UC Davis at Terra Madre Americas: Innovation and Sustainability in Action
When Terra Madre Americas made its North American debut in Sacramento in September 2026, the three-day festival transformed the city for a vibrant celebration of food, culture, and sustainability.
Wine tastings, live music, celebrity chef demonstrations, and a bustling street festival brought together food producers, researchers, and consumers from across the Americas. At the center of it all, UC Davis led essential conversations about the future of our food systems.
A Festival Rooted in Slow Food Values
Terra Madre Americas is grounded in the international Slow Food movement, founded in Italy in 1989 to promote "Good, Clean, and Fair Food for All” with quality, flavor, environmental sustainability, and equitable practices working together.
The weekend opened with the Grand Tasting featuring over 20 acclaimed chefs showcasing Sacramento's culinary scene. Celebrity chefs, including Jeremiah Tower, Chris Cosentino, Mary Sue Milliken, and Elizabeth Falkner, led cooking demonstrations.
Indigenous food leaders Sean Sherman and Crystal Wahpepah shared perspectives on traditional foodways, highlighting how Native American culinary practices emphasize seasonality, sustainability, and deep connections to the land. Guests also explored wines from across the Americas in the Enoteca, while Slow Food Experiences guided tastings of coffee, spirits, and street food.
UC Davis Contributions: From Research to Practice
Good Food is Good Medicine
UC Davis showed how research institutions can translate values into practical solutions by bringing UC Davis Health’s nutrition expertise into multiple cooking demonstrations.
Catering Supervisor Terese Mollander and Registered Dietitian Danielle Baham showcased Tuscan white bean soup for cancer recovery, highlighting anti-inflammatory ingredients like alliums and fiber-rich beans.
Executive Chef Jet Aguirre and Registered Dietitian Randi McCreary demonstrated fiesta-spiced chicken with pluot salsa, proving that eating to lower cancer risk can be both colorful and delicious.
"Good food is good medicine. It all starts in the kitchen," Baham emphasized, underscoring UC Davis Health's commitment to nutrition education.
Upcycling Brewery Waste
Glen Fox, Ph.D., D.Sc., the Anheuser-Busch Endowed Professor of Malting and Brewing Sciences, teamed up with undergraduate Jonah Messenger and Dan Kurzrock of Upcycled Foods, Inc., to demonstrate how spent brewer's grain is used to make birria tacos.
Using a recipe from the UC Davis Alt Protein Project, they showed just one delicious way 20 billion pounds of annual brewery "waste," consisting of 20% protein with all essential amino acids, can become nutritious food instead of livestock feed or landfill material.
"We should be calling it super grain, not spent grain," Fox quipped, highlighting the circular economy opportunities in food production.
Climate Adaptation in Wine and Beer
The "Sips of Change" panel moderated by UC Davis Viticulture and Enology Professor Ron Runnebaum, brought together Fox, Ben Montpetit, Ph.D., Marvin Sands Department Chair and Professor of Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis, and Sofia Elena, a pioneering winemaker from Contra Corriente Winery in Patagonia, Argentina, to explore climate adaptation strategies.
Montpetit emphasized that climate change will reshape regional wine identities. "Maybe in a hundred years, California won't be known for Cabernet," he observed. "And that's okay."
The challenge is adapting quickly enough. Vineyards take 3-5 years to reach production, so transitions require both farmer resilience and consumer flexibility.
Elena shared how Patagonia, once considered too cold for viticulture, now produces elegant cool-climate wines as temperatures shift.
"I make whatever I can with what I have," she explained, embodying the philosophy of working with rather than against changing terroir.
Fox discussed how brewers are revisiting ancient grains like quinoa and amaranth, which supported fermentation long before industrial standardization.
Building Community Through Food
Colin Dixon, director of the UC Davis Student Farm, moderated a panel featuring Professor Natalia Deeb-Sossa from Chicana/o Studies, Professor Ryan Galt from Human Ecology, Ph.D., Professor Catherine Brinkley, Ph.D., Associate Professor in Human Ecology, Community, and Regional Development.
Brinkley, who leads the Equity Land and Food Systems Lab at UC Davis, grounded the conversation in local plan-based, "What's in your city’s plan?"
Deeb-Sossa's community-based research has documented how economic pressures and workplace conditions affect agricultural workers who often can't afford the produce they harvest.
"Sitting down and eating is how we show love and care for each other," Deeb-Sossa noted, emphasizing that food justice requires comprehensive support systems beyond the fields.
Galt complemented this perspective by pointing to the gap between consumer behavior and sustainable farming goals. Only a small share of consumers buy directly from farmers, and while California aims to reach 10% organic cropland by 2030, only 4-7% is currently certified organic. His research makes clear that reaching these goals will require both stronger consumer engagement and policies that make sustainable transitions feasible for farmers.
Discovering California's Agricultural Diversity
At the "A Taste of California Pavilion," UC Agriculture and Natural Resources partnered with Community Alliance with Family Farmers to showcase heritage and climate-resilient crops.
A jujube fresh variety tasting introduced attendees to this ancient Chinese fruit now thriving in California's Central Valley, crisp, lightly sweet, and demonstrating how innovation often comes from rediscovering crops that have nourished people for millennia.
Other demonstrations included elderberry jam-making and sustainable produce tips from UC campuses, including UC Santa Cruz and UC Merced.
Broader Conversations on Equity and Justice
The festival's programming extended beyond environmental sustainability to address social equity. The Slow Wine Coalition's panel on labor rights featured Líderes Campesinas and Guardian Vital, where vineyard workers shared experiences of dangerous conditions and workplace indignities.
Alice Waters, Kat Taylor, and Chef Ann Cooper discussed transforming California's universal free school meal program with fresh, locally sourced ingredients.
These sessions reinforced that sustainable food systems require multiple strategies: scientific research, preservation of cultural knowledge, supportive policies, consumer engagement, and institutional commitments.
The UC Davis Difference
UC Davis's presence demonstrated the university's dual role as both a research leader and a practitioner. From Student Farm programs to institutional procurement at UC Davis Health and Dining Services, the university models the principles it researches, reflecting its land-grant mission of conducting scientific research while addressing real-world challenges.
Whether discussing fermentation biochemistry, organic farming economics, or institutional procurement logistics, UC Davis experts brought scientific rigor and practical experience to conversations about building resilient food systems for the future.
Experience It Yourself
Terra Madre Americas will return to Sacramento in 2027 and every two years thereafter, alternating with the flagship event in Turin, Italy. The festival shows that exploring sustainable food systems doesn't mean sacrificing flavor, celebration, or joy; it means enhancing all three.
Interested in learning more? Visit the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science to explore research and programs. Experience hands-on learning at the UC Davis Student Farm.
Stay connected with Terra Madre Americas by visiting their website for updates on future events.