A new branch of the Slow Food Ecological Food Organisation was launched in the European Parliament last month, in the presence of the founder of the movement, Carlo Petrini.

Jean Lambert, Marie-Helene Aubert and Monica Frassoni from the Green Party, Vincenzo Aita from the United Left group and Csaba Sandor Tabajdi from the Socialist group were behind the initiative, which received cross-party support from many other Members of the European Parliament (MEP).

Jean Lambert, Green Party MEP for London, said: “This new branch of the slow food organisation will help to influence the politics of food in the European Parliament and in Member States. Agriculture is an industry unlike any other and we must protect our traditional knowledge of farming. Smaller producers are being forced out of business every day across the European Union; it is essential that we rapidly take steps to avoid this.

Lambert continued: “It is vital that we protect quality and diversity in food. Biodiversity will help to protect our food supplies if our environment suddenly changes, as a result of climate change for instance, yet many local varieties are being squeezed out of the market. It will be far safer for our food security to defend diversity rather than rely on GMOs.

A delegation from the European Parliament will attend the Terra Madre conference in October this year, which will bring together food communities, cooks, academics and youth delegates for four days to work towards increasing small-scale, traditional and sustainable food production.

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