A meat-free Turin? Is Italy’s first 'vegetarian city' a recipe for disaster?

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Turin’s new mayor has announced plans to make it a vegetarian city – even introducing a weekly meat-free day. But in an area with a meat-eating and rich culinary culture, the plans are proving divisive for residents

Sarah Marsh and Alec Owens in Turin

Fri 4 Nov 2016 07.30 GMT

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7 years old

It’s midday, and the meat stalls in Turin’s open-air food market, Porta Palazzo, are crowded with customers browsing the beef, salami and prosciutto on offer. Shopping for meat is an everyday ritual in the capital city of Piedmont, a region of Italy with a rich culinary history – but this could all be about to change.

In the summer the new mayor Chiara Appendino – of the populist Five Star Movement (M5S) – announced plans to make Turin Italy’s first vegetarian city. The exact details of Appendino’s five-year plan have yet to be fleshed out, but the city is expected to set up educational projects in schools to teach students about animal welfare and nutrition. There are also plans to create a vegetarian map of the city for tourists, and introduce a weekly meat-free day.

“The promotion of vegan and vegetarian diets is a fundamental act in safeguarding our environment, the health of our citizens and the welfare of our animals,” the programme said in a launch statement in July. “Leading medical, nutritional and political experts will help promote a culture of respect in our schools, teaching children how to eat well while protecting the earth and animal rights.”

But the plans are proving divisive. While environmentalists and vegetarians welcome them, others argue they contravene the culinary tradition of the region. The local butchers’ association has responded by telling the mayor’s office it is privileging one form of nutrition over another upon which they are economically dependent. The association has also opposed a meat-free day, saying if this happens they would want a meat-only day too.

The response is similarly negative among the venders in Porta Palazzo. The open-air food market where they work has been active since the 19th century, selling a range of products sourced locally from farms around the city. Fabio, a meat seller who has worked in the market for two decades, offers a brisk response: “I am not happy, of course. I sell meat!” He took over the stall when his father retired, but says it’s less popular these days. “In the last few years my sales have dropped by maybe 40-50% and I believe that this is partly because being vegan has become so fashionable – there’s a message nowadays that meat is bad for you, it’s all over the TV and media.”

Around the corner, Giannona Vito, 60, says that good quality meat will always have a place in this city. “I don’t think that people will stop eating meat or go vegan no matter what you do, but the younger generation are pickier. They want less but what they do get has to be of a high quality.”

But Stefania Giannuzzi, a new councillor for the environment and deputy mayor, believes there has been a misunderstanding, mainly caused by the media, about what they are trying to achieve. “It isn’t about forcing people to eat a certain way and we don’t want to clash with the meat industry. Instead, it’s about raising awareness and showing people that there is an alternative if they are interested. The vegan choice is only part of the plan to make our city more sustainable and promote environmental issues,” she says.

Some people believe that this shouldn’t be a priority, however, and there are other issues that need to be addressed more urgently. Barbara Stancati, a local parent, says they need to sort out the quality of the food in schools before introducing lessons on animal welfare and sustainability. “The schools in Italy have a lot of problems. I find it strange that the local government wants to tell people to change their eating habits and become vegan when they don’t even have enough money for toilet paper in the schools. They tell us to bring it in. They should focus on that instead. There are much bigger issues for the city.”

She says of plans to introduce a vegan festival, “why not?” but adds that there should be more focus on the cultural losses that have hit the city recently – a major sponsor of a proposed Édouard Manet exhibition backed out of hosting the show in Turin, favouring Milan instead.

For all the resistance there is also support. Egidio Dansero, an academic who teaches culture and politics at the University of Turin, says: “This could be a really positive step in cultural and economic terms. We can embrace both diets. It is because we are a city that’s known for its cuisine, the home of ‘Eataly’ and the slow food movement that I believe we can have a big impact on food culture and education inside and outside of Turin.”

Veganism has risen gradually in Italy: according to the Italian Research Institute, Euripses, 1% of the Italian population in 2016 are vegan. That’s a rise of just 0.4% over the previous year, but still one of the fastest rates of change anywhere in the world. In Turin, according to Corriere Della Sera, there are now more than 30 vegan and vegetarian restaurants, many of which have sprung up in recent years.

One of those restaurants, Ratatouille, which opened three years ago, can be found near the river Po. Inside, the owner, Silvia Voltolini, says that veganism has been rising long before the mayor stepped in: “Every year more and more people are coming through the doors. I cannot say the exact number, but it’s definitely something I have noticed; and they are not all vegans but also people interested in trying a plant-based diet.”

Claudia Giacometti, 26, who works at Rattatouille, is vegan and welcomes Appendino’s attempts to educate people on this choice. She believes that the tide is changing in terms of what people eat as this diet becomes more popular. “At first it was something that was hard for my family to accept but now I live alone it’s fine. I come from a big Italian family and my mum has tried to eat like me but my sister isn’t into it. When I go home I prepare vegan food for the whole family now.

The rise of veganism in Italy appears to be driven by the young, according to Giacometti who says that people are becoming vegan for environmental reasons. She notes that when older people convert it tends to be about their health.

The response to this decision, however, may be premature as five months after the announcement nothing has happened. Giuseppe Ientile, 32, owner of Manzò, a popular steak house feels it never will. “Meat is especially important for the tradition of the area and Piedmont in particular is known for meat. I am not worried about the popularity of the vegan diet, it’s just fashionable at the moment and the mayor wants to win the vote. I believe that her vegan stuff is part of this and for publicity.”

Professor Michelangelo Conoscenti, who teaches English Language and Linguistics in the Department of Culture, Politics and Society at the University of Turin, agrees. “I don’t think this vegan plan is part of a larger plan to bring tourism to the area but rather vegetarians have been recognised as an important part of the electorate and it’s about getting votes.”

Deputy mayor Giannuzzi indicates, however, that it’s much more personal. She doesn’t eat meat herself and it’s something she believes in. She says that this is part of a much bigger plan about sustainability – a global issue, not just one affecting Turin or even Italy. “The main thing here is really focusing on the fact that this isn’t about imposing a dietary change or ethics on people, but it’s about raising awareness that there are other possibilities that can have a positive environmental impact. We all need to think healthier for our environment and ourselves. This isn’t just an issue affecting Italy it affects the world.”

A meat-free Turin? Is Italy’s first 'vegetarian city' a recipe for disaster? | Cities (2024)

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