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| Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity |
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15/05/2009 |
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Meeting in Aracena discusses high-quality pig husbandry
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The Fifth World Ham Congress was recently held in Aracena in the Andalusian province of Huelva, Spain, a country where jamón (ham) is an important part of the national gastronomic heritage.
The Congress, organized by PDO Jamón de Huelva, soon to be called PDO Jabugo, welcomed experts from around the world (farmers, transformers, cooks and food journalists) to discuss the challenges that pig farming and ham production and consumption have been facing in recent years.
 Piero Sardo, President of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity, speaking on behalf of Slow Food, described the recovery of native Italian pig breeds (particularly the Nebrodi Black Pig and Romagnola Mora, both Slow Food Presidia) and the role of extensive farming in conserving an area and enabling high quality cured meats to be produced.
In 2009 this international meeting was held in the heart of the dehesa, the original Mediterranean forest between Andalusia and Extremadura, extending as far as Portugal. For centuries it has been used for free range farming of livestock (pigs, cattle and poultry). This paradise of oaks and pastures, painstakingly created by humans so they could properly feed their animals, is the secret behind the exceptional quality of cerdo ibérico puro de bellota (ham from pure Iberian breed pigs which feed on acorns on the dehesa during the months before slaughter).
The Congress was an opportunity for the Andalusian institutions supporting the meeting to launch a manifesto in defense of the pig farming sector following the appearance of A/H1N1 influenza (swine flu), and to give consumers proper information about the issue.
Slow Food feels that it is necessary to focus attention on the logic supporting the current agrifood production system and take drastic measures. Livestock farming, as well as agricultural production and consumption in general, needs to move from the irresponsible exploitation of nature to a more sustainable approach.
During the Congress a meeting was also held in Aracena of FESERPAE, the South European Federation of native pig breeds raised under extensive conditions. At present the network includes breeders of Cerdo Ibérico (Spain), Porc Gascon (Slow Food Presidium for Bigorre Black Pig, France) and the Raça Alentejana pig (Portugal). Slow Food is supporting the creation of a network of farmers raising native breeds throughout Europe, to defend and promote sustainable pig farming.
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