QUALITALY 141

August /September 2024 IV MAGAZINE comes from natural resources, or is grown, hunted, caught or produced, food must simply exist and be purchasable, in markets or grocery shops; 2) secondly, the relevant issue is accessibility : it is not enough that the food exists, people must also have access to it. In practical terms, we are talking about economic and physical access, which are the two components of so-called Food Security . The idea is that people must be able to afford to buy food, without compromising other basic needs. This means - which is never obvious - guaranteeing minimum wages and efficient social protection systems. Then there is the question of physical accessibility: here the entitlement to food also takes into account vulnerable persons, such as children, the elderly, or persons with disabilities, for whom it may indeed not be easy to buy something to subsist on; not forgetting those who live in remote areas or in war zones. 3) Last but not least, the issue of adequacy : this is where the right to food becomes more sensitive, more capable - that is - of intercepting the uniqueness of people’s relationship with food consumption, where it also becomes cultural. The effort is to take into account certain subjective items, such as individual age, living conditions, health, occupation, and gender. Details that can obviously make a difference: for example, if the available and accessible food is high in calories but low in nutrients, it will not be adequate, especially for a child. Much less if a sufficient level of food safety is not guaranteed: if the food is, for example, contaminated with pesticides, hormones or substances incompatible with human consumption, then we are far from adequate. Finally, food that exists (thanks - for example - to humanitarian aid) but is not culturally consistent, i.e. it conflicts with the eating habits of those who should consume it, is also not adequate. In other words, an exceedingly demanding right. But at least then we would suspect that what is at stake is not merely to fill empty bellies. Were it so, adequacy would be a meaningless protection. But it is not, precisely because ‘the right to food,’ as the FAO explains, ‘is not the right to be fed, but primarily the right to feed oneself with dignity. People must be expected to meet their needs, through their own efforts and using their own resources. To do this, everyone must live in conditions that allow them to produce food or buy it.’ From this technical-legal reasoning on the right to food we can then deduce another order of issues, relating to how we produce food of adequate quality and quantity. Food, in fact, is a very strange commodity, which of course must and can function as a produceable and exchangeable asset, as long as we do not forget the profound connection between food and human dignity. (end of part one) * In the next issue, the second part of the feature with a focus on the fight against food waste __________________________________ AT PAGE 14 FOCUS ON Rice, a constantly evolving proposal ARBORIO, CARNAROLI, ROMA AND VIALONE NANO ARE THE MOST POPULAR RICE VARIETIES ALONG WITH PARBOILED. BUT IN RECENT YEARS OTHER ‘SPECIALITIES’ ARE BECOMING ESTABLISHED. QUALITY REMAINS ESSENTIAL, BUT THE SERVICE ASPECT IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT, ALONG WITH THE DESIRE FOR NEW TASTE EXPERIENCES. by Veronica Fumarola Each grain of rice has its own history, qualities and characteristics unique to the land where it is grown. It tells of peoples, traditions and recipes of numerous countries and boasts a prestigious record: rice is the most consumed cereal in the world. The FAO, for 2024-2025, estimates record global production volumes of 537 million tonnes (an increase of 1% compared to 2023/2024). And rice usage is therefore expected to reach an all-time high. The top three producing countries, looking at 2023-2024 production, are China, India and Bangladesh, with a share of 28%, 26% and 7% of global production, respectively (source: Usda), but by 2033, according to the Agricultural Outlook edited by the OECD and the FAO, India will overtake China as the world’s largest rice producer. Where does Italy stand within this context? Our country holds the record among European rice producers, producing more than half of the rice in Europe, even if the numbers are small compared to world production. But there is one fact that must be emphasised: of the 50% of rice produced in Italy, as much as 60% is exported. RICE IN ITALY After several years of decline, Italian rice cultivation increased in 2024. While in 2022 the number of cultivated hectares was 218,421 (-8,617 ha and -3.8% vs 2021), and in 2023 the number of hectares was again down to 210,239 (-8,182 ha, a decrease of -3.7% vs 2022), in 2024 the areas increased by +7.5%. According to Ente Risi data updated on 20 July 2023, in fact, it is estimated that the area allocated to the cultivation of this cereal in 2024 will amount to 226,100 hectares. A production that historically concentrates in the Alessandria-Vercelli-Novara-Pavia area, between Piedmont and Lombardy, but also includes the Lodi area, the lower Veronese area, the area between Rovigo and Ferrara, generally following the course of the river Po.