A wonderful article on the role and value of Pizza. A bigger emblem of globalization than any other food product.
“Pizza has every right to be considered the emblem of globalization, more than any other food product. An ancient recipe preserved in a Naples which made it evolve until obtaining a prestigious dish that has spread and is liked all over the world, pizza is our gauge for how the fragile walls erected by man over the course of time—and some are still being erected today, like Israel and between the USA and Mexico—are not ahistorical, but rather inevitably destined to crumble, like the infamous “Berlin wall”, because they are a symbol of egoism, incivility, and mental shortsightedness.
Pizza—eagerly eaten on every continent—tells us that the human race is one and one alone, that all people living on the planet are equal and have the same rights and same responsibilities, that the egoism, arrogance, and stupidity of some is a sign of ignorance and weakness, while realizing that we are equal, as we are connected, is a sign of intelligence.
If we reflect on what pizza is and what it means today, then not only do we realize its dietary value—not for nothing it’s the most eaten dish every day around the world—but also its symbolic value, its ability to bring together and unite the men and women that inhabit our planet.
All you have to do is be in Parma from April 9-11th to see, in the spirit of true friendship and admirable collaboration, the gathering of Italian, Russian, American, German, Japanese, French, Australian, Argentine, and Chinese pizza-makers, and the list goes on of over 40 countries from around the world, all united in the name of pizza. And the pizza-makers get together in numerous other shows like Giropizza d’Europa, and still more, in Hamburg, Moscow, Las Vegas, and Shanghai.
I believe we must reflect not only on the value—not just symbolic—of these events. Young people no longer accept the barriers between one country and another, between one people and the next; they reject boundaries, customs, and passports when not strictly necessary. They love freedom and know that the color of one’s skin, language, and religion don’t have to divide, but rather enrich and make life better.
Pizza is also this, and much more, and there are enough reasons why the next World Pizza Championship in Parma is once again not just a fascinating competition, but an event of great cultural, social, and political value. And that’s how we’d like the world to be, too.”
Source: Pizza e Pasta Italiana
