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The global sustainable food movement has lost one of its most influential pioneers. Carlo Petrini, the founder of Slow Food, who dedicated 40 years to advancing eco-friendly food production and protecting centuries-old culinary traditions, passed away at the age of 76 on Thursday in Bra, his hometown in Italy’s northwestern Piedmont region. The Slow Food organization confirmed his death in an official statement, with local media reports noting he had battled cancer in recent years.

Petrini’s journey into global food activism began in 1986, when a then-journalist joined widespread public protests opposing the opening of Italy’s first McDonald’s location in Rome’s iconic Piazza di Spagna. In the wake of those demonstrations, Petrini gathered a small group of like-minded friends in the Italian countryside to launch a grassroots movement initially named Arcigola. What started as a local pushback against the rise of standardized fast food quickly grew into a national phenomenon, and by 1989, more than 20 international delegates gathered to sign the official Slow Food Manifesto. The document laid out the movement’s core mission: to push back against the “tediousness of fast-food” and safeguard cultural food heritage around the world.

Under Petrini’s decades-long leadership as president, the movement expanded far beyond Italy’s borders, establishing a presence in more than 160 countries. Slow Food’s core principles — a commitment to food that is “good, clean, and fair for all” — have reshaped global conversations around food systems, emphasizing quality ingredients, environmental stewardship, and equitable working conditions for small-scale farmers and food producers. Petrini’s work united a diverse global network: from rural farming communities and traditional food artisans to professional chefs, grassroots activists, and young people passionate about food justice.

Throughout his campaigning career, Petrini built close connections with major global figures who shared his commitment to sustainability. He developed a lasting friendship with King Charles III, rooted in their shared dedication to promoting fresh, ecologically responsible food production. The pair were even photographed together during a 2017 visit to Florence’s Sant’Ambrogio Market, when Charles was still the Prince of Wales. Petrini also formed a bond with the late Pope Francis, who surprised the activist with a personal phone call in 2013 after Petrini sent the pontiff a copy of one of his books alongside a letter. Reflecting on the call to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Petrini noted, “Our phone conversation ended, with wishes of good health and a mutual embrace. A world in which one can fraternally embrace a Pope is truly a beautiful world.”

In tributes following his death, leaders and the Slow Food organization itself have honored Petrini’s far-reaching legacy. The movement released a statement calling Petrini a visionary who “brought to life a global movement rooted in the values of good, clean, and fair food for all.” It added that his work successfully connected diverse groups of food stakeholders across every continent. Italian President Sergio Mattarella echoed those remarks, saying Petrini’s death leaves a “huge void not only in the world of food and wine science, but also in society as a whole, and not just in Italy.”

A devastating large-scale fire has left a well-established local furniture business in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, facing extensive damage after breaking out on Thursday evening. The blaze broke out at Cherrymore Kitchens & Bedrooms, a family-owned manufacturing and storage facility based in Donegal Town that this year marks three decades of operation.

Emergency response was triggered at 22:46 local time, when authorities received a 999 emergency call reporting the fire. The first crew of firefighters arriving from Donegal Town quickly assessed that the blaze had already spread extensively across the site, prompting an immediate call for additional backup. In total, 58 firefighters from six brigades across Ballyshannon, Bundoran, Killybegs, Stranorlar, Letterkenny and the local Donegal Town area mobilized to bring the fire under control.

Investigations into the cause of the fire remain ongoing as of Friday, with An Garda Síochána, Ireland’s national police service, confirming the incident is still an active investigation. According to Donegal County Council (DCC) officials, the fire was concentrated in a central storage area that held large volumes of raw wood used for the company’s custom kitchen and bedroom production. This core storage zone was “largely destroyed” by the flames, while other parts of the facility suffered widespread smoke damage. Three fire crews remained on site through Friday morning to dampen hotspots and ensure the fire did not reignite.

