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Coalvi, Piedmont farmers loosen Coldiretti’s noose

July 29, 2021

On 7/15/21, farmers registered with Coalvi, Consortium for the Protection of the Piedmontese Breed, (1) finally freed themselves from the sphere of influence of Coldiretti’s magic circle.

300 members flocked to Fossano (CN) from all parts of Piedmont, casting 588 ballots at the meeting, to exclude Palazzo Rospigliosi’s wardens from the new Board of Directors.

In neighboring Emilia, after Consorzio Agrario Terrepadane refused to merge into Federconsorzi 2, Coldiretti Piacenza was ‘commissioned’ (2,3). Is the crisis of the Roman empire approaching?

Table of Contents

The Leopard in Fossano

The Leopard is an amateur in the presence of those who really know how to ‘change everything to change nothing‘. So Coldiretti in Fossano, with the panzana of youth and new air, had nominated its loyal ‘sons of‘ former board members to the Coalvi board:

– Paolo, oenologist, son of Luigi Rabino (former Coalvi president),

– Giorgia, daughter of Graziano Scaglia (former vice president),

– Alessia, daughter of Battista Fissore (former councilor),

– Andrea, son of Francesco Merlatti (former councilor),

– Marco son of Valerio Panero (former councilor).

Without fear of contradicting themselves, the yellow flag-wavers then proposed to renew two invisible outgoing councilors (Tiziana Merlo and Nicolò Ruata) and two pawns already spent in Anaborapi (Andrea Rabino and Bruno Bertola, vice president and councilor). In addition to former Coldiretti Turin Young Business Delegate Bruno Mecca Cici.

Coalvi, elections and new board

Coldiretti’s tried-and-true modus operandi-collecting proxies for its candidates from unsuspecting, succubus or resigned members (4)-has misfired. Although the official and area secretaries of the yellow flags also this time, according to several rumors, had the folders with the ‘ready votes’ with them.

The many members who attended the Fossano assembly prevented the ‘piloting’ of the elections. Law enforcement had been informed and the atmosphere was tense; there was no room for irregularities. And surprisingly, Coldiretti members also voted for 15 free councilors, not constrained by the diktats of Palazzo Rospigliosi.

Piedmontese breeders in revolt

Piedmontese farmers simply rebelled against a parasitic system that aspires to control every agriculture-related organization in Italy to drain public and private resources intended for those who work the land and raise animals. The harassment already imposed by Palazzo Rospigliosi on ANABORAPI, the National Association of Piedmontese Breed Cattle Breeders, took the form, among other things, of the demand to register that association (first level) with FEDANA, aka AIA2, a second level association under Coldiretti. (5)

ANABORAPI members had already demonstrated in the square in Carrù (CN), on 19.12.20. 182 breeders had written to the president and board of directors of the Association, then to the prefect of Cuneo and MiPAAF. Without obtaining feedback on the various reported offenses. Some have also refused to pay membership dues, pending due clarification on the tens of thousands of euros unduly paid to FEDANA for no service. (6) The Piedmont livestock system has therefore decided to pull the plug on its ATM to serve Coldiretti’s magic circle. And the vote in Coalvi looks to be the beginning of a journey to reclaim its identity and mission, to support and enhance a high-quality agribusiness supply chain.

Coalvi, the challenges ahead

Guido Groppo, a breeder and president of Coalvi’s new Board of Directors, introduces his mandate with a clear statement of the challenges to be faced in the interest of all breeders of Piedmontese cattle (regardless of the confederations to which each is freely registered). In summary, one must:

– Maintain and improve breeding standards, based on a specification to which a scorecard should be added. With the goal of guaranteeing a minimum price consistent with the efforts of those who contribute with commitment to the excellence that distinguishes meat from Piedmontese beef cattle,

– Increase controls throughout the supply chain, from the stables to the butcher counters (especially),

– enhance the value of Piedmontese beef in the market where today its meat competes with that of calves and crossbreds, which are raised in Italy in the large fattening centers of the industry giants,

– thus recover the serious loss on the value of slaughter cattle (up to -25 percent from 2020), which is in addition to the loss associated with the withdrawal of cattle at the limit of marketable age.

