cultivar_22_Final_EN

Let’s eat what is around us – and that is just the beginning of change 33 uments but also local traditions and practices. The success of wine tourism has everything to do with this – and, once again, the wine sector showed other products how it could be done. We need to connect what we eat to the land; we need to show where the ingredients (ideally) found in the region’s restaurants come from. And whoever is interested to deepen their knowledge can take part – getting involved in farming, picking and crushing grapes during the harvest, going fishing or just going to the local market to buy fish directly from the fishmonger. More recently, I wrote an article in the PÚBLICO with Francisca Gorjão Henriques in which we asked a question which while not directly about the con- nection between farming and food was near enough: Is there a strategy to promote Portuguese food internation- ally? Our conclusion was that there are various unrelated initiatives but there is still no integrated strategy to extol the virtues of the entire production/food-re- lated sector as a whole. We have talked about exam- ples from other countries in this article. One of the people we talked to was Pelle Anderson, chairman of the Food Organization of Denmark (a private organisation that is 30%-publicly funded). What did he tell us? “The process coincided with a revolution in food production. Denmark is an industrial country with a very big industrial farming sector. As this movement began, many small pro- ducers – of cheese, beer and all types of products – began producing at a smaller scale.” At the same time, the organic food movement started, “which was also heavily inspired by the restaurant industry”. “Here’s an example: at the moment, 90% of the 50,000 meals served in Copenhagen’s schools and old-age homes are made with organic ingredients,” he points out. “There was a very clear reorientation of policy here: the government requested more organic produce and small organic farmers began to find greater chances to sell to institutions. This led to a structural change in food production.” Separating producers and restaurants is a big stra- tegic error, says Anderson. There has to be a union between the food scene, wine industry and tourism: “If they work together they will be much stronger. Some- times, the government can do this by putting a little money on the table and telling them to do something together. Someone has to unite them, someone who understands cooking, experts, because in many countries the mistake is made of putting this in the hands of tourism agencies who may know absolutely nothing about food.” In recent years, we have seen chefs who are increasingly aware of the importance of the quality of produce. Anyone following gastron- omy – with all the visibility it has now fortunately gained –has also to be interested in the production side. Everything begins on the land. What reaches our plate has a story that is inter- esting to know – and one chefs are increasingly will- ing to tell, justly recognising the key work done by producers, farmers, fishers and cattle breeders. So what is missing? First, we need to discuss these issues more openly and identify the problems. Many chefs complain that the quality of Portuguese produce is still very incon- sistent. This is above all due to scale. Small produc- ers often struggle to ensure the same consistency as the big players. Channels need to be created so that produce can be distributed more easily – I often hear them com- Is there a strategy to promote Portuguese food internationally? Our conclusion was that there are various unrelated initiatives but there is still no integrated strategy to extol the virtues of the entire production/food- related sector as a whole. Separating producers and restaurants is a big strategic error… If they work together they will be much stronger. Everything begins on the land.