When you open your fridge or pantry, have you ever asked yourself where the food in your kitchen comes from? If you haven’t, we’ll tell you about it.

Contrary to what people usually think, a great part of the food we eat doesn’t come from Italy, but from abroad. How come? Farming and food industry in Italy can’t satisfy the consumers’ demand and in some countries there are also lower costs of production. We are therefore forced to import food from other countries and this implies unexpected consequences.

We went to a supermarket in our town and we saw that

• There are tomatoes from the Netherlands, green beans from Morocco, Spanish persimmons, Brazilian melons, kiwi from New Zealand (although Italy is one of the main producer of kiwi in the world!).
• Blackberries, strawberries and grapes often come from South America as well as sweet potatoes.
• We found meat from Argentina, but also from France and Ireland.

All this travelling food seems a really stupid thing! You don’t need to eat strawberries in December and tangerines in August. Besides that, road haulage increases pollution and the hothouse effect.

We should at least replace the present means of transport with hybrid ones, with an electric engine. Unfortunately many people are against this solution because hybrid vehicles are still very expensive and have a limited operating range. But if every country could produce on its own what it needs, we would pollute less and earn more.

Why don’t we try? Let’s start!

Written by: ELISA, CAMILLA, PIETRO, EDOARDO, MICHELE (IC Settimo milanese, Milano, Italy)