Tarsus Slow Food Earth Market Association has been active under Slow Food International since 2019. Globally it is the 70th earth market. The market opens every other Sunday, we have 100 exhibitors 50 stands. Some of these makers are also members of women cooperatives in Mersin.
Tarsus Slow Food Earth Market follows Slow Food International beliefs that every human being and creature deserves "Good, Clean, Fair, Local Food." Our city's geographical location is our richness; the Cukurova plain is located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Taurus Mountains. The area is very fertile therefore farmed extensively. Unfortunately, there is excess use of plastic items in farming. These harmful materials are also within the food sector. All these plastic wastes go into the ground, rivers, and, eventually, the sea. Therefore, it pollutes the living areas. Today, zero plastic must be our lifestyle.

Our goal is to introduce plastic's negativity to nature and alternative material through Tarsus Slow Food Earth Market and the producer's involvement. First, we will ensure that the market follows a zero-plastic policy at every stage of the products in the Tarsus Slow Food Earth Market. Every production stage (before, during, and after) will be inspected. Participants will measure the number of plastics used within the timeline. We will also create awareness among the 24,000 visitors and participants. The project aims to be an exemplary market that uses zero plastic for sustainable life.
It will impact the decision-makers, chambers, NGOs, and cooperatives in our region, and we, Slow Food Community, will ensure to minimize the use of plastics to as close to zero.