I am an italian lucky member of Terra Madre 2006.
I work as a zootechnical and agronomical technician in an organic farm in the wonderful hearth of Maremma, the south part of Tuscany. Besides I am taking a PhD in Animal Production in Pisa.

In my experience I have noticed that we have to restore the ancient agricultural practices used for thousands of years by local peasants, going backwards before looking beyond! And this is essential in order, on one hand, to maintain soil fertility – and today unfortunately it is not enough – and, on the other, to have also a positive economical balance at the end of the year (obviously I am talking about organic farming).

So I have searched (and I am searching, sometimes in a such of compulsive way…) for old books, manuals, publications and everything deal with an eco-compatible way of life based on products diversification, crop rotation, appropriate seed varieties, manure management, local breeds, animal welfare, grazing technique, homeopathy…

For me that is very important, because every living creature can expresses their own best productivity in the original environment of selection: and I think it is the best reason why “NATIVE IS BETTER�!

Every place have its native/local reality, different from region to region, and we have the duty to search, find, use and finally optimize it, creating a successful mixture of ancient practices and actual knowledge.

I am afraid of my not correct English, but I hope you have understood what I tried to communicate.

Jacopo Goracci
jgoracciATvetDOTunipiDOTit
jacopogoracciAThotmailDOTcom

[Clicca sotto per il testo in italiano.]

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Sustainable poultry production involves alternative production methods that are environmentally friendly and address consumer concerns.  Consumers are interested in poultry products such as high welfare, free-range, organic, high omega, and others.  Native and heritage breeds are more adapted to free-range production than conventional fast-growing breeds and using them in organic production systems is a way to preserve them.  Production systems that integrated poultry with other livestock and vegetable production are especially important in developing countries.  I believe we need sessions at Slow Food Nation (USA) and Terra Madre specific to poultry to assist researchers, producers, chefs and others in networking.  The nonprofit organization, the National Center for Appropriate Technology, has programs in sustainable agriculture (http://www.attra.ncat.org) and maintains a website on poultry (http://www.sustainablepoultry.ncat.org).  Please send me any ideas for the poultry website, photos, and networking for the future.  Thanks, Anne Fanatico annef@ncat.org 479-442-9824

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Hello,
we’re a research unit of Politecnico di Milano, we are working on a database of experiences related to food networks and solidarity- based economy in a perspective of local, sustainable development.
We especially focused on the forms of relationship between institutions and this kind of experiences, and on tools and policies to sustain and improve them.
We believe that these experiences build bottom-up policies in fields like agriculture, land management, welfare, poverty reduction and social cohesion. 
members of ARNM, Italian network of municipalities (http://www.nuovomunicipio.org) involved in advocacy of participative democratic processes and solidarity-based economy, and RES, Italian netwok of solidarity-based economy (http://www.retecosol.org).
We’re interested in exchanging information or know-how. In case, please contact us at the following addresses:
Daphne Sanvito daphne.sanvito AT libero DOT it (it,fr,en)
Alberto Graglia agraglia AT fastwebnet DOT it (it,es,en,pt)