Lombardy, Campania team up in Expo Med diet drive

(ANSA) - Naples, March 24 - The regions of Campania and Lombardy respectively in southern and northern Italy have teamed up to promote quality Italian food and the traditional Mediterranean diet at Milan Expo 2015, regional representatives said Tuesday. The regions are also planning to use the upcoming Universal Exhibition on food-related themes to advance the fight against fraudulent 'Made in Italy' food products.
    "We have an extraordinary opportunity to valorise the Italian lifestyle, which had benefits for health and for our enterprises," said Lombardy regional governor Roberto Maroni of the anti-euro and anti-immigrant Northern League. "Consumption of counterfeit food products is worth 60 billion euros, double the value of Italy's agricultural and food exports," he added. In addition, "the more we follow a healthy lifestyle the less we spend on health," he continued in reference to the traditional Meditteranean diet focusing mostly on plant-based foods such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts, olive oil and lean meat and fish.
    Studies have shown that such a diet reduces the risk of heart disease and cancer. "Even if I don't like the use of the term 'diet' in relation to our food, I think it should be changed," Maroni quipped. For its part Campania is leading a group of 12 regions that will use Expo to promote a Mediterranean Charter for Infancy aiming to spread the culture of the Mediterranean diet among pre-school and primary school children.
    Experts began drawing up the charter on Tuesday, with a special fcus on school canteens.
    The project will be presented officially at Expo on July 25.
    "The twinning with Lombardy is a big opportunity and Expo is a big challenge for everyone," said Campania regional governor Stefano Caldoro of ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party. "Italy has many world-beaters and I think that on occasions such as this the regions must work together regardless of political differences and vested interests in the interests of the country," he added.
    "The real challenge, in fact, is represented by globalisation where it is the country that is the protagonist," Caldoro concluded.
    Expo 2015 runs from May 1 to October 30 on the theme 'Feeding the planet, energy for life' and is expected to draw millions of visitors from across the globe.