SALONE DEL GUSTO 2006 - MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE, DE CASTRO, IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH WINENEWS: “FOOD EDUCATION MUST BEGIN IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. I AM PREPARING TO LAUNCH AN INITIATIVE TOGETHER WITH COLLEAGUE FIORONI”

“Food education must begin at elementary schools, where our children can immediately learn the difference between foods, the connection with territory, and the characteristics of local products”. These were the statements made by the Minister of Food and Agriculture, Paolo De Castro, in an exclusive interview with www.winenews.it (one of the most popular Italian wine sites), during the inauguration of the Salone del Gusto, held recently in Turin. Minister De Castro stated that, “in ’99, during my previous experience as minister, I launched the proposal for a food education program in schools, and that, even today, is one of my most important undertakings as minister.
De Castro also noted, “I am preparing, together with colleague Fioroni in Education, to re-propose this initiative and to re-launch it in schools”.
The head of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture also emphasized that for children, “it is important to learn a food culture that will accompany them for their entire lives, understanding from the start how to choose between products that have weight only in their productive quantity, and those, instead, that make quality their distinguishing element on the market”.