Broad beans are included in the Ark of Taste catalogue.
The Ark of Taste is part of the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity and aims to identify and preserve unique economic, social, cultural and culinary heritage in the form of endangered foods. Most Slow Food members practice eco-gastronomy, but Ark of Taste takes it to the next level, actively working to save the rare foods that people eat around the world. According to Slow Food International, Europe has lost 75% of its cultural diversity since 1900 and the United States has lost 93%. Thirty plants feed the majority of the world’s population, which means that culinary diversity and biodiversity are at serious risk. Under the Ark of Taste program, Slow Food has been working to save rare varieties, from Irish Kerry cattle to Louisiana’s Taffy Roman sweets.
There are several categories in which foods can be considered in the Ark of Taste catalog to include everything from regional plant varieties, such as a type of bean grown only in Santorini, Greece, to Navajo-Churro sheep. The Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity believes that the best way to save rare foods is to eat them, creating a market for artisanal or unusual foods. Culinary biodiversity is vital, and the Ark of Taste addresses concerns that the world’s food supply could be threatened by heavily engineered plantations. If those crops fail without support, as they did during the Irish Potato Famine, when one variety of potato dominated Irish agriculture, feeding the world could become much more difficult.
In addition to preserving biodiversity, the Ark of Taste also helps preserve economic and cultural heritage. Many of the animal breeds listed on the Ark of Taste, for example, have been farmed for centuries by people who have built their own cultures around the animals they raise. The loss of these animal species would result in a loss of cultural diversity and biodiversity. By including a food in the Ark of Taste, Slow Food can work with producers to save it. The Ark of Taste also hopes to change agricultural policies that are detrimental to Slow Food, such as a ban on raw milk cheeses and restrictions on butchers.
The Ark of Taste works to save rare foods through fortresses, small groups that help protect artisanal producers. Sometimes local strengths just need to connect growers to a potential market. In other cases, they may help producers obtain a Denomination of Origin to protect their unique foods, help rebuild farming and harvesting facilities, or unite multiple producers in strong lobbying. Strongholds around the world work to preserve fruits like the Gravenstein apple in the United States, Kalakukko bread in Finland, Italian cheeses like Aurina Valley Graukase, and Hár fish preserves from Turkey.