Pope teams up with Slow Food founder for environment appeal Pope Francis has formed an unusual partnership with the agnostic Italian founder of the Slow Food movement while doubling down on calls to protect the environment from profit-driven development that he says most harms the poorROME -- Pope Francis has formed an unusual partnership with the agnostic Italian founder of the Slow Food movement while doubling down on calls to protect the environment from profit-driven development that he says harms the world's poorest the most. The association is named for Francis' 2015 environmental encyclical, “Laudato Sii” (Praised Be). In the book's introduction, Petrini acknowledges the peculiarity of their partnership, which he said began in 2013 and deepened since then. “An agnostic and a pope, an ex-communist and a Catholic, an Italian and an Argentine, a gastronome and a theologian.”Petrini launched the Slow Food movement in 1986 after a protest in Rome at the Spanish Steps site of a proposed McDonald’s. The movement has grown into an international association that seeks to defend regional culinary traditions while promoting good food and its connection to the environment and culture.

Source: ABC News September 12, 2020 23:03 UTC