Author: Giuseppe Paternò di Raddusa, Giacomo Marino Gallina, Francesco Mastroeni Giovanni Campo
Produced by: Gliascoltabili.it
Distribution year: 2020
Language: Italian
Episode: Seasonal Food
Episode guests: Lisa Casali, Marta Galimberti, Jonathan Bazzi
“Sustainability for Beginners” is a format of The Listeners that talks about sustainability. In the episode “Seasonal Food,” we specifically promotes conscious and sustainable food consumption that values seasonality, short supply chain and support for local producers, reducing environmental impact and improving food quality.
The first definition of seasonal food is given by Lisa Casali, the podcast’s first guest as well as an environmental scient ist and sustainability expert, blogger and writer. For Lisa, seasonal foods are products in which natural cycles have not been forced. The production of these foods requires less energy, resulting in fresher, richer in phytocompounds, and cheaper.
When we buy food that is not in season, it often comes from far away and has been produced through the use of numerous pesticides. Although trade with other countries enriches our food supply, it causes serious pollution problems due to food transportation. Therefore, the concept of “Food Miles” was born, which refers to the miles that food travels before it reaches our plate.
To buy seasonal produce, we recommend the market and invite people to join GAS (Solidarity Purchasing Groups); GAS are groups of individuals who buy seasonal produce from their local area, avoiding the supermarket. The benefits then include high quality products at low prices.
The second guest on the podcast is Marta Galimberti. Marta is the owner of Cascina Bagaggera, an organic social farm near Milan, focused on theemployment inclusion of disadvantaged people within the farm’s production processes. They raise goats and sell their cheese directly, explaining to their consumers where the product comes from. So it is the GAS (Solidarity Purchasing Groups) that support and believe in this company, promoting an idea of collective conscious consumption.
Finally, Giacomo Marino Gallina was called as guest speaker for his experience with Ecosistem, an associative supermarket of local producers in France, of which he is a member. Ecosistem sells local products and does not employ staff but volunteers. This allows it to reduce prices, “Food Miles” and packaging. It also ensures a good profit margin for producers while maintaining transparency about the origin of products.
Listen to the podcast here:
