Richard Owen, Times of London, January 31, 2009
The tomato comes from Peru and spaghetti was probably a gift from China.
It is, though, the “foreign” kebab that is being kicked out of Italian cities as it becomes the target of a campaign against ethnic food, backed by the centre-right Government of Silvio Berlusconi.
The drive to make Italians eat Italian, which was described by the Left and leading chefs as gastronomic racism, began in the town of Lucca this week, where the council banned any new ethnic food outlets from opening within the ancient city walls.
Yesterday it spread to Lombardy and its regional capital, Milan, which is also run by the centre Right. The antiimmigrant Northern League party brought in the restrictions “to protect local specialities from the growing popularity of ethnic cuisines”.
Luca Zaia, the Minister of Agriculture and a member of the Northern League from the Veneto region, applauded the authorities in Lucca and Milan for cracking down on nonItalian food. “We stand for tradition and the safeguarding of our culture,” he said.
Mr Zaia said that those ethnic restaurants allowed to operate “whether they serve kebabs, sushi or Chinese food” should “stop importing container loads of meat and fish from who knows where” and use only Italian ingredients.
Asked if he had ever eaten a kebab, Mr Zaia said: “No—and I defy anyone to prove the contrary. I prefer the dishes of my native Veneto. I even refuse to eat pineapple.”
Mehmet Karatut, who owns one of four kebab shops in Lucca, said that he used Italian meat only.
Davide Boni, a councillor in Milan for the Northern League, which also opposes the building of mosques in Italian cities, said that kebab shop owners were prepared to work long hours, which was unfair competition.
“This is a new Lombard Crusade against the Saracens,” La Stampa, the daily newspaper, said. The centre-left opposition in Lucca said that the campaign was discrimination and amounted to “culinary ethnic cleansing”.
Vittorio Castellani, a celebrity chef, said: “There is no dish on Earth that does not come from mixing techniques, products and tastes from cultures that have met and mingled over time.”
He said that many dishes thought of as Italian were, in fact, imported. The San Marzano tomato, a staple ingredient of Italian pasta sauces, was a gift from Peru to the Kingdom of Naples in the 18th century. Even spaghetti, it is thought, was brought back from China by Marco Polo, and oranges and lemons came from the Arab world.
Mr Castellani said that the ban reflected growing intolerance and xenophobia in Italy. It was also a blow to immigrants who make a living by selling ethnic food, which is popular because of its low cost. There are 668 ethnic restaurants in Milan, a rise of nearly 30 per cent in one year.
The centre Right won national elections in April last year partly because of alarm about crime and immigration. This week there was a series of attacks on immigrants in bars and shops after the arrest of six Romanians accused of gang-raping an Italian girl in the Rome suburb of Guidonia.
Filippo Candelise, a Lucca councillor, said: “To accuse us of racism is outrageous. All we are doing is protecting the culinary patrimony of the town.”
Massimo Di Grazia, the city spokesman, said that the ban was intended to improve the image of the city and to protect Tuscan products. “It targets McDonald’s as much as kebab restaurants,” he added.
There is confusion, however, over what is meant by ethnic. Mr Di Grazia said that French restaurants would be allowed. He was unsure, though, about Sicilian cuisine. It is influenced by Arab cooking.
Original article
(Posted on February 4, 2009)
Comments
I am an Italian-American and a lover of Italian cuisine. However, this whole thing sounds silly and is reminiscent of attempts by the French in the late 1970s to “purge” the French language of all foreign (i.e. English) words and phrases. The reasoning behind this, according to the proponents, was to “save French culture.”
What these Frenchmen and Italians fail to realize (or maybe they do?) is the surest way to protect your national culture is to keep immigration down to the barest minimum while insuring your native inhabitants reproduce at the replacement level.
They should also realize that languages and cultures either evolve, or go the way of the dinosaurs.
Were I Italian, I think I would rather that they ban the immigrants, instead of banning the food… but if the latter leads to a reduction on the former, perhaps they know what they are doing.
You can imagine what it’s like to be an American of European descent (Italian) to walk into a pizzeria in New York City like I did a couple of years ago and discovered to my shock that the owner was Chinese!!! Not only was the owner Chinese but she had all Mexicans working there!!
I want to know how Chinese would react to an Italian or Italians coming over to Beijing and opening up a Chinese restaurant and over-charging other Chinese to boot. I wonder if any Chinese would frequent the place - don’t you?
These immigrants are not only bringing their own cultures over here and supplant White European Americans, but they’re even stealing OUR culture, both our American one AND our European one.
Most immigrants can see the politics of the situation here in the U.S.; they don’t have to be geniuses, and they’re taking full advantage of the inability of Whites to combat the taking of our country away from us.
“There are 668 ethnic restaurants in Milan, a rise of nearly 30 per cent in one year.”
