We are what we eat: the theme of the next Pistoia Dialogues has been announced

The XV edition of Dialogues of Pistoiacontemporary anthropology festival promoted by the Caript Foundation and the Municipality of Pistoia, conceived and directed by Giulia Cogoliwill take place from Friday 24 to Sunday 26 May 2024. This year the theme chosen is: “Are we what we eat? Nourishing the body and mind”.

“We are what we eat” wrote the philosopher Ludwig Feuerbach, an apparently cynical statement, but which in reality is not that far from the truth, explains Cogoli. “In fact, it is not enough that a plant or an animal is edible to include them in the list of foods that each society considers good to eat: we choose for religious taboos, for ecological reasons, for social norms or fashions and, over time, every human community builds its own idea of ​​shared taste – continues Cogoli – We are also, when possible, ‘cultural’ consumers of food, who, as he said Claude Lévi-Straussit must be “good to think about” as well as capable of feeding the body: in fact we do not nourish the body only with food, water, wine… but also with culture, passions and play”.

“Eating, cooking and producing food are social experiences, cultural expressions of the community and the fruits of exchanges, which nourish our minds and our common life. They are activities inserted into the dynamism of the planet, between the alternation of the seasons and the uniqueness of species and territories, profoundly linked to the ecology of the Earth – reflects Giulia Cogoli. Food is also a great traveller, and all “traditional” cuisines are actually mixed: every culinary tradition is multicultural and, in this, food is a “excellent metaphor for culture”.

The choice of food is also indicative of tastes, ideologies, fashions and even perspectives on the future. In addition to dividing us into food ‘tribes’ – vegetarians, vegans, fruitarians, staunch defenders of the omnivore – the use of traditional or innovative foods is today more than ever the cause of political fractures. Ecology, food and politics are more intertwined than one might imagine, given that food production is the main cause of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.

Despite this, millions of people still suffer from malnutrition or malnutrition, while in some parts of the world abundant food is wasted and thrown away, and food-related diseases are increasingly frequent.

Since their first edition, the Dialogues have always paid great attention to young people. To encourage them to delve deeper into the theme of the festival, a series of meetings was created for schools, which has so far involved around 34,000 students from Pistoia and the province and which, thanks to streaming, in recent years has also been followed by students and teachers from all over Italy. This year too, there are two lessons scheduled for secondary school students, in person, at the Bolognini theater in Pistoia, and in live streaming: Thursday 18 January, at 11 am, the anthropologist Marco Aime will introduce and analyze the theme of 2024. A lecture by the anthropologist will follow on Tuesday 5 March, again at 11 am Elisabetta Moroentitled “Eating as God commands”.

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The first 14 editions of the Dialogues hosted 400 speakers and saw the participation of 250,000 people. Around 4,700 volunteers were involved; 700 video and audio recordings available for free on the site and on the main audio and video platforms; 3.5 million on the dedicated YouTube channel; There are 23 books in the Dialoghi di Pistoia – Utet series, the last of which will be released in February.