SLOW FOOD’S FUTURE CHALLENGES AT THE 7TH CONGRESS IN CHENGDU, CHINA: ACCESS TO GOOD, CLEAN, FAIR AND HEALTHY FOOD, KNOWLEDGE IS A RIGHT, SOCIAL INCLUSION, DIVERSITY IS WEALTH, DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES

“We will defend all aspects of diversity, work to reduce inequality and ensure everyone has access to knowledge”. These were the closing words of Carlo Petrini at the 7th Slow Food Congress in Chengdu, China. The city hosted 400 network representatives from 90 different countries, to outline the policies Slow Food will follow in the future, on the trail that started more than thirty- years ago, focusing on "good, clean and fair".
This is the slogan behind the global vision that centers on quality of raw materials and the work behind their production, defense of the environment and biodiversity, sustainable development and the future of the Earth, and making it increasingly clear that the challenge must be embraced and exalted.
“This Congress”, explained the President of Slow Food, reconfirmed until 2020, “fervently reaffirms our rejection of the current model of development. During the congress, Slow Food and Terra Madre network have confirmed that alternative and winning models already exist. Even the young, but already active Chinese Slow Food network has successfully taken this road, which is an extraordinary accomplishment especially considering how many of the future challenges will be played in this country. We are revitalizing the net and fair, small-scale businesses as we have the strength and power to impact local businesses.
For the last 13 years, the network for Slow Food has been Terra Madre. We will continue staying on the side of the most humble”, concluded Petrini, “join them in the fields, defend farmers markets, and strengthen them through an alliance between cooks and producers”.

The approval of the Chengdu Declaration, which summarizes the major challenges of the future, closed the conference: the need to ensure everyone is guaranteed access to good, clean, fair and healthy food; access to knowledge as a common right and dignity for traditional and academic knowledge; refusing exclusion of any political, economic and social character; safeguarding the environment as the major priority of our actions through campaigns; the need to reaffirm that diversity is the greatest wealth we have as human beings and collectivity; the will to combat at all levels unfair sharing of wealth and opportunities.
In order to accomplish these critical and fascinating challenges, the Conference also mandated the new leadership team to define a thorough revision of the entire organizational structure highlighting inclusion and openness in the next three years.
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