The healthy elixir and emblems of the Italian lifestyle boasts only 13 per cent of Italian exponents, they said.
Legacoop proposed a ‘pact’ to valorise the diet more.
“The Mediterranean diet is a lifestyle choice, it’s the emblem of Italian wellbeing,” Federcoop Agroalimentare President Cristian Maretti said.
Speaking at the Rome event titled The Med Diet between sport, health and cooperation, he said it’s the value of farm and fishing production which interfaces with Italy’s culture and history.
“And it also has an important value for food sustainability,” Maretti said.
UNESCO says the Mediterranean diet “involves a set of skills, knowledge, rituals, symbols and traditions concerning crops, harvesting, fishing, animal husbandry, conservation, processing, cooking, and particularly the sharing and consumption of food”.
“Eating together is the foundation of the cultural identity and continuity of communities throughout the Mediterranean basin,” it continues.
“It is a moment of social exchange and communication, an affirmation and renewal of family, group or community identity.
“The Mediterranean diet emphasises values of hospitality, neighbourliness, intercultural dialogue and creativity, and a way of life guided by respect for diversity.”
ANSA
