L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS Continued from page 4 tomato sauces. Italy is known for its good food and wine, but behind each product, there is a cul- ture and a territory. When y o u b u y I t a l i a n , y o u a r e e s s e n t i a l l y p u r c h a s i n g a piece of tradition. This is the k e y t o t h e s u c c e s s o f t h e Made in Italy brand, which is loved around the world. Ital- ian food is not just the sum o f p r o d u c t s m a d e b y o u r agricultural and food compa- nies; it is much more. It is t h e s t o r y o f t h e p r o d u c t itself, its production process, and what it represents for the territories it comes from. It is closely tied to the land- scape, to monuments, litera- ture, and art. Coldiretti is leading the charge to protect this heritage. We do this in our Campagna Amica mar- kets, where a relationship of t r u s t i s c r e a t e d b e t w e e n farmers, who sell their prod- ucts directly, and consumers. This network has become a global community. That's why we stress the impor - tance of mandatory labeling of food products indicating the origin of the raw materi- a l s u s e d . W e a l s o n e e d stricter controls, which our Ministry of Agriculture is already carrying out, even o n l i n e . H o w e v e r , w e a l s o n e e d a u n i f i e d a p p r o a c h throughout the European Union, where the road to m a n d a t o r y t r a n s p a r e n t labeling is still difficult. Mozzarella is the most popular cheese in Amer- ica, and Wisconsin pro- d u c e s m o r e o f i t t h a n anywhere else: 450,000 tons. It usually ends up on top of another Ameri- can favorite: pizza. Can we compete with such a market? Competing with a generic soft cheese called mozzarella in a market like the United States is impossible. Italy cannot do it based on quanti- ty, it can only lose. Keep in mind that our largest compa- nies are small compared to global giants, even in the f o o d i n d u s t r y . Q u a l i t y i s where Italy has always been and will always be a winner. The same applies to pizza, which in our country is a tri- umph of flavors thanks to the ingredients used and the art of pizza-making. Let's not f o r g e t t h a t t h e a r t o f Neapolitan pizzaiuoli is an i n t a n g i b l e h e r i t a g e o f UNESCO. S h o u l d w e p e r h a p s l a u n c h a c a m p a i g n t o l i n k t h e n a m e " m o z - zarella" to Italy? As I mentioned, the effort should be directed toward protecting quality. We have a great protected product in the form of buffalo mozzarel- l a ( m o z z a r e l l a d i b u f a l a DOP). Furthermore, many industries in our country chose to use national milk: that's stated on labels, and it's an added value. Again, we need to expand designa- tions as much as possible. We are absolutely in favor of internationalization, but in the free trade agreements that the EU has signed or is signing with non-EU coun- tries, we believe it is essen- t i a l t o m a k e p r o t e c t i o n s stronger. The Italian agri-food export industry reached record numbers, but it could achieve even more if it weren't for Italian- S o u n d i n g p r o d u c t s , which steal shares of the m a r k e t . H o w c a n w e fight against food coun- terfeiting, which often a l s o m e a n s u n h e a l t h y products? In 2022, Italian agri-food exports reached a record fig- ure of 60 billion euros, and the first few months of this year confirm a clearly posi- tive trend. Are we satisfied? The answer is no. Italy has t h e p o t e n t i a l t o p r o d u c e more and, consequently, sell more internationally. It's an ambitious goal, but achiev- able. We need to increase production, but we also need to be able to bring our prod- ucts to markets. We suffer from a logistic gap that has caused us to lose positions compared to our competi- tors. For example, we do not have distribution structures that can adequately deliver t h e M a d e i n I t a l y b r a n d around the world. However, a large investment plan has b e e n l a u n c h e d i n I t a l y , which includes significant interventions for the devel- opment of transportation networks, such as railways, airports, and ports. The sea is a route we still need to fully use. We believe that a policy to p r o t e c t o u r a g r i c u l t u r e , along with a strong infra- structure strategy, can help us fight against the fakes, worth over 120 billion euros, t h a t h a v e b e e n i n v a d i n g tables worldwide. This way, we should manage to elimi- nate "monster" products that deceive consumers, such as B r a z i l i a n P a r m e s a o o r Argentine Reggianito, all the way to American Parmesan. T h e r e a r e a l s o n u m e r o u s cloned cold cuts, from Parma to San Daniele, but also Mor- tadella Bologna or salame cacciatore, extra virgin olive oil, or preserves such as San Marzano tomatoes. Among the "food horrors," we can also find wines, from Chianti t o P r o s e c c o , w h i c h i s n o t only the first DOP wine in production value but also the most copied. Tradition and quality a r e a l s o u n d e r a t t a c k because of new trends. Do you think that insect flour represents a prob- lem, a risk, or an oppor- tunity? Insects and flour are not part of the Italian food cul- t u r e , b