Carlo Petrini, AKA "Carlìn", (born 22 June 1949) is an Italian activist, author, and founder of the International Slow Food Movement, and Terra Madre festivals.
Petrini was born in the commune of Bra, province of Cuneo, Italy. He was formerly a political activist in the communist Proletarian Unity Party (Partito di UnitÃÂ Proletaria; PdUP). In 1977, he began contributing culinary articles to the communist daily newspapers il manifesto and l'UnitÃÂ.
Petrini studied sociology at the University of Trento where he got involved in local politics. He began writing about food and wine for major Italian newspapers in 1977.
Petrini has continued his advocacy work in recent year. In 2024, Petrini was a guest at the Italian Cultural Society's gala in Washington, D.C. In a speech at the Cheese 2025 event, he warned about the potential regulations on raw milk cheese production in Italy.
He first came to prominence in the 1980s for taking part in a campaign against the fast food chain McDonald's opening near the Spanish Steps in Rome. In 1983, he helped to create and develop the Italian non-profit food and wine association known as Arcigola. He founded Slow Food in 1989 and became the organization's president. He is an editor of multiple publications at the publishing house Slow Food Editore. He has written weekly columns for La Stampa and is currently a regular journalist to La Repubblica. In October 2004, he founded the University of Gastronomic Sciences, a university devoted to new gastronomists and innovators of sustainable food systems. He is now a supporter and member of the Italian Democratic Party (centre-left wing). Petrini has also been proposed for politician roles, including ministerial positions.
Carlo Petrini has received numerous awards and acknowledgements including: Communicator of the Year at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in London; Sicco Mansholt Prize in the Netherlands; honorary degree in cultural anthropology from the University of New Hampshire; and Eckart Witzigmann Science and Media Prize from Germany. In 2004, he was chosen as one of Time magazine's heroes of the year. He was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award (Champions of the Earth) in 2013.