I can believe it. I was in Milan last spring and saw it. Kebab places everywhere. Of course, Germany is full of them too, to the extent that they’ve come to be accepted as part of the German scene. In fact, the proliferation of Turkish kebab and doner places all across Europe is amazing — even in France! And now Pakistani fried chicken places (all in English and American-style) seem to be following on their heels. Even pizza shops are frequently operated by Arabs and Ethiopians (even in Milan). And there are also a number of Chinese restaurants. Thai and Vietnamese too.
Anyway, this restriction only applies to NEW places, and in certain locations (such as “within the ancient city walls”). Thus, the article is overly alarmist.
As for McDonald’s, I doubt they’ll be affected. And if they are, they can always hide behind their Italian chain, “Burgie”.
I agree with kicking out immigrants they don’t want but culinary ethnic cuisine is a bit much. Food is better mixed but not people.
I say this is just stupid. Why should you “censor” the type of food people choose to eat? Integration might be forced by the government, but where you choose to eat certainly is not. I mean this might be necessary if Italian restaurants were about to virtually disappear, but I doubt that this is the case.
Its hard to please everyone, But if we are in the age of tolerating and celebrating diversity,….One thing is certain,…diversity must be preserved! Perhaps a balanced solution to Italy’s problem is to forbid within certain classical regions non native or non European cuisine as part of cultural preservation and in other less particular locations be more lax. The people that respect their particular culture the world over naturaly want to preserve it, this is not animosity towards others but simply Identity preservation. The steam roller mono culture that wills to put the worlds distinct identities into a giant mixer under the banner of multi-culturalism is not the same as the slow organic cross fertilization of millenia. Without Identity we are protoplasm.
Italians should be more concerned with deporting the people who open these types of restaurants. With the current immigration and birth rates non-halaal restaurants and grocery stores will soon be banned.
“You can imagine what it’s like to be an American of European descent (Italian) to walk into a pizzeria in New York City like I did a couple of years ago and discovered to my shock that the owner was Chinese!!! Not only was the owner Chinese, but she had all Mexicans working there!!”
But it’s far more common to find the pizzeria run by Arabs. This has been so in New York for years now where pizza seems to have become an Arab specialty. It’s just about standard.
As a matter of fact, I walked into a pizzeria in Nice (France) and found it operated by an Arab who had lived and worked for several years in Los Angeles. No doubt he had learned the pizza business there.
“I say this is just stupid. Why should you “censor” the type of food people choose to eat?”
I remember passing one pizza shop that was open (I guess it was Sunday or a holiday and almost all other places were closed.) I passed it several times and was very tempted to stop in for a slice, which I would have liked, but I noticed that it was packed with Africans, both inside and spilling outside on the sidewalk. I sized it up. Judging from the wall posters and the wailing music, it was apparently an Eritrean/Ethiopian place. I would have been the only white face in there. No Italians were anywhere to be seen in this pizza joint in Milan! I decided against it.
Admitedly, this does look a bit silly, as it is reported here. But one has to wonder about the neutrality of the reporting. Surely it is not the objective of The Times to make it look sensible. We know whose side they are on.
” Even spaghetti, it is thought, was brought back from China by Marco Polo, and oranges and lemons came from the Arab world.”
Absolutely not, not true. Paste was well known in ancient times. Pre Christian Romans ate foods called lasagna and ravioli. Noodles are not exactly difficult to create out of flour and water. Marco Polo by the way, says not a word about pasta or noodles or whatever anyone wants to call it.
Oranges, lemons and other citrus fruits were grown in the Mediterrean world long before the Arabs swarmed out of S. Arabia to the southern shores of the Mediterrean.
Oranges and lemons were grown in Spain while it was still Roman territory, hundreds of years before the Arab invasion.
Tomatoes and pepper came from other lands. I detest these brain washed idiots who babble this “non whites created and invented everything” nonsense.
If you’re not going to bother to have your own babies, why bother to eat your own food?
He said that many dishes thought of as Italian were, in fact, imported. The San Marzano tomato, a staple ingredient of Italian pasta sauces, was a gift from Peru to the Kingdom of Naples in the 18th century. Even spaghetti, it is thought, was brought back from China by Marco Polo, and oranges and lemons came from the Arab world.
And there we have it. If Italian cuisine gets in the way, it must be deconstructed.
“There is confusion, however, over what is meant by ethnic. Mr Di Grazia said that French restaurants would be allowed. He was unsure, though, about Sicilian cuisine.”
It seems the Northern League has a wreckless idea of what is foreign. They are even questioning who is in European yet not white.
This is not silly at all. Anyway we can hurt the ability of non-Western immigrants to make a living in our societies helps us. In other European countries, kebab shops are a major source work for immigrants. For example, numerous newspaper articles about non-white criminals in the UK mention the suspect as working in an ethnic take-out restaurant.
It’s really about banning people who don’t respect the local customs or who can’t learn to live in civilization.
