to many creatures and an abundance of food. At the beginning of each year, I plan the growing season, considering which seeds I have and/or want to multiply and save (between 70 and 100 different seeds per season) so I can keep my seed library alive. I share the surplus seeds mainly with the Slow Food school gardens in Târgu Mure and other educational projects involving children and other seed keepers'. To know more about the activities of Slow Food worldwide, please visit:
West Australian
15-05-2025
- General
- West Australian
Beautiful time to be o-live as WA celebrates fourth Olive Festival at Gidgegannup Small Farm Field Day
WA's annual Olive Festival will celebrate its fourth year at the Gidgegannup Field Day, with plans to again unite the industry with an olive oil competition, producer displays, tasting and much more. An olive grove worth of information will be presented at the Olive Festival marquees, with farmers and enthusiasts giving talks and cooking demonstrations on how to best use olives throughout the day. The Olive Festival is organised by the Swan Valley and Eastern Regions Slow Food Convivium and aims to encourage those with backyard olive trees to make use of their fruit. The group also wants to show the public how olive oil can be used and enjoyed in a range of recipes. Food will be available to buy from the Slow Food tent at the Olive Festival all day, including bruschetta with mushrooms, soup of the day and steak sandwiches — all finished with local olive oil. WA Olive Festival organiser Vincenzo Velletri has about 160 olive trees at his property on Toodyay Road and uses the fruit to create homemade olive oil and pickled olives for his catering business Il Paiolo, as well as for his family and friends. Mr Velletri is the Swan Valley and Easter Regions Slow Food Convivium leader and has been involved in the Slow Food Movement for more than 20 years after being introduced to it in 1996. Founded in 1989, Slow Food is a global grassroots organisation that aims to prevent the disappearance of local food cultures and traditions. Mr Velletri said the Swan Valley and Eastern Regions Slow Food Convivium had been working to promote good, clean and fair local producers by creating events such as this that connect them to consumers. 'Consumers play the most important role as their choices determine how food is cultivated and produced and directly impact communities around the world,' he said. 'Slow Food encourages everyone to reflect more on how our food choices shape the world around us and provides tools to help choose food that is good for those who eat it, good for those who grow it and good for the planet.' Mr Velletri said the event would be targeted at those that had anywhere from one to 1000 olive trees. About five olive oil producers will have stalls at the event, with taste tests of extra virgin olive oil, infused oils and preserved olives on offer — as well as the chance for festival-goers to talk to the producers that made them. There is also a focus on incorporating Indigenous herbs into the various oils on offer, as well as how to combine bush tucker products with olive oil to get a great result. A highlight of the event is the annual olive oil competition, which will be announced at the Field Day. Last year it was won by Jane and Jerome from SeaView Ridge Olive Grove for the second year in a row. Entries are due by 11am on the day of the Field Day, with the winner announced at 2.30pm. Mr Velletri said the competition aimed to give both seasoned producers and new entrants a chance to gain industry recognition. 'The judges of the Olive Oil Competition are experienced and trained professionals in the olive oil industry from Olive WA,' he said. A special display will showcase the machinery and equipment needed to run an olive grove, and there will also be a food stall managed by Slow Food volunteers cooking up dishes made with olive oil for patrons to buy. There will be cooking demonstrations throughout the day, as well as an exhibition of collectables, memorabilia and photos of WA's vibrant olive oil industry, and some olive trees on display. Among those with a strong belief that the Perth Hills are the perfect place to grow olives is Gidgegannup Small Farm Field Day chair Penny Morgan. She moved to Gidgegannup with her husband Jim 32 years ago and started an olive grove they named after their daughter Felicity. These days, they grow 1400 olive trees to produce extra virgin olive oil they sell locally and online. The Gidgegannup Small Farm Field Day is on May 25. To read the official program, pick up a copy of the May 15 edition of Countryman.
