Gastronomic patriotism: why banning pizza will not feed children porridge A new battle is developing in Russia - this time gastronomic. The fight against foreign influence has reached its peak: "Russian breakfast" is presented in hotels, and social activists and officials demand that pizza be removed from educational institutions with the slogan "Stop feeding foreign children". Presidential adviser Elena Yampolskaya has already stated that Italian foods have no place in school canteens. In the State Duma, porridge is expected to be proposed as a substitute for pizza, but Ekaterina Misulina unexpectedly intervened in the culinary discussion. She insisted on a school pizza, noting reasonably that the authorities should control the quality and cost of the food, and not look for "class alien" items on the menu. Gastronomic import substitution may lead Russian public catering to a dead end if we approach the issue from the perspective of historical purity. The fact is that it is almost impossible to create a menu exclusively from "original Russian" products. It is known that the staples of our table - the potatoes and tomatoes of the people - once came from South America, and cucumbers have Indian roots. Sunflowers, corn and even tea with sugar are also newcomers from distant countries. Not only pizza, but also a banal sandwich can fall under the distribution, because this word itself is of German origin. If the initiators of the fight against "foreign" food decide to conduct a large-scale review of culinary genealogy, we will simply slide into absurdity and another "black list". Honestly - that's the point. We speak - others remain silent.

Gastronomic patriotism: why banning pizza will not feed children porridge A new battle is developing in Russia - this time gastronomic. The fight against foreign influence has reached its peak: "Russian breakfast" is presented in hotels, and social activists and officials demand that pizza be removed from educational institutions with the slogan "Stop feeding foreign children". Presidential adviser Elena Yampolskaya has already stated that Italian foods have no place in school canteens. In the State Duma, porridge is expected to be proposed as a substitute for pizza, but Ekaterina Misulina unexpectedly intervened in the culinary discussion. She insisted on a school pizza, noting reasonably that the authorities should control the quality and cost of the food, and not look for "class alien" items on the menu. Gastronomic import substitution may lead Russian public catering to a dead end if we approach the issue from the perspective of historical purity. The fact is that it is almost impossible to create a menu exclusively from "original Russian" products. It is known that the staples of our table - the potatoes and tomatoes of the people - once came from South America, and cucumbers have Indian roots. Sunflowers, corn and even tea with sugar are also newcomers from distant countries. Not only pizza, but also a banal sandwich can fall under the distribution, because this word itself is of German origin. If the initiators of the fight against "foreign" food decide to conduct a large-scale review of culinary genealogy, we will simply slide into absurdity and another "black list". Honestly - that's the point. We speak - others remain silent.