The Swiss Cities of Taste

Valposchiavo - The FAO Liaison Office in Geneva joined the annual meeting of the Swiss cities of Taste, as part of the Organization’s efforts to strengthen partnerships with different Swiss entities in support of the transformation of agrifood systems, especially urban ones, and to increase outreach on the impact of FAO’s work in the host country.

Valposchiavo, a remote Italian-speaking valley of Graubünden in the Southeast of Switzerland, was nominated by the Foundation for the Promotion of Taste as the 2024 Swiss region of Taste. It is a unique, diverse climatic area between glaciers with a mild Mediterranean climate. More than 90 percent of its agricultural area is cultivated and maintained by certified organic farms. The label “100 percent Valposchiavo” was introduced to promote its local products.

Speaking at the event, Tom Heilandt, FAO Senior Liaison Officer, spoke about taste as a relevant element of agriculture and the four betters of FAO. He also updated the participants on FAO’s work on the urban agenda and the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage systems (GIAHS), which has recently welcomed an alpine system: Traditional hay milk farming in the Austrian Alpine Arc.

Region Suisse du Gout, Swiss Region of Taste
Since 2002, the Swiss Foundation nominates a Swiss city or region as the City/region of Taste for the year. With more and more of the world’s population living in cities (expected 70 percent by 2050), cities are pivotal players in shaping the trajectory of food systems across urban, peri-urban and rural landscapes, as well as in implementing the right to food and enabling healthy diets. This urban shift brings both opportunities and challenges to the forefront and the Foundation fully recognizes this potential and the up to now underused element of taste which could also be important internationally as part of “gastrodiplomacy”.