From far away, the tragedy in Ukraine seems unfathomable. Over 10 million people displaced (more than the population of New York City!). Cities destroyed. History lost. Yet another country torn apart by aggression and war.

And the ripple (or ‘butterfly’ according to Slow Food’s founder Carlo Petrini) effect of the war on global and regional food systems will prove to be enormous. From a purely simplistic viewpoint, Ukraine is a prime producer of wheat, and loss of production is causing higher prices (up 55%!) for grains and a disruption of food aid moving to places like Afghanistan that are desperately in need. 

But this is not just a supply chain issue. From a broader perspective, the forced movement of people, whether from war or climate change, should spark a greater conversation about loss - loss of food culture, of food sovereignty, of land tended over years and food enterprises that entrepreneurs poured heart and soul into. Losses like a favorite bean pot or recipes from one’s grandmother.

And these losses are being felt the world over, from many many different cultures. As humans, we must stand against conflict and we must stand FOR keeping people connected to one another and to the earth. Only then will we preserve plant and animal biodiversity and ancestral knowledge – and maintain this wonderful, delicious patchwork quilt that is worldwide food culture.
 

🍴 FEATURED ORGANIZATION

Please excuse us, it’s the 2nd month in a row we’ve highlighted our own parent organizations!  But we wanted to draw attention to the deep work that the global Slow Food movement is doing to protect food communities and preserve biodiversity, their dedication to indigenous communities and the now 18 years of Terra Madre, an international network of food producers meeting and sharing resources and stories.

SFI has stepped up in this particular moment of crisis with this call to action:

Saving Ukrainian biodiversity: To support those farmers who, even in wartime, have not left their farms and continue to work under the most difficult conditions, risking their lives to preserve the animal breeds and plant varieties they grow in order to nourish their local community and feed the future.

Keeping knowledge alive: To create matching opportunities between Ukrainian Slow Food Community members and their counterparts throughout Europe, thus allowing for refugee farmers and food producers to be hosted by fellow producers to facilitate a meaningful opportunity for learning and exchange. Beekeepers to be matched with beekeepers, cheesemakers with cheesemakers, and so on. We believe this exchange will not only allow for Ukrainian food producers to keep practicing their trades in exile but will be a fruitful exchange of skills: skills which will be vital for the post-war reconstruction of the country.

Please donate to the work, if you feel inspired.

📅  UPCOMING EVENTS

Food Relatives: Decolonizing and Indigenizing the Global Food System
Friday April 1 & Saturday April 2
From The Berkeley Food Institute: "Food Relatives gives insight into how various actors can decolonize and indigenize their respective Food Systems by attuning to the more-than-human as part of economic, social, and political lives."

Want to Get Hands-On? 
There are opportunities this month to learn to make Sausage (or Butcher a half hog!) with The Local Butcher or if you prefer something a little sweeter, make a pie with Edith’s Pies. Get pretzel twisting technique tips from Squabisch or cook a meal Tops to Roots with the Ecology Center. Or go celebrate some birthdays! Both Third Culture and Degrees Plato are throwing bashes for their fifth years in business! 

📝 RESOURCES

📰 Read

Learning more about Syrian refugees and loss of food culture:

“Taste of Home: Holding on to Food Culture as a Refugee”

And also be alert to the possibilities of romanticizing refugees and immigrants and their trauma:

“Maybe, to you, cookbooks are neutral tools, pretty to look at, or part of middle- and upper-class leisure. I firmly believe cookbooks are always political, even conceptually. To cook requires resources, and resources are not available to all. And in the case of refugee cookbooks, their authors want to have it both ways—to draw emotional and moral authority from crisis, while avoiding getting their own hands too dirty.” 

https://thecounter.org/the-rise-and-folly-of-the-refugee-cookbook-food-media-tropes-conflict/

Discussing the loss of heritage:

“In addition to causing death and destruction, the tragedy of the war in Ukraine also concerns the loss of the extraordinary heritage of traditional knowledge and products that are a fundamental part of the Ukrainian food culture.”

https://www.unisg.it/en/voices/war-also-puts-biodiversity-traditional-gastronomic-heritage/

“Experts are especially concerned about how price increases—and expected shortages later this year—within the global grain market could increase the number of people going hungry around the world, especially when combined with the impacts of the pandemic.” 

https://civileats.com/2022/03/09/the-field-report-what-the-invasion-of-ukraine-means-for-the-food-supply/

“...a transition towards more agroecological farming, I think, is wise for so many reasons. It increases our resilience to climate change. It shortens supply chains. It makes our food system more robust against extreme weather. It relocalizes the economy in a way that can support many more jobs and ensure that there is a return to a certain kind of commitment to making sure that everyone gets fed.” 

https://www.democracynow.org/2022/3/18/ukraine_global_food_supply_russian_invasion

🎧 Listen 
 

Extra Spicy is back, and Soleil Ho starts off with an icon:

https://www.sfchronicle.com/food/article/Listen-How-Chef-Jose-Andres-uses-food-as-a-16984934.php

🐌 CALL TO ACTION

Donate in Support of Refugees Worldwide

This current crisis has caught our attention - but the needs of refugees continue around the world. Please consider supporting the work of RefugePoint, an organization founded in 2005 specifically to identify those that might otherwise fall through the safety net. They are working to think through long term solutions rather than just treat the short term issues.

Eat tamales!

Support World Central Kitchen!  Order by Thursday March 31st, more info here