Katherine Martinko on Treehugger.com reports on the new mayor of Turin, Italy, and her primary focus:
It is into this firmly entrenched culinary tradition that Chiara Appendino has stepped. She is the controversial new mayor of Turin, a large city of over 870,000 people in the industrial northwest region of Piedmont that is famous for its food, primarily cured meats, and for being the birthplace of the Slow Food movement.
Appendino has announced her intention to promote vegetarianism and veganism in Turin. In a document outlining her plan for the city in 2016-2021, Appendino states that her government will prioritize
“The promotion of vegetarian and vegan diets throughout the municipality as an fundamental act that will protect the environment, health, and animals through awareness-building actions on the ground.”
The statement is consistent with Appendino’s strong stance on animal rights. Her Manifesto promises to “promote a culture of respect that recognizes all animals as having rights”and to make curricular changes in schools that include educating kids about “protection and respect for animals and proper nutrition in collaboration with animal welfare organizations and nutritionists.”
As Katherine notes, meat is a central part of the cuisine of Turin and Italy, and I would not expect a mass conversion of the citizenry to veganism nor vegetarianism. In my view, the philosophical defenses of vegetarianism are defective in that they ignore the biological requirements given to use by evolution. However, I will grant that it seems as if humanity is often at its best when it is defying the dictates of evolution; and Social Darwinism, the imposition of the perceived dictates of evolution on human society in the form of condemning the poor for the sin of being poor, without ever following the logic of justice in the implementation of same (and that would be such things as banning inheritance and any other activity, outside of the control of the newborn, which might give one newborn an advantage over another), is a repugnant mechanism to those who realize that society doesn’t exist to encapsulate cut-throat competition, but for the age-old exigencies: to safeguard all those who choose to join and are willing to contribute.
A little off-course.
The point being, evolution is a natural mechanism, not an idol to be adored, so it’s worth exploring the variants; and, in any case, we eat too much meat (& fish), so I expect the mayor’s campaign should have a positive effect, regardless of how close she comes to her nominative goal.