u t t h e E u r o p e a n Union has authorized four of these "novel foods." it's part o f g l o b a l i z a t i o n . B u t w e believe they will not become popular in our market. Per- h a p s , i n t h e f i r s t p h a s e , someone will be induced to try pizza and cookies made with cricket or worm flour out of curiosity. But frankly, these products are not a risk f o r o u r b e l o v e d M e d i t e r - ranean diet. We are satisfied with the choice made by our government to impose trans- parency: a legislative mea- sure requires to indicate on products' labels the presence of these flours. Also, they must be displayed on dedi- cated shelves. People are free to eat what they want but without any deception. It's the same principle we have applied to pasta or cold cuts. There's nothing against for- eign raw materials, but it's essential to avoid a subtle nationalization. Those who buy on national or foreign markets must know what's inside the products they put on their tables. What about synthetic meat? Synthetic meat is a com- p l e t e l y d i f f e r e n t s t o r y . Coldiretti itself shed light on a business that was growing in silence – and that's some- t h i n g s u s p i c i o u s i n i t s e l f a l r e a d y . W e a r e t a l k i n g about products that are still n a t u r a l , l i k e i n s e c t s , b u t about foods made in a labo- ratory. I wouldn't even call them food, they are more like medicines because the processes involved are simi- lar to those used to make drugs. We have been warn- ing about the health risks to consumers for two years. A n d t h e g o v e r n m e n t h a s recently passed a measure that prohibits the produc- tion, marketing, and import o f s y n t h e t i c m e a t s , m i l k , cheese, and fish in our coun- try. The synthetic meat busi- ness is based on investments made by a handful of billion- aires, already in charge of both the hi-tech and phar- maceutical sectors world- wide, so there isn't only the risk of damaging the Italian and European food systems, but also that of undermining the very democracy of food. Concentrating such a pre- cious matter in the hands of a few can really lead to cata- strophic scenarios. We have collected over half a million s i g n a t u r e s , a n d m a n y municipalities and regions have joined our battle. But in recent days, a report by the FAO and WHO shed some more light on the issue. And conclusions are not encour- aging: 53 potential health risks are coming from the consumption of synthetic foods, or as the study defines them, "cell-based foods." T h e d o c u m e n t h i g h l i g h t s issues ranging from allergies to cancer. With lab-grown foods, diseases, and infec- tions could be transmitted, and the risk of contamina- tion is high. And then there's hormones, the use of which, I would like to underline, has been banned in Europe for years. The research contin- ues, but we see no reason to allow these products in Italy and the European Union. All in the name of a type of sus- tainability that is, pardon the wordplay, not sustainable at all because synthetic food is industrially made. Even say- i n g t h a t l a b - m a d e f o o d would help solve the world hunger emergency doesn't hold up, as we know it is mainly a problem of waste and distribution. "I don't think the 80 poorest coun- tries in the world will ever be able to eat cultivated meat, w h o s e p r o d u c t i o n t e c h - niques are rather expensive," Bill Gates himself said. We know, however, that this will be a tough battle because of t h e b i l l i o n s o f d o l l a r s a t stake. But Coldiretti has only one line of action: protecting research, but only the kind that supports agriculture and our food industry and offers the highest guarantees to consumers. Certainly not the kind aiming at destruct- ing the most balanced diet in the world. According to the Vini- t a l y d a t a , I t a l y ' s w i n e industry seems to keep growing on internation- al markets. The United States, with Napa Valley, is now a very established and competitive reality. How can we defend and promote our wine pro- ductions in the USA? Let's return to the beau- ties of our country and the world with wine. Italian wine g a i n e d p o p u l a r i t y i n t h e United States. 2022 was a g o l d e n y e a r f o r n a t i o n a l wine exports, with over 8 bil- lion euros earned interna- tionally. The US is among our best buyers, but we need to do even more. That's why we opposed the European Commission's choice to cut financial incentives for wine promotion. We need to be increasingly present on mar- kets around the world, and the American market is cer- tainly one of the best for our producers. To Italians in America who want to eat Italian, what do you say? Just one message: don't compromise on such a sym- bol of your country. Eating Italian contributes to your quality of life, so why settle for satisfying only the eyes, a t t r a c t e d b y c o l o r s a n d images that evoke the Bel- paese, but renounce authen- ticity? "Italian food is not just the sum of the products made by our agricultural and food companies; it is much more. It is the story of the product itself, its production process, and what it represents for the territories it comes from."

• Cover