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Bruno Scaltriti
UNIVERSITY OF GASTRONOMIC SCIENCES
Gastronomic Sciences and Economic Degrowth
Over the last few years, the relationship between wellbeing and economic growth has been questioned by numerous scholars, among whom the Nobel Prize winner for economics Daniel Kahneman, and has been addressed in a particularly critical manner by the set of suggestions and theories that goes under the name of ‘degrowth’. The promoters of degrowth argue basically that, in the long run, a model of development based solely on raising the Gross Domestic Product is unsustainable from a social and environmental point of view and fails to make significant contributions to the quality of life of individuals. Citing the work of scholars such as Meadows, they claim that it is necessary to first achieve a stationary state, then curb the consumption of natural resources which at that point is unsustainable for the environment and increases social injustice.
Are there convergences between degrowth and gastronomic sciences? I believe so. It is possible to say that the theory of degrowth welcomes development strategies that we might define as ‘less’, while rejecting development strategies that are ‘more’. Hence a form of agriculture such as the organic variety, which envisages fewer inputs, a shorter supply chain, fewer food miles and a diet with fewer ready-to-eat and animal-derived products, provide ingredients for a ‘less’ strategy for the agrifood system. Contrariwise, the recipes put forward by international bodies—by FAO in its recent summit, for example—are characterized by an increase in agricultural inputs. Given the not always satisfactory results in the fight against malnutrition, these leave the battlefield strewn with illustrious victims, such as the environment and social equity. Our hope is that thinking about food production and consumption will become increasingly less ideological and more pragmatic. As Brillat-Savarin wrote, ‘The destiny of nations depends on the manner in which they are fed’.
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