Posted by Italy is embroiled in a heated debate over the hamburger and national identity, after the agricultural ministry supported the US-based McDonald’s firm in its ads for fast food with Italian ingredients.
In the online magazine Farefuturo, Cecilia Moretti tries to cool things down:
“It is true that in times of rampant globalisation and amorphous identities there is a sense of urgency to bite into everything. It may also be true that we are what we eat.
Still, we are tired of being associated only with spaghetti and pizza. They may be fantastic, but I must add without arrogance and in all honesty: It seems to us that Italy and Italians are more than just a huge hunk of dough with tomatoes (which happen to come from America).
If push comes to shove, it may be the US mega-firm that suffers an identity shock when it sees its cheeseburgers and fries alongside a slab of Italian beef, authentic Parmesan cheese and bacon from the Venosta valley.
When it comes down to it, we Italians do believe we can still identify with something else, and won’t suffer an identity crisis over a little sandwich.”
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