Page 4 - DIVA_2_2008_No.33

s Editorial

Gastronomy: a cultural heritage?

"Soon UNESCO will have to employ gourmets!" a colleague said smilingly. "I have
a very sensitive and discating palate, and I'm somebody who knows how to appreciate the culinag arts of fine
food and drink. I would definitely be the perfect candidate!"

He explained: "Can you imagine that the French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, has proposed that French gastronomy
should become part of the Cultural Heritage Programme of {JNESCO. I presume that other countries will follow. So if
you worked at {JNESCO you would have the job of tasting the best possible food in the world. All the countries in the
world will send their best products and invite you for a tasting." My colleague was already dreaming about the won-
derful things he would discover. You could literally see his mouth wateig.

He is not the only one who would like to volunteer for this kind of programme. However, men and women do not
have the same concerns. If I volunteered, how would I be able to remain slim? Some food might be very rich and full
of calories... I just wonderhow to reconcile the two, especially since the nutritionists are warning us about obesity,
diabetes and all those things that might result out of eating too much "food".

However, nobody denies that our food is part of our culture and that in some cultures it is more important than others.

As Waverley Lewis Root put it: "Every cour$r possesses,it seems,the sort of cuisine it deserves,which is to say ffie
sort of cuisine itis appreciative enough to want."
In our globalized world, even culture in its broadest sense is at stake. You only to have a watch TV to see the implica-
tions - most )alms and TV series are produced in the United States lea'jmg little space for other countries. What about
other aspects of the cultural field? As {JNESCO already told us some time ago, each day a language dies out, and with
it a host of traditions and cultural values are gone forever. Should we not preserve those too? Aren't they as important
as gastronomy?

However, seen from a positive side, globetrotters will soon have the chance to purchase a "{JNESC0 guide", a kind of
"new Michelin guide" for each country in the world. Not only can they travel and discover the food for themselves, but
without leaving home they will soon be able to read about everything that a country has to offer in the culinary field.

But it's not enough just to give a short overview of each country's culinary traditions. In France, for instance, there are
more than 500 types of cheese. It is in'ipossible that just one of them would represent the gastronomic traditions of the
whole county. One can imagine that each one of them has to be described in detail... And this will be just the begin-
ning of something quite important. What about the other countries, what will they come up with?

So, on this note, I wish you all- Bon app6fit.
Marit