SLOW FOOD
Project Number : 2021-2-NO02-KA220-YOU-000050464
Project Title : Slow Food Movement (The Way We It Does Matter)
Grant Awarded : 133.555 €
The 3 main objectives of our project are to be aware of the negative effects of our eating and drinking habits on human health, the environment we live in and our existing cultural heritage and to produce solutions to prevent these negativities. The present system in which we find ourselves as consumers and producers is founded on a mechanism of overproduction and waste, on the rapid selling-off of stock to put new products on the market, and the provision of food that is aesthetically perfect. While this situation makes us part of a fast consumption culture, it also triggers the negative effects of our eating habits on human health. Also, while our health deteriorates due to fast consumption, on the other hand, the wastes generated by overproduction trying to respond to excessive consumption demand pollute our environment. Likewise, the extent of the environmental damage caused by farm animals raised due to excessive meat consumption is increasing day by day. For example; Air Pollution: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that roughly 80 percent of ammonia emissions in the Europe come from animal waste. Atmospheric ammonia can disrupt aquatic ecosystems, ruin soil quality, damage crops and jeopardize human health. Another example is; Water pollution: According to the EPA, agriculture is the single largest source of water pollution in rivers and lakes, and the waste from factory farms is a significant part of the problem. In fact, waste generated by factory farms has already polluted over 35,000 miles of river and has contaminated groundwater in Europe.
Apart from these damages that cause environmental and climate change, our eating and drinking habits also have negative features on our cultural heritage. People who are detached from their lands and forced to migrate cannot preserve their food culture in the new countries they have migrated to and are starting to lose. This causes many eating cultures to disappear and somehow assimilate over time. The loss of eating and drinking culture, which is one of the most important parts of folk culture, causes other cultural erosion to begin. In addition, the industrialized society structure eliminates the eating and drinking culture with fast food, while also eliminating the communication and sharing of people during eating. The decrease in sharing and communication between people naturally harms the cultural interaction. Our project is aiming to connect first- and second-generation migrant communities with the European people through food, providing them with concrete tools to help them become independent and create economies in the food sector. Being able to start and run a food business, learning how to value one’s own story, and understanding biodiversity and the seasonality of local produce are essential elements for the integration of migrant enterprises. At the end of the project, migrants will have many different activities available, including the possibility of opening up their homes and organizing convivial events where they can share their own gastronomic traditions.