“It’s really about banning people who don’t respect the local customs or who can’t learn to live in civilization.”
I would disagree with that. I can agree with them wanting to avoid conflict. I can agree, if they don’t want to see a drain on their social services budget and economy. I can even agree that multiculturalism is a strain on society (one that can be managed). They need to kick them out, however, to keep their country white. Something no place, and no one on Earth is going to be if present trends continue.
You won’t likely see Italian people eating in these places. One point that’s not made in the article is that these places are hangouts for the ethnic types whose food they sell.
This is true. Muslims will be hanging around these Kabab places as they do in the muslim world, usually plotting nefarious deeds as they do in the muslim world. But, don’t ban the food, kick out the immigrants and stop any more from coming.
Our family no longer eats in third world ethnic restaurants after we made the connection between immigration and the proliferation of these establishments. Some of the stuff is pretty good but alot of it is hard on the palate. I got stomach cramps and diarrhea after eating mystery meat in a Chinese restaurant one time. Alot of illegal aliens are employed in the kitchens in these places. Hot spicy Indian food is absolutely nauseating. It all tastes the same whether your eating chicken curry or the boiled down vegetables they seem to like. Bottom line is these people adhere to different ideas about hygiene than Westerners do.
Firstly every time a White person buys food or anything from any non White business, he is giving money to his genetic and cultural enemy. This money can be and is often used to forward the interests of the invading enemy community at the expense of Whites. This money can maybe used to create organisations to forward the interest of the parasitic immigrant/invader group or to increase their power in the politics of the land or to sponsor more immigrants (invaders) to come in to join the invasion. This is especially true among the brown and black races. Many Bangladeshis and Moroccans have come to Europe penniless but have become millionaires all because of the White man’s wealth but they use this wealth against the White man.
Secondly, food sold at these eateries are either unhygienic, unhealthy, inauthentic or overpriced either due to simple neglect or in some cases even because of their intense hatred for Whites (An Indian friend told me this). If you want to eat authentic Mexican, Indian, Arabic, Ethiopian or Thai food you can always learn from the internet, from cooking videos/DVDs or even ask one of your immigrant friend to cook the authentic stuff. Learning and cooking such dishes at home is much more cheap, healthy (as you will always use far better quality ingredients) and definitely more hygienic. You can also innovative ways to mix foreign styles with Western styles of cooking.
Thirdly if a White nationalist nation is formed, there is nothing wrong with foreign foods but they must be controlled.
If you’re not going to bother to have your own babies, why bother to eat your own food?
Posted by Anonymous at 1:24 AM on February 5
That’s not the point, but why should we pay for the babies of these invaders? Which is what we end up doing, whether the parents are working or not.
I was never too concerned about a little bit of good and crispy and Chinese food.
I disagree that this is a cultural hygiene issue. Banning foreign restaurants keeps places in Italy from becoming gathering places for criminal immigrants.
I’m more racially conscious about my buying habits now. I try to go to restuarants that are staffed mostly by whites. I like Mexican food, but now I go to Moe’s Southwest grill, instead of Chipolte’s because the staff is whiter. I used to like Sweet Tomatoes salad bar, but I go there less often because their staff is not white enough. I especially like Moe’s because even the clientele is mostly white and I feel more relaxed there among my own kind. When you buy from non-whites and foreigners you are making it possible for them to live in your country. When you buy from whites, you are supporting your own kind. I’m hoping that some of these foreigners will close up shop and go home because white people will start buying white more. As far as food variety goes, I think white people can go to cooking school and learn any cuisine from around the world. We don’t necessarily need non whites to prepare their homeland cuisines for us in our country. I like cuisine variety, but having a homogenous nation is more important. It’s important to try to figure out what a business is supporting. If they seem to be anti-white, try to find white friendly business. Same thing with sports. I have lost interest in all sports that are not predominatedly white. I do not support them financially in any way.
“I like cuisine variety, but having a homogenous nation is more important”
There’s no danger of any lack of variety. Believe me. The fact is that we have too darned MUCH variety! We’re suffering from a surfeit of it. Just try finding a good “American” restaurant nowadays. Good luck to you! In many large American cities you can walk for blocks or miles… you’ll find Afghan, Thai, Vietnamese, Ethiopian, Turkish, Korean, Brazilian, Guatemalan … everything BUT American.
In fact, in New York City now, there are several very trendy, very expensive restaurants that have opened, specializing in American cuisine. (No not “soul food” either. White people’s food.) [eg.Union Square Cafe] They are the “in” place for celebrities to be and to be seen. It seems that American cuisine had become so rare at this point that it is now quite fashionable for the trendy set - always seeking something new and different - to go out and “eat American” for a change. How clever! Americans have food too! Who would have thought?
Doner kebabs in Britain were recently found to contain pork, which Muslims should refrain from eating; as well as high levels of fat and salt.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7852168.stm
Are Italian kebabs any better..?
