Food System

#PastoriSardi. GDO takes the field, first signs of understanding with industry

February 17, 2019

Sardinian shepherds’ protest finally gathers first feedback. The Italian large-scale retail sector takes the field and in Cagliari, overnight, the groundwork is laid for a first supply chain agreement. In the brief respite, some reflections.

Table of Contents

#Iostoconipastorisardi, large-scale retail takes the field.

Evil tongues

immediately looked to the distribution chain for the scapegoat for a crisis that was announced, the causes of which should instead be sought in the failed strategy

of agricultural representation, industry and politics. Who have deluded and dragged pastoralists into the abyss of semi-intensive production, with skyrocketing costs (feed, wages, energy), decay of animal welfare, and collapse of milk quality-from the stars (of pastures) to the stables (of GMO soybeans), submission to speculation by the

broker

.

Large-scale retail trade Organized (GDO), on the other hand, confirms its leading role in the food supply chain with immediate, pro-active and concrete intervention. It thus confirms a maturation of the industry that stands out from the manufacturing industry and is close to primary agricultural production as well as consumers. Facts, not words.

Coop Italia-a national leader with more than 1,100 outlets-recognizes the suppliers of all-brand pecorino (Coop and Fior Fiore) a purchase value that can assure farmers 1 euro per liter, to temporarily stem the crisis. VéGé Group and ISA (its partner company, a leader in island organized distribution) express heartfelt solidarity. Giorgio Santambrogio and Massimo Muscas favor buying products from small local businesses, ISA even displays the white #Iostocoipastorisardi banner in all stores (!). The CEO of UNES – Viaggiator Goloso, Mario Gasbarrino, ‘supports the protest of the Sardinian shepherds‘ with equal liveliness, #pastorisardi, ‘Promoting and Supporting Sardinian Cheeses, Sardinian Pecorino, Sardinian Brigante, Sardinian Flower‘. Conad and Crai in turn express sympathy.

It is clear how the large-scale retail sector cannot solve on the spur of the moment a crisis that began more than 10 years ago and must be attributed to the strategic mistakes of upstream operators. But the spirited protest from the first link in the chain and the response from the one that closes the circle, alongside consumers, have forced industry and politics to sit down at a table to start a dialogue. The hemorrhage of underpaid milk is thus buffered.

#PastoriSardi. Pantalone pays industry, first signs of understanding

On 2/16/19, just before midnight at the Cagliari prefecture, representatives of livestock farmers and the processing industry laid the groundwork for an initial agreement, with the support of the government and the region. In the presence of Minister Gian Marco Centinaio, the negotiations were defined for now in the following terms.

– Public token. Government and region provide 45 million euros to withdraw 60 thousand tons of Pecorino Romano cheese from the industry (which will be destined for the needy, at least in part). Doping to demand will increase the price of cheese, so will the price of milk. Pecorino, now at €5.40/kg (with milk at €0.60/l), is forecast to reach €6.50/kg by May, pushing milk to €0.80/l. Pantalone pays the industry and promises farmers a moratorium on mortgages, to be defined in agreement with ABI and the banking system.

– Milk purchase price. 0.72/l ‘on account’ between February and April. At the end of May the value to be paid ‘on account’ will be updated, based on the average price list (June ’18- May ’19) of pecorino on the Milan stock exchange (Chamber of Commerce). With further update at the end of October and balance payment. The industry will undertake to set the minimum selling price of pecorino at 6 €/kg.

– Programming and controls. A CUN (Single National Commission) for sheep and goat milk will be established to represent farmers in PDO consortia. The deadline for scheduling Pecorino Romano DOP production quotas is extended. A ‘computerized register’ of sheep and goat milk and other monitoring criteria will be introduced to ensure compliance with production quotas.

– Promotion. In Cagliari, there are plans to entrust ICE with initiatives to internationalize Sardinian cheese. While in Brussels, Antonio Tajani, outgoing president of the European Parliament, announces the promise of outgoing Agriculture Commissioner Phil Hogan to allocate EU funds for promotion.

Truce announced by farmers, waiting for next meeting set in Rome on 2/21/19.

