ROME, May 22 (Reuters) – Carlo Petrini, founder of the Italian “Slow Food” movement that promotes quality food, genuine ingredients and local produce, has died at the age of 76.
The death occurred on Thursday in Petrini’s hometown of Bra in the northwestern region of Piedmont, Slow Food said in a statement on Friday, without giving a cause of death.
Petrini, who led Slow Food as president until 2022, revealed in recent years that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Slow Food was set up in 1986 in protest against McDonald’s opening of its first fast food restaurant in Italy, in Rome’s historic centre.
Petrini “brought to life a global movement rooted in the values of good, clean, and fair food for all, connecting communities, farmers, food artisans, cooks, activists, and young people across the world,” Slow Food said in its statement.
Under his leadership, the movement evolved from a small group of friends in the Italian countryside in the 1980s into an internationally renowned global network active in more than 160 countries, Slow Food said.
As an international advocate for sustainable agriculture, Petrini was a personal friend of Britain’s King Charles, a longstanding champion of organic farming.
(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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