“Prasna Upanishad describes Annam as Brahma”. In Sanskrit, ‘Annam’ means food and ‘Brahma’ is God. The term Annam has its own cultural and spiritual dimensions.
Movement of the people for
- Food Security
- Food Sovereignty
- Good Food
ANNAM- Good Food Movement is the upright patterning of CISSA to fight against the fast food culture and to promote local food diversity and traditional food culture and also addressing food security and food sovereignty issues.
Annam people’s movement was launched by Carlo Petrini, the founder of Slow Food International at Thiruvananthapuram on 30th May 2007, in the presence of Dr. Vandana Shiva. Since its origin the movement has initiated several activities to promote the philosophy of good food.
It is an attempt to infuse a new food culture that ensures not only supply of healthy and ethically produced food but also facilitates conservation of rich biodiversity at grass roots. This festival aims to showcase the rich diversity of Indian food, agro-biodiversity, farming and cooking practices, linkage between food and health and traditional health care systems and food culture and wisdom of India. The festival named as Annam National Festival on Food and Agro Biodiversity was first held at Thiruvananthapuram in December 2008 and again at Kozhikode in February 2010. To the latest, the biennial Annam was held successfully at Kochi during 10-14 December 2015.
Campaigns
CISSA is conducting a series of campaigns to make the people aware of the implication of fast food to human health and the importance of good food movements for a healthy living in a healthy planet. Exhibition of panels prepared in English, Hindi and Malayalam to convey the message has been organised in various institutions. Lecture classes are also organised .
Publications
CISSA has come out with a number of books related to ANNAM in vernacular for the benefit of the public.
Activities envisaged
- Collect, conduct studies and disseminate information on traditional recipes, good and ethically produced food, organic foods, harmful effects of fast-food culture etc.
- Organise regional food and agro biodiversity festivals for mass awareness.
- Development of appropriate IEC materials for propagation of good food culture.
- Make partnership with socially active grass-root organizations, to propagate the concept and practice of good food movement.
- Creation of database on traditional food.
- Workshops and training programme on terrace farming, organic farming, natural processing of food, healthy cooking etc.
- Awareness programmes among students on dangers of Fast Food and the need for good food practices
