Is it possible to nominate a wild product?
Yes, but only if it is associated with traditional techniques (of gathering, fishing, processing etc.).
Slow Food seeks to defend biodiversity not only in terms of germplasm (genetic material), but particularly as culture (local area, knowledge, traditional techniques).
There are wild products involving complex techniques, such as manoomin rice (United States), which is harvested using canoes, then dried and smoked, or wild Harenna coffee (Ethiopia), which is dried in the sun and toasted. Others use simpler techniques, such as Radicc di Mont (Italy), which is gathered in the mountains and put in extravirgin olive oil. Wild products are often used as food but also have cosmetic and medicinal uses.
Preserving wild products means safeguarding the knowledge that communities pass in order to preserve the ecosystem in which these products originated and live (such as forests, mountains and lagoons).
In the animal kingdom, fish are the largest family to provide wild food. Here also it is possible to nominate a type of fish if a traditional fishing or preservation method is involved (salting, drying, smoking, etc.).
The Ark of Taste draws attention to these products, highlights the risk that they might disappear, and invites everyone to do something to safeguard them.
Sometimes it helps to buy and eat them, but in the case of some wild products (those at serious risk of extinction, such as salmon), it is better to eat less or none at all in order to protect them and encourage reproduction.