Piedmont-Rome, conflicts of interest

The challenges to be faced also clearly show the conflict of interest between the Piedmontese Breed Cattle Breeders and Vincenzo Gesmundo’s Coldiretti. Which has formed a solid alliance with the emperor of meat in the Old Continent, Cavalier Luigi Cremonini. To the point of appointing Luigi Scordamaglia – Cremonini’s longtime right-hand man, in fact former president of Assocarni (Confindustria) and then Federalimentare, as well as CEO of Inalca SpA – as CEO of the Filiera Italia foundation.

It is no coincidence that Coldiretti has done nothing to support restaurant meat origin labeling, promoted by the Italia Zootecnia Consortium together with ourGreat Italian Food Trade (GIFT) site. (7) And instead he is the protagonist of double-down deals on unfair trade practices, (8) in blatant conflict of interest with Italian farmers and ranchers. Also victims, as it turned out, of speculation aimed at financing the millionaire salaries and glitz of Palazzo Rospigliosi. (9)

Coldiretti Piedmont, other conflicts

Coldiretti Piemonte, among others, is promoting the underwriting of Inalpi SpA’s venture capital to its milk suppliers. An operation through which Piedmontese milk will be paid for, at best, 15-20 years down the road.

The 2020 budget filed by In.Al.Pi. SpA, as noted, has serious inconsistencies – one among all € 43.8 million of perishable goods inventory – and even more serious critical issues, such as € 128 million of debt. (10) Who checks and who pays if something goes wrong? Promoter Bruno Rivarossa perhaps?

Dario Dongo

Notes

(1) The Consortium for the Protection of the Piedmontese Breed, Coalvi, was the first to develop a special quality mark, approved by DM 1.3.88. To date, about 1,500 farmers and 250 butcher shops have decided to follow its specification and undergo certification, which affects, on average, 20,000 cattle/year

(2) See paragraph ‘Terrepadane, resilient farmers,’ in the previous article ‘Federconsorzi 2, AgriRevi, AIPO (Unaprol). Golden business for Coldiretti’s magic circle‘

(3) Joseph Romagnoli. Coldiretti Piacenza, a commissioner arrives: he is Giovanni Benedetti. Piacenza. 7/21/21, https://www.ilpiacenza.it/economia/coldiretti-piacenza-commissariamento.html

(4) Other cases, however, remain unresolved. The assembly of ARAC Campania, on 15.10.20, is cited as an example. See previous article ‘Coldiretti and the golden calf, Sannio farmers up in arms. #CleanSpades‘

(5) Dario Dongo. Coldiretti, AIA and the golden calf. ANABORAPI’s revolt. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 5.4.21, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/idee/coldiretti-aia-e-il-vitello-d-oro-la-rivolta-di-anaborapi

(6) National Associations of Breeders (ANAs) such as ANABORAPI have the fundamental technical role of preserving and improving the genetic selection of breeds that characterize Italian agri-food supply chains, for the best protection of biodiversity. The Coldiretti magic circle, however, has laid siege to the entire farming system of which they are a part, with the strategy described and opposed in previous articles:

– Coldiretti, AIA and the golden calf. #Clean spades urgently needed

– Coldiretti, AIA and the golden calf. Operation AIA 2, aka FEDANA.

– AIA, FEDANA and the golden calf, farmers in revolt. The example of ANARB

(7) Dario Dongo. Origin of meat in restaurants, the proposed decree-law of the Italia Zootechnia Consortium. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 5/26/17, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/consum-attori/origine-carni-al-ristorante-la-proposta-di-decreto-legge-del-consorzio-italia-zootecnica

(8) Regarding unfair trade practices, please refer to the previous articles:

–
Unfair trade practices, double-down supply chain agreement

– Unfair trade practices and the European delegation law, critical analysis

–
Unfair trade practices, Paris lesson to Coldiretti and Confindustria

(9) Dario Dongo. Germina Campus, Coldiretti’s holding company speculating on farmers. #CleanSpades. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 6/13/21, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/idee/germina-campus-la-holding-di-coldiretti-che-specula-sugli-agricoltori-vanghepulite

(10) Dario Dongo. Inalpi calls milk suppliers to pay its debts. GIFT (Great Italian Food Trade). 7/19/21, https://www.greatitalianfoodtrade.it/mercati/inalpi-chiama-i-fornitori-di-latte-a-pagare-i-suoi-debiti