With the regional elections three days away, the stakes are high for everyone.

#Sardinia. What supply chain strategy?

A sick system cannot last beyond emergency treatment without risking recurrence. A broader reflection is needed, a U-turn in supply chain strategy, with a medium- and long-term perspective. Sardinian sheep’s milk-and not that of other regions, e.g., Tuscany, thanks to different trade dynamics-has been reduced to a ‘commodity‘. Which as such can never compete with other producing countries, where the extent of herds and labor force are incomparable.

Instead, the authentic value of extensive farming must be recovered. Only grazing, from which the word ‘shepherd’ derives, can guarantee the identity flavor profile and nutraceutical value of Sardinian milk, on which to rebuild a unique and profitable supply chain. Giving up the unsustainable costs — for farmers, animal welfare and the environment — of a chase after productivity that has led only to dependence on selling at any cost, in the hands of speculators, to the point of commercial crisis. Tied among other things to the trivialization of end products and overproduction not supported by demand.

Our cheeses

have nothing to envy to French cheeses, but they have much to learn from their respective supply chains, where the roots in the territories, the integration of the supply chain and the focus on quality make it possible to guarantee decent incomes for all operators, ‘

from feed to fork

‘. Consumers have already proven that they appreciate and reward organic and more generally sustainable production, at the European level

and global

.

The value chain should therefore be reconsidered. Putting pastoralism back at the center, advancing research on the nutraceutical virtues of pasture milk with the goal of enhancing them through special ‘

health claims

‘ to be authorized at the EU level. (1) Perhaps even in the U.S., where the nutraceutical value of olive oil has recently been recognized

. Italian large-scale retail has already shown its willingness, but in order to garner the approval of local and global consumers, it is necessary to be able to offer distinctive products, including those with high added value. (2)

PDO Consortia Will in turn have to overcomedigital illiteracy And review nutrient profiles Of their products. Reduce salt First and foremost, in caci as well as in processed meats. Keeping in mind that the average salt/sodium intake in Europe is double the WHO-recommended threshold for nutritional safety, and its excess causes serious diseases. (3)

One final note On the international promotion of our treasures. The (in)efficiency of ICE is well known to many, all the more so where one compares it with France’s Sopexa. There is no record of the rest of the opening of new markets through the ‘missions’ of pharaonic delegations of local politicians and administrators, representatives of consortiums, etc. All the better to entrust the available resources to the real professionals, in international communication and export.

Dario Dongo

Notes

(1) The ability of Sardinian pecorino cheese to reduce blood cholesterol due to the natural presence of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid) in the milk of sheep raised on pasture in Sardinia has already been demonstrated. But the randomized clinical trial, however significant, must be repeated in healthy individuals, according to criteria defined by Efsa (European Food Safety Authority). On the basis of new studies, which the government and region could well fund, it will be possible to apply for European authorization to use a health claim such as ‘daily consumption of 50 g of this cheese helps reduce blood cholesterol.’ Perhaps more effective than a public token at increasing the demand and price of really good pecorino, for the health of those who consume it and the welfare of those who produce it.

Cf. ‘

Sheep cheese naturally enriched in α-linolenic, conjugated linoleic and vaccenic acids improves the lipid profile and reduces anandamide in the plasma of hypercholesterolaemic subjects

‘ (2012).

https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114512003224

Further studies may be conducted on thefavorable interaction of pasture-raised sheep’s milk, and its derivatives, with the microbiome

(2) Large-scale retailers will also have to do their part in educating consumers on nutrition, who today pay even higher prices for bagged salad than for caci made with several liters of milk, following processes that require far more effort than washing a lettuce (sic!)

(3) See previous articles

https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/salute/troppo-sale-nella-dieta-causa-infarto-e-tumori-ecco-come-mettersi-al-sicuro

,

https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/salute/il-sale-favorisce-il-diabete

. It is noted in this regard how already some producers of hard cheeses have renounced the use of the PDO (e.g., Grana Padano) precisely to meet the nutritional needs of consumers. They have reduced salt significantly (-25/30%), without ‘distorting’ the product or having to use preservatives.