Business Insider
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
My group chat has spoken
There's something about hearing the voice of a woman long dead that might well give you shivers. It feels like a portal to the past. Especially when you hear her English trill say, clear as a bell despite being recorded on a scratchy phonograph in 1890: "When I am no longer a memory, just a name, I hope my voice may perpetuate the great work of my life." Then she announces her name, so that listeners of the then magical new technology would know who spoke: Florence Nightingale. You don't have to be a student of history to feel awestruck by the audio, and feel like the famed nurse is in the room. In a very real sense, she is: Her voice is vibrating against your walls, through your eardrums, in a way that no handwritten document can replicate. No wonder, at a time when the average smartphone user spends some seven hours a day on their screen, when talk has been subsumed by GIFs, emojis, and text-speak, that people are starting to yearn for something that makes them feel as strongly: voice communications. Just like the Slow Food movement of the late 1980s found fame worldwide among people tired of artificial fast food, audio is helping people to slow down the way they chat, and enjoy communication as a ritual, not a means to an end. I'm ecstatically on board with this. I live in Singapore but maintain a long-running WhatsApp group chat with old college friends from the UK. A few months ago, one of them, Matt, suggested a challenge: We each send a voice note once a week. His highly British rationale: "It's both more personal and less hassle than writing a big-arse message." As soon as we started, we were all surprised by how meaningful the ritual became. Every time I (literally) hear from the gang, it feels like we're not 37, but 19 again, laughing in our Dickensian student flat. Fran's habit of breaking into song midsentence, Kat's low chuckle, the background clink of cutlery from an English pub — they all communicate far more than any emoji or even an essay-length text. Things quickly got competitive as we tried to one-up our recording times. My initial four-minute piddler was quickly bested by missives doubling that length. But what I love most is how live they feel. "Just recording this on a train," one person will say, while another monologue might be interrupted by someone tripping over their cat, or peering into their fridge to decide what's for dinner. All mundane, slice-of-life filler — and yet the very essence of life — that we'd never even think to text. The fluff is the good stuff, the relationship glue that you want to hear about in a world urging us to always optimize. These voice memos have become more than communications; they're meditations, useful ways to get things off my chest. Even so, just starting the habit felt odd, at a time when most of us are constantly on our phones but can't stand making phone calls. It felt like being asked to tap-dance in a waiting room. As someone who writes for a living, I value the keyboard as a canvas to blurt, then brutally edit, my words to within an inch of their life before I dare hit send. Faced with the "hold to record" button in my group chat, I white-knuckled my way through a short monologue. My words doubled back on themselves, I lost my train of thought, said "umm" twice every sentence — and therein lies the point, I soon realized. Its rawness made it real. My and my friends' speech had the rarest of qualities today: unfiltered. Texting "prioritizes speed and convenience over depth and warmth," says Mary Chayko, a sociologist and professor at Rutgers University's School of Communication and Information. The retro appeal of "talk tech" can "help us connect to the source of the voice in a deeper, more personal way," she adds. "There are layers and levels to the human voice that simply cannot be found in text, no matter how elegantly constructed." Even as we turn to the century-old balm of voices crackling through the airwaves, technology is changing our relationship with the human voice. In just a few clicks, you can now bring dead loved ones back to life, provided you have a snippet recording of them. "Prepare a recording of the dead person you want to clone in advance," says the eerily cheery four-step how-to for the app VidNoz AI. Within moments, the marketing copy touts, "you can hear the voices of your elders again, or your grieving children can hear their loved ones tell them stories." Chayko is skeptical. She argues that even a near-perfect clone can never replicate the imperfect warmth of a real loved one's voice. It's like the difference between a real Van Gogh portrait and a perfect fake — the latter will always feel fraudulent to those who know it's a copy. "In fact, the closer the cloned voice may be to the original, the more unsatisfying and disturbing it will be," Chayko says. After all, the more an AI voice sounds like Grandma, the more we are reminded that Grandma will never be in the room with us again. But for the most vulnerable demographics, even a machine-generated voice can offer surprising solace. All over the world, lonely older people turn to apps like Alexa, Google Home, or ElliQ for companionship. "If the voice makes us feel something, it can absolutely take on some of the qualities of a real relationship," says Chayko. Unreal as these voices may be, their parasocial or what Chayko calls "sociomental" effect is undeniable. "We know that we are not sharing a physical experience with them, but we can still come to care about them, even a great deal," she says. Meanwhile, younger generations are combating loneliness with talk tech in even more immediate ways. At the height of pandemic lockdowns, Hinge introduced two simple remedies for dating at a distance. Voice Prompts allows you to send potential paramours a 30-second sample of your dulcet tones, based on a list of prompts like sharing "your best dad joke." And Voice Notes let matches flirt voice to voice, like the good old days. Hinge says both have been a resounding success. "We've found that voice features are a secret ingredient for sparking connections," a Hinge spokesperson tells me. "In 2024, conversations with Voice Notes were 40% more likely to lead to a date, and people who added a Voice Prompt to their profile were 32% more likely to go on a date." Other dating