Università Roma Tre

The programme is organised along three routes paths:

1) A brief overview of contemporary economic history with particular attention to the birth and development of the food industry and the evolution of consumption in a unified Italy, within the wider context of Italian and international industrial development;

2) The transformations of agriculture and the territory - taken in its broader meaning of a combination of environmental and cultural factors. In this context.
Themes such as the relationship between the industrial revolution and agriculture, water management and interventions in the territory, between the 19th and 20th centuries, will be examined in depth;

3) The history of food, Italian food traditions and production techniques; focus on the peculiarities of Italian production (e.g. dairy industry, milling, canning and preserves) and the development of food and wine. The Italian way in the construction of trade exchange systems and in the development of agri-food production of excellence (e.g. the birth and affirmation success of Made in Italy brands).

Giovanni Rebora, Culture of the fork. A brief Histori of food in Europe, CUP, 2001 (full text is on line in SBA)

In line with the stated training objectives, the course will represent a journey through the Italian agrifood system and, more generally, on the issue of food from a global and local perspective. By tracing the different typologies and supply chain stages, their sustainability, the link between food and the environment as well as the establishment of Made in Italy and the positioning of products in global value chains on the international market, the course aims to provide students with insights and concepts to better interpret the dynamics that characterize the food debate, the links between stakeholders, the policies that support its governance at local and global levels, and international trade as a tool for the promotion and diffusion of Italian high-quality food.

• Introduction to the Agrifood System (AFS) - models and types
• Farm, Supply Chain, District: basic concepts and examples
• Soil, Water, Biodiversity: overview
• The agri-food sector in Italy
• Made in Italy and International Trade
• The concepts of food security and food poverty
• Nexus between Food and the Environment
• The sustainability of AFS and the paradox of waste
• Food Policies, Alternative Food Network (AFN), Urban Agriculture (UA)

1. Cesaretti G P., Annunziata A. (a cura di). (2011), Strategie e strumenti per la valorizzazione sostenibile delle produzioni agroalimentari di qualità. Franco Angeli, Milano.
2. Michael Pollan (2006). Il dilemma dell'Onnivoro
3. D. Marino (2024). La narrazione delle politiche del cibo in Italia, Franco Angeli, Milano (open access)