Carlo Petrini, the founder of the Slow Food movement who revolutionised how the world thinks about food, has died at the age of 76. The Italian activist and gastronome passed away peacefully at his home in Piedmont, surrounded by his family. Petrini’s legacy is one of a radical reimagining of our relationship with what we eat, placing the dignity of producers and the health of the planet at the centre of the table.
Born in 1949 in the small town of Bra, in Italy’s Langhe region, Petrini was deeply influenced by the agricultural traditions of his homeland. He saw the rise of fast food and industrial agriculture as an assault on culture, biodiversity, and social justice. In 1986, following a protest against the opening of a McDonald’s in Rome’s Piazza di Spagna, Petrini launched the Slow Food movement. This was not merely a gastronomic fad: it was a political statement. The movement’s founding manifesto declared that “a firm defence of quiet material pleasure is the only way to oppose the universal folly of Fast Life.”
Over the following decades, Slow Food grew into a global network of millions across 160 countries. It championed local food systems, traditional farming methods, and the protection of heritage crops and livestock. Petrini argued that food was not a commodity but a common good, and that every bite carried a moral weight. He established the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, which trained a new generation of food professionals to think critically about production and consumption.
But Petrini’s vision was never confined to elite palates. He was a fierce advocate for farmers, especially those in the global south, and campaigned against the power of agribusiness. In 2004, he launched Terra Madre, a network for small-scale food producers that connected them with chefs, academics, and activists. This was a direct challenge to the corporate consolidation that had robbed farmers of their livelihoods and consumers of nutritious food.
His impact on Britain was significant. The Slow Food UK network grew rapidly, influencing everything from farmers’ markets to school food policy. Petrini’s writings, particularly his book “Slow Food: The Case for Taste,” became bibles for a generation of British chefs and food campaigners. He spoke at the Oxford Real Farming Conference and met with union leaders to discuss food sovereignty. His message resonated in a country where regional food identities were being eroded by supermarket dominance.
Petrini’s death has drawn tributes from across the world. The Slow Food movement’s headquarters in Bra issued a statement calling him “a giant who taught us that food is a political act.” The Italian government declared a day of national mourning. But for many, his true legacy is less about the accolades and more about the small, tangible changes: the artisan cheese saved from extinction, the vegetable plot in a schoolyard, the farmer who was paid a fair price.
There will, no doubt, be formal obituaries from the great and the good. But Petrini himself would have wanted us to remember the kitchen table. The fight he began is far from over. The cost of living crisis has pushed millions towards cheap, ultra-processed food. Small farmers are still being squeezed by lenders and supermarkets. The climate crisis threatens the very biodiversity Petrini sought to protect.
His passing is a moment to reflect not just on what we have lost, but on what we must carry forward. Carlo Petrini gave us the tools to build a better food system. Now it falls to us to use them.