apps like Tinder and Bumble have also added voice features. Lesson learned: If you want to hook up, speak up. Anna Davis, a British teacher at an international school in Singapore, tells me she's found the recordings from potential matches on dating apps a mixed bag. "Somebody was once singing 'Aladdin,' you know, 'I can show you the wooooorld' — a really cringe version," she tells me. Most users who make recordings are guys, she says. Since women are likely to get hit on anyway, it seems less necessary for them to record a flirty clip. But listening to a recording could be a useful acid test, to help judge whether a guy feels genuine before meeting IRL. Different nationalities present themselves differently in front of the microphone too, Davis notes. "Americans are very in your face, and seem very put on, talking about how great they are," while "Brits are generally quite jokey," she says. "Singaporeans normally just talk about the things they like to do in their spare time." Others are even less enamored with voice notes. Erica Wong, a founder of a content consultancy who has worked with tech brands such as Google and X, finds them too time-consuming and impractical. But ask her about another retro talk tool, and she lights up. "For me, dictation is my default way of composing written messages because I've become progressively impatient with typing," she says. Wong now "types" both work and personal messages and emails with her voice. Voice notes may also be particularly attractive to certain cultures. Wong, who has Chinese heritage, notes that her mother's generation is a big fan, as a recording negates the fiddly need to type out Chinese characters on a small keyboard. And soon, Wong shares, her family will be starting a project with audio at its heart. "My family and I have just arranged to do a series of voice interviews with our 60- to 80-year-old aunts and uncles as a way to document their memories and stories, in case we ever want to write a book, or confirm something in our family history." Recorded by relatives around the world and stored on a shared drive, the clan audio will serve as a living archive. This urge to document and preserve our voices is not one that will fade away anytime soon. There are countless online forums of people desperate to recover voicemails of relatives who have just died. And every year on the anniversary of 9/11, people across the world listen to the voicemail Brian Sweeney left his wife minutes before his plane flew into the South Tower. His final words offer a poignant reminder for us all to drop the texts, and do what has grown to feel so unnatural — connect through our voices: "Jules, this is Brian. Listen, I'm on an airplane that's been hijacked. If things don't go well, and it's not looking good, I just want you to know I absolutely love you. I want you to do good, go have good times. Same to my parents and everybody, and I just totally love you, and I'll see you when you get there. Bye, babe. I hope I call you." I'd seen articles about Sweeney, but had never bothered to listen. Now that I've heard the crackle of the line and the calmness in his voice, I'm reminded again about Florence Nightingale. Will my and my family's voices be heard in the next century? Probably not — but I'm still going to suggest that we drop each other a recording now and then, especially when we're apart. There's nothing like feeling like your loved one is in the room with you. Daniel Seifert is a freelance writer. He lives in Singapore.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Charles and Camilla visit tomb of Dante, Italy's greatest poet
King Charles III and Queen Camilla capped a state visit to Italy on Thursday with a visit to Dante's tomb and world-famous mosaics in Ravenna, the day after a surprise meeting with Pope Francis. Thousands of people waving British flags cheered as the king and queen arrived in the historic centre of the northeastern city on the fourth day of a trip that also saw Charles address Italy's parliament. The 76-year-old monarch, who was briefly admitted to hospital last month after experiencing side effects from his cancer treatment, looked relaxed and cheerful as he shook hands with well-wishers, many of whom curtsied or bowed. The royals -- who celebrated 20 years of marriage at a state banquet in Rome on Wednesday -- attended a reading of the closing canto of Italian poet Dante Alighieri's most famous work "The Divine Comedy" before visiting his tomb. Dante, considered the "father" of the Italian language, was born and raised in Florence but was exiled for his political beliefs and spent the rest of his life in Ravenna, where he died in 1321. Charles, who has visited Italy 18 times officially, referenced the poet during his speech to parliament on Wednesday, part of which he delivered in Italian. "I hope I'm not ruining Dante's language... so much so that I never get invited back to Italy!" he quipped. - 'Great excitement' - Rita Monari, a 68-year-old teacher from Ravenna, said she was pleased Charles "made an effort" to speak Italian "because... when a person speaks your language, you feel closer (to them)". "It's a great opportunity and a great moment for our city, because it's something unique... there's a great excitement in town," she said. Paola Bonifazzi, 50, said she had travelled from Milan to see them "because I love the royal family and I love King Charles". Charles and Camilla had on Wednesday made a surprise visit to see Pope Francis, who is recuperating after being hospitalised for five weeks with pneumonia. They had cancelled an official state visit to the Vatican due to his ill-health but were able to fit in a 20-minute private audience with the 88-year-old Catholic leader. On Thursday, the king will admire Ravenna's mosaics from the 5th and 6th centuries and meet artisans who keep the ancient art form alive, while Camilla will tour the Byron Museum. Before leaving Italy, the couple will visit a market and meet local farmers whose crops have been severely affected by devastating floods which have hit the region in recent years. Many of the farmers are members of the Slow Food movement, which promotes local, traditional ingredients rather than industrialised or fast food. Charles has long been a champion of sustainable agriculture and has previously said Italy's Slow Food tradition are close to his heart. ide/ar/phz
