The inaugural Terra Madre Asia and Pacific 2025 (TMAP) formally opened on Wednesday at the Negros Occidental Provincial Capitol Lagoon, with a gathering of over 2,000 delegates not just from the region, but from other corners of the globe as well.
Hosted by the Philippines for the first time, TMAP is one of the world’s largest sustainable food gatherings attended by farmers, organic agriculture businesses, slow food enthusiasts and experts, and innovators from across Asia and the Pacific.
In an interview with the BusinessMirror, Slow Food International International General Director Paolo di Croce expressed satisfaction over the first regional gathering outside of Turin, Italy, where the movement’s main event, Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, is usually held every two years.
‘After the first day, we are very happy. So I think that the potential and the opportunities that we have seen here in the past to decide to come here are confirmed. And so we see very bright and interesting opportunities for our future,’ he said. The next TMAP will be in 2027.
In the Philippines, where close to 20 million families are steeped in poverty, however, how does one persuade them to consume only slow food products, which are often more expensive than their usual meal of instant cup noodles and soda? Di Croce admitted this was a ‘complicated issue and it’s almost everywhere.And you know, what we always say is we want to advocate for good food for everyone.[But] we need the intervention of the government to help the good clean and fair producers and not the others [e.g. industrial food makers].’
He said organic farm producers in the country, for instance, have to pay costly amounts to be certified by the government.
Also, Di Croce said, awareness must be created to make Filipinos realize ‘that good food doesn’t necessarily come from abroad, like potato chips and Coca-Cola. We buy many things that are not sustainable. It’s cheap but it’s not good for the health. It [raises] the cost of health care.’
According to PhilHealth, which administers the national health insurance program, it paid out over P217.93 billion in total benefit claims to healthcare facilities nationwide in the first nine months to September this year, a 94.18-percent jump from the same period last year.
Many of these claims include hypertension emergencies and chronic kidney diseases, a likely complication from long-term diabetes. Both are preventable with lifestyle and dietary changes.
The five-day TMAP features an incredible array of slow food products from across the Philippines and Asia Pacific; cooking demonstrations by well-known chefs here and abroad; talks and presentations on agroecology, mushroom foraging, slow food travel, artisanal salt; food tastings; and discussions on the growing coffee culture in the region.
For her part, Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco spoke of the goal of the regional gathering: ‘[We] are bound by a common mission: our love for the environment, our desire to have a more meaningful engagement and of course, the aspirations to ensure that our food systems can last for generations to come.’
She underscored how vital the gathering is in supporting local communities, empowering producers, and ensuring that tourism delivers tangible benefits while preserving food heritage.
‘Through these efforts, we do more than celebrate cuisine; we create opportunities for communities to empower our local producers, and ensure that tourism generates tangible benefits for our people as well as sustain our food heritage,’ she said.
Aside from being the hub of the Philippines’s largest slow food community, Bacolod is home to some of the best culinary creations in the country-from the celebrated chicken inasal to the sweet piaya, and the delectable kansi, a bulalo-like concoction with beef shanks or ribs, with batwan fruit as souring agent for the broth.
Negros Island also produces sustainable coffee beans, organic fruits and vegetables, coconut products such as virgin coconut oil and coconut vinegar, among others.
Held alongside TMAP is the 18th Negros Island Organic Farmers’ Festival, with some 50 farmers and exhibitors showcasing their diverse products.