The Bolivian Food Symposium - october 2012

This is the Manifesto of Bolivia’s Gastronomic Integration Movement (MIGA) in which the representatives of different sectors recognize the talent of our people and the exceptional natural and cultural richness of our land as expressed by our cuisines. In consequence, the time has come for us to re-appreciate and project our food’s potential so that it may become a reason for national unity and pride, a reflection of the country’s diversity and an engine for its development.

This Manifesto includes the following precepts:

1. To be inclusive and become a source and symbol of pride and unification among Bolivians.

2. To highlight the diversity of native and local products and cultural and production practices, and to promote sustainability by linking them to Bolivian gastronomy.

3. To combine the search for great taste with the importance of human health and the environment.

4. To re-appreciate regional gastronomic knowledge, part of traditional culture, and safeguard it as national cultural heritage.

5. To have Bolivia’s Gastronomy be a reflection of the diversity of our products based on their ecological strata, harvesting seasons and preparation modes particular to our country.

6. To propose cooking styles based on originary and local techniques and ingredients while also taking into consideration global trends.

7. To generate a culture of gastronomic quality by educating students, producers, cooks, merchants, authoritiesand consumers.

8. To promote gastronomic research, documentation and dissemination.

9. To promote a fraternal, trustworthy and cooperative relationship among all actors part of the gastronomic chain.

10. To recognize, strengthen and include gastronomic and productive regional movements .

11. To have Bolivia’s Gastronomic Integration Movement become an engine for positive social and economic change through the advocacy of public policy proposals, the generation of new jobs, the just distribution of resources and tourism promotion.