International conference on the Local & Regional Food System Planning

Trade-off or convergence? The role of food security in the

evolution of food discourse in Italy

Asan-city September 10th, 2012

Professor Gianluca BrunoriVanessa Malandrin, Research Fellow

University of Pisa

Tuscany region, Italy

How do people change their general attitude to food?

Who is involved in these processes? What strategies and tools are used to

influence consumer thinking?

The evolution of food discourse

3 phases in the discourse of food security1. From II World War to end of 1980s:

modernization frame with emphasis on on productivity and the industrial organization of production

2. 1990s: “turn to quality” phase3. Economic crisis and emergence of food

poverty

The evolution of food discourse

1960 -’90: standardization, delocalization and gradual erosion of quality in italian food industry

Strict food safety rules: diversity (and a different concept of quality) is sacrificed to achieve the goal of higher hygiene standards

The “Made in Italy” brand attracted many international corporations, which became involved in the business of traditional products

Some examples: San Daniele ham, gorgonzola cheese, extra-virgin olive oil

Trascinare l'immagine su un segnaposto o fare clic sull'icona per aggiungerla

The “turn to quality” phase

Reg. (CEE) 2081/1992 regulation on PDO&PGI During the 1990s quality became the base for

the identity of italian food The generic image of the “Made in Italy” based

on images of pizza and spaghetti was replaced More attention to regional specificities, traditional

products and artisanal production New opportunities for farmers and small food

processing enterprises

The New Food Consensus

The new concept of quality became the base for a new italian consensus on food

Food industry and corporations adopted some aspects fo the new discourse and contributed to its development

Slow Food movement (1)

In 1989 Carlo Petrini and Folco Portinari presented the Slow Food Manifesto:

We are enslaved by speed and we have all succumbed to the same insidious virus: Fast Life, which disrupts our habits, pervades the privacy of our homes and forces us to eat Fast Foods.

Slow Food movement (2)

1996: first “Taste Fair”, an opportunity to show to a wide public a gastronomic heritage in danger of extinction caused by modernization

1999: petition “In defence of the Italian gastronomic heritage” which was being jeopardized by the new food safety regulations

Slow Food movement (3)

2001: manifesto “In defence of raw milk cheese” to protest against the closure of many small dairies by Health Authorities

http://www.slowfood.com/slowcheese/ The growing success of traditional food

was mobilized to create political pressure in order to adapt food standards introduced by EU regulations in order to respect local specificities

Slow Food movement (4)

2004: first edition of Terra Madre, a turning point for the food movement in Italy and probably elsewhere

It marked the shift of Slow Food from a focus on pleasure to a focus on security

there is no contradiction between quality and affordability, localism and multiculturalism, safety and artisanal quality, and security and pleasure

Emerging storylines Quality is not only about safety: there is

artisanal quality opposed to industrial quality EU standards have created a trade-off

between safety and quality; some of the norms are too restrictive, putting in danger hundreds of traditional local products

Industrial large scale production and artisanal small scale production have different characteristics; safety rules need to be tailored to the specific features of small producers

… and some positive results

1999: the Ministry of Agriculture approved a national regulation that gave a special dispensation of the safety rules for traditional products

2004: the positive impacts of the Italian system lead to EU Reg. (853/2004), which gives to the member states the freedom to adapt food safety rules to local specificities

Farmer’s Unions Coldiretti: gradually abandoned the

modernization discourse and corporatist defence of CAP price support, and proposed a new business model based on multifunctionality and direct sell

Tradition, locality and family farming became common elements of Coldiretti’s concept of quality

Traceabil i ty

New trasversal market alliances

Eataly http://eatalyny.com/how-to-eataly

It works in partnership with Slow Food, reconciling the best of Italian artisanal food products with affordable prices by reducing the food chain to the essential, and creating a direct relationship between producers and the retailer

New trasversal market alliances

McDonald’s McItaly: sandwich made with Italian

ingredients, some of which are PDO products

campaign in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture

Challenges for the new italian food consensus

Food availability and affordability have become the biggest challenges to the Made in Italy consensus

How to keep the legitimacy of ‘artisanal quality’ without being accused of neglecting food security?

Challenges for the new italian food consensus

Mediterranean diet & Sustainable diets Obesity Land planning vs soil consumption GMOs Organic farming Food sovereignty

Thank you!

Contacts: Vanessa Malandrin

vmalandrin@agr.unipi.it