Fassino, "Turin capital of food"
Turin has become, in these years, one of the Italian food capitals. Thanks to Terra Madre, Eataly, the presence of Slow Food, the city has rediscovered a world place of cultural debate around the theme of food.
But is "food" really strategic for Turin?
It could really get to replace a part of the economic fabric and the same orphan citizen identity of Fiat?
Piero Fassino, mayor of the City of Turin, mayor of the Metropolitan City and president of the association of Italian Municipalities, there is no doubt: the identity of the subalpine capital also passes through the culture of food.
«Torino - observes Fassino - represents a significant food and agriculture pole and has a very rich gastronomic tradition. The intuition had by Carlo Petrini, years ago, it was very important: food and nutrition, in fact, have become one of the great themes of the world political agenda. Food has been one of the themes with which Turin has renewed its identity and the fact that the Expo is dedicated to this theme is not without meaning: food and wine is a lever for extraordinary development also from the economic point of view because the food, food, gastronomic production means investment of capital, applications of technologies, cultivation of uncultivated land, job creation, exchange, trade, imports, exports and market. And let's not forget that Italy, by size, is the third agricultural country in the European Union. Obviously, however, we must not forget that Turin has an industrial history, especially in the car sector, consistent with the creation and development of a luxury and quality car center. And it can provide experience, know-how, technological innovation and a superior culture in style and design. It is no coincidence that Volkswagen designs its cars in Turin, if GM and other manufacturers open research and style centers here. The important thing is find a balance between the many productive sectors in which the city excels and can develop».
For Expo 2015 the City aims above all to intercept a part of the Milanese tourist flows, but could it not have been the occasion to be noticed more as a city of food? And on this issue what will remain in the Turin-Milan relationship after Expo?
«The 2015 represents for Turin a year of extraordinary importance comparable to the 2006 and the 2011. The occasion of the Universal Exposition will allow the two main metropolises of Northern Italy to collaborate amplifying the economic effects of an event where 21 million visitors are expected. Turin believes "absolutely" in the success of the Expo. For this reason, for the 2015 it has organized a schedule of events unique in quantity and quality: Expo-To. Hundreds of high-level cultural, sporting, spiritual and congressional events, all in parallel with Milan. With a showcase like this, all budgets are possible ".
Bologna is investing heavily in the new city of food made with Eataly and its University. Doesn't Turin risk losing national attention on the subject of food?
«It is time to abandon the short-sighted idea that cities are necessarily in competition: the best results are achieved by collaborating. Bologna, like Turin, is another great city of good food. Turin focuses on food and expresses it with a strategy aimed at making the metropolitan city the point of reference in Italy and in the world of a culture of healthy food, of quality, widespread and accessible to all, citizens and visitors. To indicate this opportunity for development are not only the Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre, but also the many, qualified local realities active in the food sector, from production to processing to catering ».
Turin is also the city of food security: here is the most important Zooprophylactic Institute in Italy, a valid Chamber of Commerce laboratory, an Arpa laboratory in the food sector, a very careful attorney for food safety, what could be done to enhance this presence so dense but also so fragmented and little known?
"I would say they are anything but little known. The Zooprophylactic Institute and the laboratories of the Chamber of Commerce and ARPA are structures that, each for its own competence, ensure the wholesomeness of food and watch over the health of consumers, consulted all over the world. Furthermore, the City makes use of both the Chamber of Commerce laboratory and the Zooprophylactic Institute and the University of Turin to verify compliance with health and hygiene standards in kitchens and school refectories, cooking centers and warehouses of the catering companies, carrying out sample analyzes on food and equipment ».
With the specifications for school canteens the City uses the economic lever of the canteen contract to generate a sustainable agricultural economy in the territory. Are there other municipal and metropolitan city policies that could be put in place to make Turin a city that is increasingly a laboratory of good and healthy food?
«We have been working in this direction for years. As for school canteens, for example, we have introduced many innovations such as, for example, the short chain. In addition to this, procuring from the producers has advantages such as cooperation between farmers, the reduction of intermediate steps with consequent containment of costs, education to the knowledge of typical products, seasonality and freshness of fruit and vegetables, as well as reducing levels pollution. "
In the industrial future of the city could the presence of the food industry be better promoted, perhaps linked to the vocations of the Piedmont area?
"Yes of course. The promotion of the Piedmontese food sector with its typicality, appreciated throughout the world, is among the objectives of our administration. Turin has a wealth of excellence that must certainly be valued ».
