McDonald's Goes Italian 100%

McItaly

This new release is a sandwich that is being sold around the world by McDonald's for 7 weeks, using 100% Italian products: Asiago DOP, Bresaola della Valtellina IGP, Insalata Batavia, Italian meat, artichoke cream and extra-virgin olve oil.

The Italian sandwich debuted on January 27. The Food Minister, Luca Zaia (left in photo), is thrilled to have Italian tastes be promoted at such a large scale by the fast food giant. He is also happy about the Euro 3.5 bln that Italian food producers will enjoy from the massive sale of the globalized panino that uses national resources to satisfy worldwide customers from Seoul to London.

For a savory picture of the McItaly and descriptions in italiano, go to the McDonald's Italia website.

So what are Italy's slowfoodies saying about this DOP sandwich?

Halloween in Italy? Not Really

Italy tries to borrow a lot of American tradition. High school students want to organize "prom" their last year like they see in our films. Santa Clause now brings Christmas presents on Christmas Day instead of the traditional Befana delivering them on the Epiphany, a more Catholic version of the giving.

Halloween has been promoted steadily since I first came to Italy about 10 years ago. The children sometimes dress up. The bars host themed parties as an "exotic" and rather easy way to create a novel environment for a night and attract more customers. Clubs do the same. But most of what I see here is just a lot of merchandise being sold at the cartoleria and a few orange pumpkins appearing in the local supermarkets for inflated prices.

It's just not the same. Rarely do I see an honest homemade costume. The energy is simply not right among supposed revellers.

I wonder why this American tradition was borrowed by this country when it has no real place or connection to this particular culture. As for costumes, Carnival offers Italians 2 weeks of time to don a different face or persona, so there is no need to do the same now in October. Once a year is enough.

Pumpkins don't naturally grow here. They have to cultivate the special squash variety precisely for this foreign holiday. Nothing is indigenous about the whole thing.

This holiday is another example of globalization gone wrong. We really don't need to celebrate Halloween all around the world. As for those of us in Italy, just wait til winter and you've got Carnival to be masked and mischievous!