(reported by GBurch1)
POGGIOLI says: There's a lot of anti-Americanism. That feeling has been
latent in the European psyche for a long time. And now as the average
European sort of, you know, looks around, sees all this Americanization, the
dominance of American movies, of music, the Internet, their baseball caps
everywhere, and now fast-food outlets, there's a sense of creeping American
colonialism. And it's strengthening what the Europeans now call American
culinary imperialism. And I think you can recognize that's the language of
the old European left. It's fascinating to see how the old, you know, '68
generation of lefties and political activists has transformed itself in
middle age into food militants. And they've dived into the culinary trenches
of what they see as the last kind of battlefield against American cultural
encroachment.
Unfortunately what POGGIOLI is saying is true: anti-americanism now is
stronger than last year.
That is due - in my opinion - to our EU quasi-flop (and many more countries
are now entering in EU!). And also to the digital divide question. And also
to the Microsoft case (a new Microsoft case soon in EU?). And also to those
genetically modified foods.
But, listen, the genetically modified foods argument is very chaotic in EU.
The EU prohibits those genetically modified foods (and many are swiss!). But
the EU - supported by many EU big companies - is also attempting to prohibit
the classic old fashioned chocolate (without vegetable adds) and also the
classic french cheese camembert and also the classic italian pizza (cooked
in the old wood-burning oven) and also the wellknown tyroler smoked speck
and pehaps (in the nearest future) even the parmisan cheese and the folk
fresh mozzarella (without powdered milk).
So, in my opinion, this argument is not so sincere. There is (also) some
industrial-political connection.
scerir (Rome, Italy)
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jul 27 2000 - 14:14:26 MDT