Fortunately, no workers or members of the public were present at the facility when the fire broke out, and emergency services have not recorded any injuries related to the incident. In an official social media statement released Friday, Cherrymore’s leadership confirmed the absence of on-site staff at the time of the blaze, and extended gratitude to first responders for their rapid, extensive response. The company also thanked workers at the adjacent Donegal Waste site for their on-the-ground support during the emergency, as well as local community members for their patience as emergency access routes were managed.

Widely recognized as one of the most modern and advanced manufacturing facilities in Ireland, Cherrymore employs a large local workforce and holds a prominent place in the County Donegal business community. The Ballybofey and Stranorlar Chamber of Commerce released a statement Friday expressing solidarity with the McLaughlin family, who own the business, as well as their staff, suppliers and customers who have all been impacted by the incident. The chamber emphasized that the loss comes as a particular blow this year, as the company prepares to mark 30 years of operation. Officials confirmed the local business community stands ready to provide any support necessary to help the firm recover.

Donegal County Council also echoed these sentiments, sharing official condolences for the family and everyone affected by the serious incident. As of Friday, investigations into the exact cause of the fire are continuing.

Carlo Petrini, the trailblazing Italian thinker and activist who built the global Slow Food grassroots movement advocating for sustainable food systems, local heritage cuisine, and ethical agricultural practices, passed away on Friday at his home in Italy’s northwestern Piedmont region at the age of 76. The Slow Food organization formally confirmed his death in an official statement this week.

In paying tribute to Petrini, Slow Food’s leadership remembered him as a far-sighted pioneer and public intellectual whose life’s work was rooted in unwavering dedication to collective well-being, respectful human connection, and stewardship of the natural environment. What would grow into a worldwide food reform movement began as a small but fierce act of resistance in 1980s Italy, when a cohort of food activists led by Petrini pushed back against the rapid spread of fast food culture. The movement’s public launch came in 1986, when Petrini and his supporters held a high-profile protest directly on the steps of a newly opened McDonald’s location at Rome’s iconic Spanish Steps, a moment that first brought their mission to global public attention. Originally named Arcigola, the organization would soon rebrand to adopt the now-famous name Slow Food.

Three years after the Rome protest, in 1989, delegations representing more than 20 countries gathered in Paris to formally endorse the Slow Food Manifesto, and delegates unanimously elected Petrini as the movement’s first president. He would hold this leadership role for more than three decades, stepping down only in 2022.

Under Petrini’s guidance, the movement coalesced around a simple but transformative core philosophy: that all food should be “good, clean and fair” — good in flavor and quality, clean in its production process to protect ecosystems and consumer health, and fair for producers and workers who grow and process it. This accessible, values-driven framework allowed the movement to spread rapidly across Italy before expanding to more than 160 countries around the world. Restaurants that commit to Slow Food’s principles display a recognizable certification sticker, formally called the Snail of Approval, marked by the movement’s iconic snail logo.

Over his decades of leadership, Petrini spearheaded a series of landmark institutional initiatives to embed Slow Food’s values into global food systems. In 2004, he launched Terra Madre, a groundbreaking network that connects small-scale farmers, fishers, chefs, and food academics to share knowledge and advance the movement’s mission across borders. Later, he founded the University of Gastronomic Sciences in northern Italy, the world’s first higher education institution dedicated to the multidisciplinary academic study of food and food culture. This innovative approach earned formal recognition from the Italian government in 2017, when national education officials established an official Bachelor’s degree program in gastronomic sciences modeled on the university’s curriculum. To date, the institution has trained roughly 4,000 food sector professionals from more than 100 countries, according to Slow Food data.

In 2017, Petrini partnered with Bishop Domenico Pompili of Verona to launch the Laudato Si’ Communities, a network of around 80 local groups that translate the environmental principles laid out in Pope Francis’ 2015 environmental encyclical Laudato Si’ into on-the-ground food and sustainability action.

Beyond his activism and institution-building, Petrini shared his philosophy with global audiences through a number of influential published works. His best-known books include *Slow Food Nation: Why Our Food Should Be Good, Clean and Fair* and *Slow Food: The Case for Taste*, the latter of which features a foreword from American farm-to-table movement pioneer Alice Waters.