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