It has taken me quite a long time to fully understand Carlo Petrini’s declaration, “Eating as Agricultural Politics.”
It comes to mind now, as I am preparing to leave Italy for California after two months of intensive study of the wealth of artisan-produced foods in northern Tuscany. I am returning to a place I consider increasingly odd and foreign, where the government gives freely of its vast resources to ensure that companies whose “food” products sicken—and occasionally kill—can rename themselves and their poisons so as to be “born again” to perpetuate their crimes against humanity.
In case you haven’t heard, HFCS, high fructose corn syrup, is now simply “corn sugar” in its reinvention, and the Corn Refiners Association’s new deceptive and scientifically incorrect advertisements no doubt have the full support of the FDAs Monsanto-lobbyist Michael Taylor. (The new government is no doubt reinvigorated with new blood chomping at the bit to embrace the difficult job of elevating the status of industrial crap food.)
Meanwhile, in the Garfagnana territory of northern Tuscany, you can see otto file corn, corn with just 8 rows, as you see in the picture. I know, corn comes from the New World, where its genetic diversity has been thwarted by big biz (and consumers who seem always to base purchases on price alone; companies hungry for enormous growth certainly didn’t do this all on their own). How long can we let this go on? How much ruination can the food chain take? Is disaster around the corner? Beh!
In any case, I’m glad to have tasted some old corn types made into polenta and bread. They are mighty fine. Over the winter in California, I will miss them.
And from Andrea Bertucci, whose tireless work promoting the fine products of the Garfagnana in his small restaurant and tasting facility at Vecchio Mulino to the “mastermind of the Slow Food movement Carlo Petrini, to the many tour guides, cooks, cheese and salumi producers I’ve met and worked with on the Tuscany for Foodies project, I salute you all. God willing, I’ll be back for more in the spring.
