Carlo Petrini
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Carlo Petrini | |
|---|---|
 Carlo Petrini at Identità Golose Conference 2010 | |
| Born | Carlo Petrini 22 June 1949 Bra, Italy |
| Died | 21 May 2026 (aged 76) Bra, Italy |
| Alma mater | University of Trento |
| Occupations | Writer, activist |
| Organization | Slow Food |
| Known for | Founder of the Slow Food movement |
| Awards | United Nations Environment Programme's Champions of the Earth award |
Carlo Petrini (22 June 1949 – 21 May 2026) was an Italian activist and author who was the founder of the International Slow Food Movement,[1] and Terra Madre festivals.
Early life and activist career
[edit]Petrini was born in the commune of Bra in the Province of Cuneo, Italy, on 22 June 1949.[2] He was formerly a political activist in the communist Proletarian Unity Party (Partito di Unità Proletaria; PdUP). In 1977, he began contributing culinary articles to the communist daily newspapers il manifesto and l'Unità.[3]
He studied sociology at the University of Trento, where he got involved in local politics.[4] He began writing about food and wine for major Italian newspapers in 1977.[5]
Petrini continued his advocacy work in later years. In a speech at the Cheese 2025 event, he warned about the potential regulations on raw milk cheese production in Italy.[6]
Slow food movement
[edit]Petrini first came to prominence in the 1980s for taking part in a campaign against the fast food chain McDonald's opening near the Spanish Steps in Rome.[3] In 1983, he helped to create and develop the Italian non-profit food and wine association known as Arcigola.[7] He founded Slow Food in 1989 and became the organization's president.[1] He was an editor of multiple publications at the publishing house Slow Food Editore. He wrote weekly columns for La Stampa and was a regular journalist for La Repubblica. In October 2004, he founded the University of Gastronomic Sciences, a university devoted to new gastronomists and innovators of sustainable food systems. He was a supporter and member of the Italian Democratic Party (centre-left wing). Petrini was also proposed for political roles, including ministerial positions.
Death
[edit]Petrini died in Bra on 21 May 2026, at the age of 76.[8] He had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.[9]
Awards
[edit]Petrini received numerous awards and acknowledgements, including: Communicator of the Year at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in London; Sicco Mansholt Prize in the Netherlands; an honorary degree in cultural anthropology from the University of New Hampshire; and Eckart Witzigmann Science and Media Prize from Germany.[7] In 2004, he was chosen as one of Time magazine's heroes of the year.[10] He was the recipient of a Champions of the Earth award from the United Nations Environment Programme in 2013 in the Inspiration and Action category.[11] In 2024, Petrini was honored at the Italian Cultural Society's gala awards dinner in Washington, D.C.[12]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "You ask, they answer: Slow Food UK". the Guardian. 28 June 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
- ^ Roddy, Rachel (27 May 2026). "Carlo Petrini obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2026.
- ^ a b "The Quick Brain Behind Slow Food, The Independent, 17 June 2006". Archived from the original on 9 October 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2009.
- ^ "Carlo Petrini | Ashoka". www.ashoka.org. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
- ^ "Italy's "Slow Food" Pioneer: How My Love for Food Ripened into a Life's Work - YES! Magazine Solutions Journalism". YES! Magazine. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
- ^ "Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini warns of prohibitive raw milk regulations in Italy". Get Raw Milk. 7 August 2025. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
- ^ a b "Carlo Petrini, President and Founder of the Slow Food Movement" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ "E' morto Carlo Petrini, addio al fondatore di Slow Food: aveva 76 anni". ADN Kronos. 22 May 2026. Retrieved 22 May 2026.
- ^ Segreti, Giulia; Armellini, Alvise (22 May 2026). "Italy's 'Slow Food' founder Carlo Petrini dies at 76". Reuters. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
- ^ The Slow Revolutionary, Time, 3 October 2004
- ^ "Carlo Petrini". Champions of the Earth. United Nations Environment Programme. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
- ^ "Press release: The Italian Cultural Society to Host Gala Awards Dinner at the Embassy of Italy in Washington, DC" (PDF). The Italian Cultural Society of Washington D.C. 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
Bibliography
[edit]- Slow Food Nation: Why Our Food Should Be Good, Clean, and Fair, Rizzoli, May 2007, ISBN 0-8478-2945-6
- Slow Food Revolution: A New Culture for Dining and Living in conversation with Gigi Padovani, Rizzoli, September 2006, ISBN 0-8478-2873-5
- Slow Food: The Case for Taste (Arts & Traditions of the Table: Perspectives on Culinary History), Columbia University Press, April 2003, ISBN 0-231-12844-4
- Slow Food Nation, a speech at Princeton University, 17 May 2007.
External links
[edit]
Media related to Carlo Petrini at Wikimedia Commons- Time Heroes 2004
- Carlo Petrini: The slow food star , The Independent, Allison Roberts, December 2006
- Slow Food guru spreads gospel in high places, The Observer, Jasper Gerard, June 17, 2007
- 2006 Speech (simultaneously translated) from the Environmental Grantmakers Association, Fall Retreat Keynote
- Carlo Petrini speaks at Cowell Theater on YouTube, San Francisco, October 2005
- Carlo Petrini at IMDb
