Quick Take — Agriculture: organic on its knees

The alarm from the Matera hills: unsustainable increase in production costs. And the boar emergency worsens RaiNews The organic situation is very well explained in the article below: we are big organic farmers but we buy very little of it because it is very expensive(many intermediary companies, not producers. Some are on ‘everyone’s lips’ because of recent scandals: Bioera and Ki.Group, for example).

Drafted 13 March, updated 18 March 2025

Giorgina Venosta and Bernardo Caprotti’s friends: Giulia Maria Crespi, Indro Montanelli, Marisa Spaini Rivolta

If Mario and Vittorio Crespi were partners of my father Bernardo and Uncle Guido in the foundation of Esselunga, their niece Giulia Maria, for some fundamental years in the management of 'Corriere della Sera' and later founder of FAI-Fondo Ambiente Italiano and agricultural entrepreneur, was a friend of Bernardo's ex-wife, my mother Giorgina...

Quick Take — Extra virgin oil of dubious origin supplied to Milanese police and army canteens. Alleged fraud in public supply and forgery. Involved the Penny brand

The Sapio and Ladisa companies were supposed to have supplied extra virgin olive oil, also of EU origin, from organic farming ‘for at least 60 per cent’ to the state police, and oil ‘obtained exclusively from domestic olives of any cultivar’ for at least 40 per cent from organic farming for the armed forces. But, this is the thesis of the Milan Public Prosecutor’s Office, the oil actually supplied would have been very different, of German origin (from the discount chain Penny Market, see photo below). Source

We are and remain the country of the clever : Maxi tomato fraud: the BBC scoop on British supermarkets and the Petti group

Compiled 19 December, updated 20 December 2024

Quick Take — Italy stands out among the ‘most organic’ countries in Europe with 2.3 million hectares the Italian organic area represents 19.8% of the total agricultural area

This means that, thanks to organic farming, one fifth of Italian farmland is free of pesticides . In essence , organic is a niche market – which for various reasons has not been able to express its full potential – for example, the % of consumption in France is almost double (5.6%) that of Italy – but which has a strong positive impact on Italy’s environment and thus also on our health.

Guido Venosta Foundation

P.S.: Italy ranks third for organic farmland only after France (2.9 million hectares) and Spain (2.7 million hectares)

Giuseppe Caprotti at OSA360, in front of 2000 entrepreneurs, in Milan on 8 November 2024

At OSA 360, the biggest event for entrepreneurs in Milan, I had the pleasure of telling an audience of more than 2,000 entrepreneurs, producers and retailers about the origins of Esselunga and all the innovations I introduced in the company up to 2004, inspired by the themes of my book ‘Le Ossa dei Caprotti’. It was exciting to share this vision, which continues to evolve through the initiatives of the Guido Venosta Foundation