“Slow Food Youth Germany” is a group of young activists from diverse disciplines and backgrounds that are actively involved in their communities to create a better food system. One of the focuses of our work is putting on fun and interactive events to make consumers more aware of the issues affecting our food system and connect them with agriculture and food.
Our most successful campaign has been the Schnippeldisko (also known as Disco Soup), an event in which we invite the public to wash, peel, and chop vegetables that would normally be thrown away by farmers and supermarkets due to superficial cosmetic criteria. From this “saved” food waste, we make soups and salads that we serve to as many as 9,000 people!
In this way, young people spur awareness and change about the problems affecting our food system in a fun, participatory way that speaks to a diverse public. Through events that combine things that young people like (Music! Dancing! Food! Community!) we bring food back to the center of attention – and if people think about their food, care about their food, and feel invited to be part of a positive community around food, food and food production regain the cultural value that they deserve.
We reduce the impact of food waste not by forbidding or regulating or giving anyone a bad conscience, but by celebrating food and those who produce it! Nobody who knows how delicious a curvy cucmber or a three-legged carrot is would throw it away! The Schnippeldisko began in Berlin in 2012, as has now spread through the Slow Food Youth Network all over the world: as Disco Soep in the Netherlands, Disco Soupe in France and Belgium, Yorigamu in Korea, Disco Maccheroni in Italy, and Disco Soup in the USA to name a few.
What makes our movement special is that we present a positive message of how great food and agriculture could be. In this way, we reach a diverse audience and inspire young people to seek positive change and engagement with how their food is produced, as both consumers and producers. This does not just apply to Schnippeldiskos; this is a driving philosophy of our whole movement and characterizes all of the events and activities we organize.
Through positivity we seek to improve the image of agriculture and the value of food and food production in modern society. By uniting young people interested in their food and how it is produced, we empower and organize them as consumers and producers to use their time, minds, voices, and wallets to pull change forward.
Understanding and valuing food means understanding where it comes from. We provide an alternative: rather than feeling bad about the negative impacts of our current food system, we unite to put our good example forth of a better food system. We teach that the food system is just that – a system – and that good taste comes from high-quality food which is made by dedicated farmers who produce in a sustainable way. You can’t have good food from a system that doesn’t respect the farmers and workers who produce it or the environment that provides the materials for it. We bring young people closer to their food so they know and respect those who produce it and are inspired to get involved themselves.
Affirming messages and setting a positive example mean changing the world by having fun and building supportive communities – an approach that many in diverse fields can learn from and apply to their work to motivate young people to create change!
Blogpost by Keighley McFarland
Picture: Schnippeldisko happening in Germany
