The Mediterranean Diet remains, as we have seen on this blog on other occasions, a matter of some controversy. However, it is interesting that it has been taken up Coldiretti, the national farmers federation, as its battle standard in its war on trash food. ‘Coldiretti claims that Italian food education is going downhill because of the abandonment of the Mediterranean Diet. Younger generations are more at risk of illnesses because of fizzy drinks and fatty foods full of sugar. About a third of young Italians are obese because of bad dieting that derives from the lack of daily fruit and vegetables.’ Coldiretti has also reacted to the proposal of the new Health Minister Renato Balduzzi in his attempts to tax junk food – non-Italian readers might note that the Italian government is in a taxing mood at the moment. ‘A poll carried out by Coldiretti suggests that 8 out of ten Italians would support such a tax if the resources were used to support genuine local foods’. Coldiretti have loaded the dice here with the form of the question. SY
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