By Madhuri Dey
Italy, Feb 10, (THAINDIAN NEWS) The Agriculture Minister of Italy, Luca Zaia, has landed in deep soup, or rather burger, over the sponsorship of McItaly, the all-Italian sandwich recently introduced by McDonald’s. He has given government approval to the fast food chain to market the delicacy in Italy, something that has given rise to a whole lot of controversy and criticism from all sides, with accusations ranging from trading the country’s culinary tradition and also going against the “slow food movement.” The accusations against the Agriculture Minister have risen from the fact that the country prides itself on the varied culinary spread that it offers, something that is diametrically opposite the American fast food culture.

The Italian Agriculture Minister has been strongly criticized by the organization that introduced the slow food movement. Carlo Petrini, the pioneer of the movement, brushed off the suggestions of Minister Luca Zaia that being incorporated into the McDonald’s menu would help in the globalization of Italian cuisine. A Democratic Party lawmaker, Nicodemo Olivero, even charged the minister of being more concerned with the welfare of McDonald’s than Italy’s. His claim that the Italians should be proud of this all-Italian food was also refuted.

Minister Luca Zaia, however, has defended his stance by saying that he had taken the step in order to ensure that more revenue is generated by the burger. He also said that the introduction of the burger in the country would also mean a lot of help for the Italian farmers, who have been struggling to stay afloat during these times of tough economic conditions, since the McItaly burger comprises only Italian ingredients, like artichoke, beef and Asiago cheese.