STRIKE! drop the tagliatelle & no one will get hurt

46 CommentsMonday • September 3, 2007 • by michelle

I’ve been away from here for a while, so you may be wondering what’s going on in Italy.

Well right here in the Bel Paese where a third of citizens say they prefer a plate of spaghetti over sex, Italy’s going on a pasta strike on September 13.

Seems impossible, insane even, but Italy’s four largest consumer groups are stufi with the planned price hikes of electricity, gas, train service, bread, milk, school books, and, of course, pasta, and they feel that a strike on pastasciutta would be a symbolic demonstration of citizens’ feelings on the matter.

Some say that these planned increases would cause Italian families to shell out another 1000 euros per year on such items, spending up to 25-30% more–a huge increase especially if you consider that the average monthly salary in Italy hovers around that magic 1000 euros mark.

Go ahead. Gasp.

We all know that Italians are famous for their strikes (I’m guessing more than a few of you reading this have been affected by one or another), but a “sciopero della pasta?”

Unheard of, so you know this is serious.

Most Italians eat pasta every day, and some estimates say that an average Italian eats 54 kilos (119 pounds) of pasta per year–for some, as you can imagine, that’s their own body weight or more.

The increasing price of wheat is really behind this, and it brings to mind Mexico’s recent problems with the rising cost of corn to make its famous tortillas. What else is a nation to do when their food staple is threatened?

I have to say I think the Italians have a point here.

Now you may be worried about those Italians who might suffer the side effects of no pasta for a day, but don’t worry–volunteers from the consumer groups will be handing out bread and milk throughout the country to assuage any pangs.

So if you’d like to support your Italian friends, just say no to buying or eating pasta on Thursday, September 13.

And an inside tip?

Start savoring that espresso, as it too has been the victim of a recent price increase.

And if you think Italians are protective over their pasta . . . .

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