Global Challenges in Traditional Food Production and Consumption

Traditional food is a conceptual framework used to refer to a wide range of products whose common characteristic is that they derive their specific qualities from being strongly linked to their geographical area of production in terms of social, cultural and environmental features. From the point of view of production systems, they are associated to small scale production, traditional productive forms, small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and low-tech production. However, there is no a single way to define traditional food, since they assume different meanings and connotations according to countries or regions. Also, the scientific and political attention they receive vary from a country to another according to their productive and economic importance against mass production. Demand for traditional food products is observed to increase in many countries, in parallel with an increase in the income level and a growing demand for food quality by the consumer. Nowadays, the quality "turn" in food practices is a very important phenomenon, at the light also of the increasing diffusion of new models of production, exchange, consumption patterns and consumers’ preferences in food sector. A way to question the “theoretical” framework within which found consistency the development of conventional agricultural systems and industrial supply chain. In other words, traditional foods may be viewed as an opportunity for rural development in many countries, but also to rethink rural development patterns. Although traditional foods play an important role in production and consumption all over the world, they received the largest attention in Europe in term of the regulations for the protection of products known as Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG). In country like Italy, in addition to European legislation, national legislation protects as well a large number of products linked to particular geographic areas and a specific gastronomic and cultural heritage, named “prodotti tradizionali”. The purpose of this chapter is to explore some of the most important features characterising the production competitive environment under which traditional food producers perform their business, at the light of the growing market opportunity offered by new consumer attitudes toward better quality and traditional products. It is also considered worth of attention some experience carried out to promote, in a worldwide context, production and consumption of traditional food (i.e. Slow Food). The chapter aim at providing some insights about the EU legislation for the protection of traditional products and its impact on business strategies carried out by SMEs involved in production of traditional food. Moreover, the analysis of the many initiatives carried out to protect with the products their historical and cultural heritage at local level, such as the “Prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali” (PAT) in Italy, is considered. Finally, the chapter analyses the effects of World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on “Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights” (the TRIPS Agreement) on the development of traditional food in many countries and the issues related to the negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).