Food and economic agreements, taste and international relations. To hold the bench, this afternoon on the stage of the Festival of Food Journalism, is the geopolitics of food. International treaties, safety standards, quality protection: everything from Italy to the European Union to the world. To clarify, with argued positions, a discussion that in the past few months has held its ground in international media, with tones so emphatic as to lead to a real battle of information.
Starting from the Old Continent, Damien O'Reilly, secretary of the European network of agriculture journalists, introduced a meeting on food alerts that cross national borders, becoming crises to be managed at the community level. Alerts, such as dioxin or mad cow syndrome, that even after returning leave a trail of fear and distrust in institutions. "It is, as usual, to blame for the lack of clarity - comments Luisa Crisigiovanni of Altroconsumo - We often think, indeed we believe we know, but it is not so".
If security is perhaps the most important topic, it is not the only issue on the plate when it comes to international treaties. Ceta, TTIP, TPP - agreements that regulate multilateral trade between nations around the world - also pose the problem of quality protection, especially for a country like Italy that has no equal in the matter. "Geographical indications, such as PDO or PGI, valid in Italy, are not recognized by the treaties and there are few legal instruments to enforce them," explains Cesare Varallo of Food Law Latest. "Italian standards are the highest in the world, also due to security checks, extended to the entire supply chain and not only to the final product -. adds Cinzia Scaffidi of Slow Food - Obviously these good practices cost and in an international context where they are not recognized, Italian companies find themselves economically disadvantaged ”.
