Chefs
and cooks across the globe have been urged to commit their expertise in the
food business for in the fight against climate change.
This
was at the 10th convention organised by Slow Food Cooks’ Alliance (SFCA) in
Bologna, Italy that concluded Monday.
The
two-day engagement under the theme “Serving up care for the
climate—sustainability in restaurants is possible”, attracted over 100
participants from different countries across the globe.
According
to Paola Nano, the Head of Slow Food Press Office, SFCA currently has 1125
members active in 25 countries including Uganda.
He
that globally, the cooks are directly or indirectly contribute to climate
change practices through their practice.
Nano
told us that the cooks used the convention to jointly affirm their need
to be activists with strong choices to contribute to resolving climate change
related challenges.
He
further argued that it is not just industry, transport, energy production from
fossil fuels and farming that produce green-house gases and emissions but even
the simple activities such as preparing meals at home, in a restaurant, in a
school cafeteria or in a company canteen.
“Making
sustainable choices in the kitchen and the dining room can significantly reduce
CO2 emissions and therefore help in the fight against climate change.” He said
Following
a series of analyses carried out on the emissions of agricultural production in
2019, Nano explained, Slow Food decided to focus its attention on restaurants,
with technical support from INDACO2, sustainability and environmental
communications consultancy, well convinced that conscious and virtuous choices
can make a significant contribution to reducing climate impacts.
The
study shows how a restaurant’s sustainability is conditioned by careful
ingredient selection, which must be produced according to worthy agricultural
practices. This aspect is much more important in determining the environmental
impact than the distances traveled by individual products.
“I have always been attracted by farmers and the
countryside. I studied both deeply, going to visit all kinds of farms for over
a year, before opening my restaurant”, said Florent Piard, the proprietor of
Les Résistants in Paris, France.
He
further told the assembly that his aim was to create a sustainable business and
to restore a healthy relationship between countryside and city that respects
and values the work of farmers. Florent added that he also wanted to be able to
provide quality gastronomy and ensure decent economic performance.
And
to meet all these requirements, he said, he studied the products and the supply
chain logistics, and then implemented the solutions described in the study.
“I’m
very happy with the conclusions reached by the Indaco2 study commissioned by
Slow Food, because the results show that the model can be replicated and that
it is possible to have a significant impact on the environment and climate,
while at the same time protecting the world of small-scale, sustainable
farming.” He noted.
Cooks
from the South African Alliance namely Adele Stiehler Van Der Westhuizen and
Caroline McCann attended the meeting together with Belarusian cook Anton
Kalenik plus Italian cooks Tiziana Tacchi and Tiziana Favi.
They
prepared special recipes from South African communities, a traditional
Belarussian dish and several Italian recipes using meat from the Slow Food
Presidium of Romagnola cattle.
Nano
further said that Slow Meat educates the masses about the faults of cheap meat,
the exploitation of labour and livestock, and the excessive consumption of
meat.
Slow
Food is a global network of local communities founded in 1989 to prevent the disappearance of local food cultures and traditions and counteract the rise of
fast food culture.
Slow Food Uganda
According
to the 2016/17 Uganda National Household Survey, more than 80% of Uganda’s
rural households use firewood for cooking. The high demand for wood fuel and
limited access to energy-saving alternatives means that forest cover is at risk
of continued degradation.
However,
chefs and cooks under Slow Food Uganda (SF-Uganda) agree with the fact that they
contribute to climate change effects in various ways.
Yisto
Kayinga, the Vice president SF-Uganda, said that the call for all chefs and
cooks globally came at the right time when more than 10,000 people and 30
restaurants that subscribe to SFUganda are engaged in good farm practices that
do not affect the environment and quality of food.
Kayinga
noted that climate change affects farmers most and the quality of food produced
in local communities.
“We
encourage good, clean, fair food through the promotion of local and indigenous practices
of using organic fertilisers. The safer the gardens and plantations, the safer
the food prepared for our people” he recounted.
He
said slow food gardens must produce healthy foods and prepared well before
reaching the table. Also, members are advised to plant trees other than eucalyptus.
In
2016, the World Bank approved $2.2 million to the Uganda Clean Cooking Supply
Chain Expansion Project, which seeks to reduce the negative impacts of
inefficient use of solid biomass fuels for cooking and to relieve communities
from the environmental and economic burden of using solid biomass fuel.