Just a couple of hours before his big speech at the closing ceremony, I meet Petrini inside the Lingotto exhibition centre on the outskirts of Turin where the twin events are being held. From a balcony we look down at the throng below. On one side of the vast room, farmers from Benin to Bolivia are displaying their wares ranging from shawls and seeds through to dried fruit and herbal drinks. On the other, Italy's best artisanal producers are offering samples of their cheeses, breads, oils and meats to the crowds. The pessimist in me leads me to ask him what, given the world's current economic woes, the future is likely to hold for all these proud producers, many of whom are already feeling bludgeoned by both the downturn and the heavy hand of globalisation.