Italy’s Agriculture Minister Defends McItaly Endorsement

Italy’s Agriculture Minister found himself defending his endorsement of the Mc Italy burger.
Italy’s Agriculture Minister Defends McItaly Endorsement
2/10/2010
Updated:
10/1/2015

<a><img src="https://www.theepochtimes.com/assets/uploads/2015/09/Italy+brief.jpg" alt="MCITALY BURGER: Photo from June 30,2003, shows the McDonald's restaurant in Rimini, central Italy. McDonalds has launched a menu line using products made in Italy. The menu was endorsed by Italian minister of Agriculture for its economic advantages and cr (Pasquale Bove/AFP/Getty Images)" title="MCITALY BURGER: Photo from June 30,2003, shows the McDonald's restaurant in Rimini, central Italy. McDonalds has launched a menu line using products made in Italy. The menu was endorsed by Italian minister of Agriculture for its economic advantages and cr (Pasquale Bove/AFP/Getty Images)" width="320" class="size-medium wp-image-1823247"/></a>
MCITALY BURGER: Photo from June 30,2003, shows the McDonald's restaurant in Rimini, central Italy. McDonalds has launched a menu line using products made in Italy. The menu was endorsed by Italian minister of Agriculture for its economic advantages and cr (Pasquale Bove/AFP/Getty Images)
Italy’s Agriculture Minister found himself defending his endorsement of the Mc Italy burger on Monday.

In Italy, where people are serious about culinary traditions, critics have said that the minister is selling out to a multinational corporation.

In its defense the minister argued that the burger, which is made entirely with ingredients from Italy, will bring $4.8 million to the country’s farmers and that use of made-in-Italy products will defend and globalize the Italian identity.

Carlo Petrini, Italian native and founder of the International Slow Food Movement criticized Zaia’s endorsement and called for a direct comparison of money earned by farmers producing for McDonald’s versus for local vendors, according to a report by The Associated Press.