Fair Food Fest

 

Terra Madre is a network of food communities launched by the Slow Food grass roots movement. Its intent is to foster discussion and introduce innovative concepts in the field of food, gastronomy, globalization, and economics - to build a healthy sustainable biosphere worldwide. 

Focused on the relationships between food communities, cooks, industries, and education - it aims to provide small-scale farmers, breeders, fishers, and food artisans with an approach to food production that protects the environment and its communities. 

Slow Food Negros, Earth Market.

We strive to spread more awareness of good, clean and fair food - locally in Negros Island, countrywide in the Philippines, regionally in Asia and the Pacific, and all around the world. 

Developing a good relationship with food is valuable and important to all. The central role that food plays in our home and families affects the overall health and quality of life in our immediate communities and society at large. 

Reflect on the central role food plays in our lives. Our ancestors lived through the war and told us stories about their creative foraging - as there was little food and there were the needy to be fed. How lucky we were not to have had that experience.

Fresh local produce for sale.

Our lola succeeded in filling the bellies of her 10 children on a very tight budget. Luckily, they lived out in the countryside of Manapla, where they would prepare meals with whatever could be found in the fields surrounding their house. 

Greens growing wild on the dark loamy soil, wet with morning dew. Snails around the banks of a nearby river that still had crocodiles in our father's childhood. The boys would go hunting and fishing as well as foraging for wild herbs and mushrooms. 

The girls would accompany lola to the neighbor who had a chicken farm across the road. They would barter homemade baked goods and preserves for some fresh eggs and live chickens. These are just some of the childhood tales and shared experiences cherished by our family today.

This booth had naturally dehydrated batwan powder as well as fresh batwan fruit, a souring ingredient used in soups and stews.

Being removed in a provincial island away from the hustle and bustle of big cities helped to foster a simpler lifestyle for many resident locals of Negros Island. Commodities are not as easily available and often more expensive luxuries than in the main metropolis. Living a no-waste approach provides an organic life – more closely tied to nature to teach us effective and efficient ways to be frugal without feeling the lack for more. 

For many, even generations later when the sugar boom brought more affluence – this approach was born in our blood and remains strong in everyday habits to conserve and preserve. Our mothers were raised in conservative schools run by strict nuns who were adamant we would not shy from honest labor and could provide for those who could not. 

As we grew up and traveled away from home, we were exposed to populations who struggle to find adequate and healthy. Food is the shared bond that holds all of us together. Those blessed with more can step in and accept the role of stewards, providers, caretakers. Not only for other people but also for the earth that provides us plenty.

Teas, chips, assorted seasoning – all naturally dehydrated, with no additives.

Sustainability might feel far removed from our everyday life and we may often think that our actions are not essential to change. Or we can easily be overwhelmed by the vastness or burden of what to do to make a difference. 

Nothing could be further from the truth – any change big or small, can contribute overall. The myth of the green consumer is not the only solution to pollution, inequality, and exploitation in any part of the globe. The slow food community is convinced that every single step taken is one in the right direction.

As a concerned consumer and committed partner just ask – what could be done to make a difference every day, in any way? Incremental steps in the right direction help – to enliven the mission to attain the vision of a purposefully directed life lived at its best.

(l-r) Mikolo Golez, Sylvia Golez, April Lacson - Slow Food Cooks' Alliance.

In many local restaurants, before putting something on the menu - one or two native ingredients are now offered instead. These ingredients are not chosen only by location but by who produces it and how it was produced and processed.

Having something propagated nearby is not the only key to sustainability even if that’s key. We need to find out who is involved and how it is done and delivered. Are pesticides present? Is any exploitation involved – environmental, animal or human? Are folks treated fairly and paid a decent wage? Logistics are part of what makes a product sustainable.

Paul Javellana, coffee advocate, farmer-partner, and owner of Kapipat Café, Bacolod.

Long before the birth of Slow Food Negros in 2012, Negros Island has had a long passionate affair with food preparation, processing, production, and above all its consumption. Secretly guarded family recipes have been passed on for generations - sustaining the families that created them and the communities who bought and were fed by these delights. 

Renowned food writers and foodies alike come over regularly to gush over the variety of our local delicacies. Kinilaw or kakanins, inasal or kansi, batwan or batchoy – our gastronomy and culinary prowess are legendary. Beloved by many, it rules over local tables and is widely exported worldwide. 

The movement support local producers in Negros and outlying areas. Monthly earth markets can guarantee a place and space for producers to sell their goods and make the regular income needed to sustain their productivity and output. Arc of Taste tracts endemic plants that are endangered, encouraging their propagation. Food mapping can record and safeguard local food heritage. 

Ging Bata-Uloy, slow food community of Bago head, Mailum Organic Village Association member, and owner of Fare and Jaegon Integrated farm.

Ging Bata-Uloy raises local black pigs in Bago – makes lechon stuffed with batwan leaves and lemongrass. Similar to wild boar, native pigs have a more flavorful taste and aroma than their pink variety sold at public markets and groceries. Supporting Ging propagates her piggery and buying her product at Slow Food events guarantees better business both ways.

To defend our biodiversity and give it a fighting chance, we need to give our producers a chance too so they can keep on working and be provided with a guaranteed income. The market laws are brutal, they suffocate small producers who can barely manage to compete – compared to commercialized products with bigger distribution and industry coverage. 

Homegrown and locally made products - all naturally prepared and processed.

We can foster an “adopt a producer” campaign for business, restaurants, and chefs to adopt small farmers and local producers. Slow Food provides programs that educate the consumer and support producers at the same time, in a mutually symbiotic exchange.

It is our hope that these Slow Food events and programs attract more interest and participations from everyone who is inspired and thinks about what can be done to improve our gastronomy. Each one in their own field of interest can contribute to the sustainably to grow and maintain our biodiversity. 

Writer: Issa Urra

Photos by: Slow Food Negros, Terra Madre Asia Pacific, Unit A Creatives