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The Mediterranean diet of olive oil, pasta, tomatoes and
fish is to be awarded Unesco World Heritage status in attempts
to halt the onslaught of junk food, according to Italy's agriculture
minister.
The Italians have been pushing for the high-fibre, low-fat
diet to be recognised officially by the UN's culture and education
agency, claiming that it reduces the risk of illnesses such
as heart disease and cancer and boosts life expectancy.
A Unesco
World Heritage committee is due to rule on the issue
at a conference in Nairobi in November, but Giancarlo Galan,
Italy's agriculture minister, said the status would be awarded.
"It's a great success for our country, our culinary traditions
and our culture," said Mr Galan. "The Mediterranean diet represents
a sustainable style of living based on eating local products
in a convivial setting with your friends and family.
"For Unesco this, along with the traditional knowledge passed
down from generation to generation, is something unique in
the world and worth safeguarding."
Italy's promotion of the Mediterranean diet - which revolves
around fresh fruit and vegetables, pulses and unrefined cereals,
polyunsaturated fats such as olive oil rather than butter,
limited dairy products and small quantities of meat and sugar
- is supported by Greece, Spain and Morocco. If the four countries
are successful, they will be required to take steps to promote
and protect traditional cooking and ingredients.
That could help to combat a growing obesity problem in countries
such as Spain and Italy, where people have drifted away from
traditional diets, lead more sedentary lives than previous
generations and eat more packaged food.
The Italians are particularly concerned that low quality
copies of their best known foods - including prosciutto ham,
extra virgin olive oil and mozzarella cheese - are being made
by other countries and passed off as genuine.
A Unesco spokesman in Paris said no decision had been made
on whether to include the Mediterranean diet on the organisation's
list of 'Intangible Heritage'. She said it would be
the first national or regional diet to be included on the
list, although France's president, Nicolas Sarkozy, has lobbied
for French cuisine to be recognised by Unesco, claiming it
is the "best gastronomy in the world".
The intangible heritage list was introduced two years ago.
"It's new, it's hot and everyone wants to be on it," said
Sue Williams, of Unesco. "It will be very interesting to see
what different countries put forward at the meeting in November.
The committee will examine a total of 58 applications."
Nearly 180 cultural treasures have been included on the list
in the past two years - including folk songs, endangered languages,
religious rituals and traditional crafts. They range from
the well known - such as tango from Argentina - to the obscure
- the 'polyphonic singing of the Aka pygmies of central
Africa'.
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