Italian pork strike imminent! Get your prosciutto while you can! (DiceFood.com)

May 31, 2008 | By glarr00 In Secret Recipes |

Italian pork strike imminent! Get your prosciutto while you can!

pig farmers of Italy are going on strike. That puts Parma ham, prosciutto, and Piacenza pork neck salami, as well as other Italian pork products, under threat.

The Italian farmers say their earnings have been cut in half, with falling pork prices and rising feed costs. They decided to strike when financial assistance talks with the government fell through earlier this month. Part of the strike calls for farmers to not recognize Protected Designation of Origin certificates, which then can’t be sold under EU rules.

If you’re a big fan of Italian pork products, you might want to think about stocking up. If the garbage strike in Naples is any indication, this could last for a while.

[Via ANSA]

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Newspapers, Local Eating

There comes a time when we local foodies realize that we’ve been taking ourselves a little too seriously. I actually had that moment last night, when, after buying a bunch of fresh carrots at my local produce market, I realized that they had been shipped in from California. I was so distressed at this revelation that I nearly took them back to the store. However, I immediately understood the ridiculousness of my reaction and took the carrots home (and they were delicious).

The above cartoon from Toothpaste for Dinner gets at the absurdity of the current food trends and helps us (well, at least me) remember how lucky we are to have such food choice. In a world that is racked with war, famine, drought and malnutrition, those of us who have the opportunity be concerned about where our carrots were grown are truly fortunate.

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