The End of Terra Madre & Salone del Gusto.

After we wrote up our Earth Workshop reports for Slow Food and finished the last of the Dutch oysters, we witnessed the breakdown of the incredible production space. I cannot even fathom how much time and effort went in to putting all the organization and logistics together.  The huge gates were up as men carried loads of boxes, refrigerators and crates onto trucks docked in the parking lot puddled with rain. Stragglers were being shooed from the Enoteca, sipping the last of the available wines. Desperate pillagers were scouring the empty stalls for any leftovers to snag.

Overwhelmed with tiredness from the 5 days in Turino, we sat in a delirious daze. Looking around the international pavilion, we laughed at the remnants of the different areas of the world:

The Germans remained in their aisle, folding banners neatly, breaking down the stalls,
organizing boxes, rolling out crates of leftover beers.  

South America cleared out with some left over Slow Food Presidia pamphlets lying about

Africa was a mess.

and the Dutch were still partying: cracking open oysters, sipping white wine, making friends with people as they walked by. hooligans. 

Throughout the event, there were designated trash areas with different bins for different materials. Glass, Plastic, Paper, Organic. I would have assumed, and hoped, that everyone who was attending this Slow Food event truly believed in respecting the environment and would recycle properly, especially when they are easily given the choice to distribute their trash. I didn't look in the trash bins, but I did see one lid-open bin by the coffee counter that was filled with plastic water cups, paper espresso cups and labeled organic material. hmm. The Salone del Gusto website calls it an eco-friendly event as they boast the ways they planned setting up stalls, transportation of goods, water and energy use, and waste management with reduced environmental impact. Makes complete common sense - in general and for Slow Food's founding philosophy. However, at the very end of it all, there was this bin. 

INDIFFERENZIATO. 

ha. I don't know if it's one big ironic metaphor. but, hey, at least they tried.

I can't wait to go back in 2 years. Incredible.