12 novembre 2005
Food and party politics
Yesterday, I was chatting with Angus, an Irish guy about the Irish economic growth, Irish politics, Irish sports, Irish arrogance.... It was in a party in Kantorsgatan, a party full of German people. Suddenly, I noticed the postcards pined on the walls. These postcards were the postcards for the last campaign of the European Green Party about the food. And I realised how food and politics are connected. Today, the main news in the Swedish newspaper is "Nutritional experts worried about the quantity of salt the chiefs put in their meals in TV ; The MP of the People's Party demand a maximum for pre-made food" . In France, cars are burning, people have to live in the garbage. Here, politicians worried about how much salt is shown at TV....
Anyway.. I'm going right to the point. Whereas MH tried to bind sex
and politics together (in the book I'm reading, the hero tries to
define what should be a "social-democratic sexual practice"), I 'll try
to understand what must be the links between food issues and politics ,
in a global sense.
EN réalité, il ne s'agira pas ici d'une étude
ou d'une analyse (le support blog n'est pas approprié) mais d'une suite
d'anecdotes, qui doivent amener une réflexion chez le lecteur.
1-I watched the TV one year ago. a debate about the European elections. What's the role of the MEP ? What's the role of the European Parliament ? Is it useful ? In this debate, one of the MEP said that the European Parliament is the place where represents of the people decide what should be the Alimentary Scurity, what are the quotas for each peace of lamb and so on.. And then, a nationalist MEP made fun of these MEPs by telling that it's not the role of a MEP to define how big must be a box of yoghurt, or how big must be the rabbits cages.....
2-Jamie Oliver, a famous TV chief played a important
role in the last national elections in the UK. He asked for a
meeting with Tony Blair, because he strongly supported better food in
schools canteens. Jamie Olliver is very popular and famous in the UK. ( A quand une entrevue ultra-médiatisée entre DeVillepin et Jean Pierre Koffe?)
3-The
European Green Party or Organisations have launched two big campaigns
in favour of Green (and ecological) food : Tell me What I eat ! and Eat Better !
José Bové, a French Peasant Unionist,
destroyed a McDonald in Millau in 2000, because McDonalds represents
"malbouffe" ("badfood") and liberalism.
4-Incontestablement, la nourriture a investi le champ du politique.
C'est un phénomène nouveau, qui date des 10 dernières années : la
politique s'investit partout. C'est un enjeu qui trouve sa résonnance
surtout dans les milieux écologistes ou sociaux-démocrates.
Le lien
avec la mondialisation économique, la régionalisation économique et
politique ( l'uE, l'européanisation des partis) et la question
nutritionelle est évident. C'est une question environnementale, de
santé, d'approche générale de la société. Il est temps que les autres
partis en prennent conscience.