How the slow-food movement is slowly taking over MENA: Within the MENA region (and globally) food security is an area of increasing concern. High levels of food waste and insufficient agricultural production are two major sources of insecurity. Meanwhile, soaring CO2 emissions from international food transportation and food waste compound the health and environmental challenges of our currently unsustainable food system.

Enter “slow food” and its related movements: In a bid to counter this, the global slow food movement — a worldwide network promoting local produce and food traditions — is working to support local farmers, along with healthy and environmentally friendly food consumption.

Why is it taking off? Wastage is driving food insecurity. In the UAE alone, annual food wastage is worth an estimated USD 3.5 bn.

As is a slowdown in production: MENA has seen a significant slowdown in cereal yields since 2009, with growth between 2009 and 2019 coming in at 14.76%, down from 47.98% growth between 1999 and 2009, according to the 2021 UK Food Security Report (pdf).

Not to mention those pesky CO2 emissions: Global food waste releases some 3.3 bn tons of CO2 greenhouse gas (GHG) equivalent every year. In 2017, food transportation added emissions equivalent to 3 GT of CO2 to the atmosphere — some 7.5 times more than previous estimates — according to recent academic research.

A handful of regional slow food and farm to fork movements are working hard to reduce these harmful results. These organizations — many of them grassroots community associations — span Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Kenya, Turkey and other countries in the region. Here are some of our favorites:

From Farm to Fork (Jordan) has produced a cookbook featuring 24 local products, 24 farmers, 24 chefs and 48 dishes from Jordan’s 12 governorates, while its website lists sustainable restaurants and meeting venues, culinary tours and food events, it notes (runtime: 01:31). It was founded in 2021, and is supported by over 50 stakeholders in Jordan’s agricultural, tourism, hospitality, food and beverage and education sectors, and co-funded by the Dutch agriculture ministry.

Food Heritage Foundation (Lebanon) seeks to promote Lebanon’s “collective memory and indigenous knowledge” of food and agriculture, it notes on its website. It runs projects including food tourism, community kitchens, farmers’ markets, traditional recipe promotion, and livelihood initiatives for rural food producers.

La Vie Cafe (Palestine) has created a garden supplying fresh, organic food, and regularly produces videos in Arabic and English discussing agriculture and how to start an urban garden. The café’s owners have also founded an arboretum and eco-park, Mashjar Juthour, where they host short courses on organic agriculture and sustainability.

My Arabian Almanakh (UAE) is an online urban gardening journal that shares tips for recreational and food-producing urban gardening. In 2017, the journal’s authors wrote a book that teaches readers how to grow and maintain green spaces over a 16-month period. Its focus is on growing food, using natural pesticides, and caring for plants that are native to the local environment, it notes.

Re:Food (Kuwait) aims to reduce food waste by collecting and repackaging unused food from local suppliers, manufacturers and distributors, and distributing it to those experiencing hunger through a subscription model. The organization has received multiple awards, with its founder being awarded the 2018 Kuwait Youth Award for Excellence and Creativity.

Spinneys Farm to Table school program (UAE) is the first step in the multinational supermarket chain’s bid to educate 1 mn people about healthy and sustainable diets by 2023, its website notes. The program consists of five modules, designed for children aged 7-11, focusing on how food is grown and transported, what sustainable food consumption means, and the basics of a healthy diet. It was designed with nutritionists and local farmers, and launched with schools in October 2021.