This is Edie Mukiibi. I met him last summer at the Slow Meat Conference in Denver. Edie is an agronomist from Uganda, representing Slow Food International. He works to protect food heritages, support sustainable farmers, celebrate biodiversity and educate on the importance of agriculture to the health of our planet. It was great meeting Edie. His energy and optimism are infectious!
Hearing Edie’s enthusiastic outlook really provided a new and refreshing perspective on a continent that many Americans know little about and often grossly misunderstand. One thing that I am still wrapping my head around is the sheer size of it. I’ve put in a public domain graphic that gives a perspective that most word maps fail to convey. As we work toward combatting global climate change, Africa will be a key player.
Last fall, Edie toured the United State to bring good food news from Africa. Slow Food International has pledged to establish 10,000 gardens in Africa, and there is a lot more going on there as well. Local and regional plant breeding of native crops, holistic livestock grazing on wild savannahs to the benefit of the grazers and the wild herds, and empowering women farmers to produce food and improve their communities. I’m glad to know that Edie is one of the leaders and I’m proud to call him a Slow Food friend!
Cheers, Edie, until we meet again.
Yes, people here don’t realize how big Africa is and how much diversity there is on the continent. I love seeing these cultural interactions!
Ju, I’ve been watching John Green’s Crash Course World history – you can find it on youtube. I learned that east African traders completely controlled Indian Ocean trade (think rice, spices and silks)and are a big reason that western Europeans went west to find a route to the Indies (It’s, also, why Islam spread to places like Indonesia). Somehow I missed all this stuff in high school and college!
In his videos, Green has a sticker on his computer that says “This Machine Kills Fascists.” I love that!