L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2016 www.italoamericano.org 4 LOS ANGELES ITALIAN COMMUNITY O n November 30th, it took place, at the Italian Cultural Institute in L.A., a round table discussion about food sustainability in the greater Los Angeles area. Alongside the IIC, the panel was made possible thanks to the following organizations, Italian American Chamber of Commerce West (IACCW), Slow Food Los Angeles, Santa Monica Office of Sustainability and the Environment, Santa Monica Farmers Market, Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition, Los Angeles Food Policy Council and Vinomatica.com. The list of collaborators to the evening is long and that testifies how much the topic matters today in a region like Southern California, where the drought parches the land and masse of homeless people starve, while the children of the wealthy suffer from obesity. Moderator of the evening was Ernest Miller, chef, educator, consultant, speaker and co-leader of Slow Food Los Angeles, whose mission is to create dra- matic and lasting change in the food system. As its manifesto recites: "We are enslaved by speed and have all succumbed to the same insidi- ous virus: Fast Life, which dis- rupts our habits, pervades the pri- vacy of our homes, and forces us to eat Fast Foods." As shown in the organization's logo itself, featuring a snail, the solution to this harmful state of things is to reconnect with food slowly, rediscovering the aromas and flavors of healthier food choices. First at the lectern was Laura Avery, Santa Monica Farmers Market Supervisor, who, since 1982, has been spearheading efforts to promote and provide reasonably priced, high quality produce from local farmers directly to the city's population, each and every week. Laura presented the case of the "grain project." In the eighteen hundreds, 70% of California's agriculture consisted in wheat. A large share of it was exported to Europe. However, the extensive use of the land, without a proper care for it, eventually took its toll to the quality of the product itself and made the whole industry col- lapse. Today, the grass-rooted move- ment through fundraisers and marketing campaign is trying to bring back the endemic quality of California's grain to its past splendor. Behtash Bahador, the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition Foundation's Alumni representa- tive in North America, talked about the role of the independent non-profit organization, founded by the Barilla family, in fostering a multidisciplinary dialogue among people from the most vari- ous walks of life, with a focus on higher equality in worldwide food production, distribution and con- sumption. Frank Garofolo, Culinary Curriculum Development Specialist, who related his past experience as executive chef for a US cruise line. In one of his cook- ing demonstrations aboard the ship, he showed people how to make pasta. It emerged then, the following predominant attitude, "Let's substitute one product sup- posedly healthier for one less healthy, such as margarine for butter, so we can eat larger quan- tities of food." As educator, he noted how this unhealthy trend, prevalent in the Western countries, shall be reversed, starting from what we teach to our kids, for the benefit of our planet and our future gen- erations. Orietta Gianjorio, certified olive oil, chocolate and honey taster, as well as sommelier, was born in Rome, but now residing in Los Angeles. She walked us through the contemporary process of produc- ing extra virgin olive oil and the current Californian legislation that guarantees, since 2014, that if an olive oil is defective it cannot be labeled as "extra virgin." She also shed some light about recent successful attempts to recycle and reuse waste products, such as olive pits, deriving from the extraction of extra virgin olive oil. Emily Zipperstein, spokesper- son for the Center for Good Food Purchasing, the only one without a food-related background, voiced the very relatable perspective of someone who makes well informed choices in terms of buy- ing healthy food, and works towards making as many people as possible choose well in terms of food purchasing, with a better effect on our health and less harmful impact on our planet. Last but not least, Giammario Villa, hailing from a family of wine and culinary professionals in Rimini, is now a master taster and wine educator in L.A., as well as President and Founder of Vinomatica, the first detailed and accurate English online catalog dedicated to Italian grape vari- eties. I've had the chance to hear from him in greater detail about his experiences and his philoso- phy about food sustainability. Please, sum up for us your idea of food sustainability. The idea of sustainability goes side by side with a mentality. It is not a certification or a logo, but Continued to page 5 Sommelier and Wine Educator Giammario Villa. Photo Courtesy of G. Villa Six food experts give their personal recipe for sustainability VALERIO VIALE

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