Posted on 12/13/2008 5:10:51 PM PST by bruinbirdman
Mamma would approve. While the world's major economies struggle to bail out their failing banks and car industries, Italy has revealed a different priority: parmesan.
Silvio Berlusconi's government is to buy 100,000 of the country's beloved Parmigiano Reggiano cheeses from its hard-pressed producers at a cost to the state of 50 million euros (£45 million).
The hard, pungent cheese made around the northern city of Parma has until now been a staple product found in most Italian households - and as confirmation of the country's obsession with food is Italy's most shoplifted product.
But high production prices due to the soaring cost of animal feed and milk have driven up the cost of making one of the iconic 35kg cheeses so that manufacturers are losing money on each parmigiano they produce, while demand for the product from an increasingly cash-strapped public has slumped.
"It's a tragic situation," said Marco Iemmi, who has made parmesan for 30 years in the town of Salsomaggionre Terme. "I'll have to close up shop unless things improve."
The government's initiative might at least buy his business some breathing space. Luca Zaia, the agriculture minister, said that the cheese bought will not only help prop up a cornerstone of Italian industry but will be distributed to charitable causes in order to help feed needy families.
Leo Bertozzi, president of the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium, said: "Parmesan is undoubtedly the most famous Italian food product in the world and although it is worth a billion euros a year it is being hit by the economic crisis.
"Minister Zaia's announcement is without doubt a positive step forward to deal with what is a very difficult situation."
Giorgio Apostoli, who represents dairy farmers for the Coldiretti agriculture lobby, said: "It's a help.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
That’s grate to hear.
So all the goverments of the world are buying all the industries of the world. NWO becomes more of a reality every day.
Cue the Foodie ping list...and call out Mario Batali, while you are at it, too!!!
I recently read Grisham’s ‘Playing For Pizza’ which is set in the city of Parma. It was a fun book and when I saw this tread I just had to jump in even though I do not have a dang thing to contribute to the discussion. I would be happy to answer any questions about the book.
Pardon me; I meant "re-tread". My bad.
Finally a bailout that I can get behind.
A bit cheesy if you ask me ....
Once, a friend threw a “shameless pasta party”, which featured a small mountain of spaghetti, wheels of fine Parmesan, and any number of different and elaborate pasta sauces. And plenty of vino to drink.
There were no survivors.
A quick calculation puts the government no bid price at about $10/lb.
yitbos
Pretty cheap ... can’t buy it for that ....
In this case, the Italian Government is not buying the industry. It's buying the product.
The Italian Government got 3,500,000 kg of very tasty cheese for 50 Million euros and we got smoke and mirrors for 700 Billion dollars.
Do they have food stamps in Italy? Here, they give away government cheese, no? I've never qualified. for a gov't freebe, er, taxpayer subsidized handout.
yitbos
Wanna nibble on the cheese rind?????
Now that's impressive!
From what I understand most of Europe is Socialized in that there’s some form of handouts ... I asked dad about gov’t cheese handout and he said sometime back they did but it wasn’t fancy cheese but standard yellow stuff - whatever they served in institutions ....
Me, I like that cheese product stuff in a toasted sammich ...
True Government Cheese...
yitbos
Is it because it’s so expensive or do they just eat more???
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