Carlo Petrini
Carlo Petrini, AKA "Carlìn", is an Italian activist, author, and founder of the International Slow Food Movement, and Terra Madre festivals.Petrini was born in the commune of Bra, province of Cuneo, Italy. He was formerly a political activist in the communist Proletarian Unity Party. In 1977, he began contributing culinary articles to the communist daily newspapers il manifesto and l'Unità.He first came to prominence in the 1980s for taking part in a campaign against the fast food chain McDonald's opening near the Spanish Steps in Rome. In 1983, he helped to create and develop the Italian non-profit food and wine association known as Arcigola. He founded Slow Food in 1989 and became the organization's president. He is an editor of multiple publications at the publishing house Slow Food Editore. He has written weekly columns for La Stampa and is currently a regular journalist to La Repubblica. In October 2004, he founded the University of Gastronomic Sciences, a university devoted to new gastronomists and innovators of sustainable food systems. He is now a supporter and member of the Italian Democratic Party. Petrini has also been proposed for politician roles, including ministerial positions.Awards
Carlo Petrini has received numerous awards and acknowledgements including: Communicator of the Year at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in London; Sicco Mansholt Prize in the Netherlands; honorary degree in cultural anthropology from the University of New Hampshire; and Eckart Witzigmann Science and Media Prize from Germany. In 2004, he was chosen as one of Time magazine's heroes of the year. He was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.