Where there is Prosecco, there is a smile

Posted on November 2, 2017 by babbityjean

The news comes from London directly from the newspaper, The Guardian.  An article cites a dentist who says that the teeth of a growing number of Brits are being ruined by Prosecco…by the acidity and the sugars of the Italian wine.  It says that Prosecco causes holes in your teeth, lacerates the enamel, and wears away the gums.

The message is clear: “Brits, save your teeth and stop drinking Prosecco!”  But the prestigious newspaper does not cite any solid scientific basis for this claim.  Why would the bubbly from the Veneto and from Friuli Venezia Giulia be more damaging than that of French champagne or that which Great Britain began producing a few years ago?  There is nothing in the article to suggest that there is anything harmful in the Italian varietal or in the wine-making process of Prosecco.

Could there be something else behind the wish to put the Italian wine in the crosshairs?  Let’s look at a brief and recent history of Prosecco and its phenomenal growth.  In 2016, 90 million bottles were sold, a growth of 8% over 2015.  And in 2015 there was a 15% increase over the preceding year with only a small increase in the territory cultivated…from the rugged hills to the plains where the grapes are grown in these two Italian regions.  In fact, the cultural identity of the territory is now a candidate as a UNESCO world heritage site.

Great Britain became the first market for Prosecco outside of Italy earning 366 million euros in 2016, which was an increase of 33% over the preceding year.  The Brits drain 40 million liters a year, thanks also to less expensive price tag than other wines.  The average price of a bottle is between 10 and 16 euros for the consumer, and Prosecco has become ever more popular.

Do you think that as Brexit nears, Great Britain might be looking for ways to increase locally produced products (like the English bubbly) and to find ways to limit imports?  Let’s see what the politicians say.

A few months ago, the former mayor of London told the Italian economic development minister that if you don’t allow the free circulation of goods and people after Brexit, we will block Prosecco.  To which the economic minister replied:  and we will block fish and chips (which I can’t imagine would be a huge loss to the Italians).  Then the governors of the two Italian regions that produce this wine—who are usually on opposite political poles—agreed on this issue.  One called the British article fake news, the other said, “I hope that after Brexit in Great Britain, there is a need to help the citizens to smile again: taken in moderate doses, our Prosecco makes miracles.”

Even if the Brits know that where there is Prosecco, there is a smile, the French won’t be happy when they hear what the Italians say: “For some time now we have been watching champagne in the rearview mirror.”

For other “food fights,”  see “Amatriciana-gate” (March 5, 2015), “Fish and Chips” (April 9, 2015), “Carbonara-gate” (May 13, 2016), and “Rigatoni White Bolognese” (November 10, 2016).

 

Posted in Abitudini, Cucina italiana, Differenze culturali, English, Foto, Italia, Politica, Veneto | 1 Comment

Gli animali possono prevedere i terremoti?

Posted on October 26, 2017 by babbityjean

Una serie di terremoti potenti ha colpito l’Italia l’anno scorso (nel agosto e ottobre del 2016 e nel gennaio del 2017) in Abruzzo, Lazio, e Le Marche.  Hanno causato morti e danni di 23 miliardi di euro—alcuni a strutture e arte di valore inestimabile.  Quando abbiamo visitato la Sicilia l’autunno scorso, siamo andati in ristoranti che hanno donato ordini di pasta all’amatriciana alle vittime del terremoto e al processo di recupero.  Quando siamo andati a Orvieto durante Settimane Santa in aprile, Zubin Mehta ha diretto un concerto nel Duomo; il pubblico ha donato alle vittime del terremoto.

I terremoti sollevano la vecchia questione se gli animali possano prevedere la loro occorrenza.  Già nel 373 a.C. gli storici della città di Elice in Grecia documentarono che molti animali, tra cui topi, serpenti, e donnole fuggirono pochi giorni prima dell’arrivo di un devastante terremoto.  Altri episodi simili vennero riportati in seguito: pescegatti in movimento frenetico, polli che smettono di fare le uova, ed api che abbandonano l’alveare, e cani e gatti che si comportano in maniera strana.  Tuttavia, non è noto precisamente cosa gli animali sentano.  Alcuni esperti hanno proposto che siano in grado di percepire le vibrazioni della terra prima degli esseri umani, altri che si accorgano di mutamenti del campo elettrico nell’aria o nei gas rilasciati durante una scossa.

I ricercatori in tutto il mondo, soprattutto in Giappone, Cina, e Stati Uniti continuano a perseguire l’ipotesi secondo la quale gli animali possano anticipare i disastri naturali.  A partire dall’ottobre scorso, uno scienziato tedesco ha studiato il comportamento degli animali in un’azienda agricola a Pieve Torina nella regione delle Marche dell’Italia centrale.  In precedenza aveva condotto uno studio sulle eruzioni vulcaniche dal 2012 al 2014 controllando le capre e le pecore sul lato dell’Etna in Sicilia.  Gli animali hanno previsto le 8 eruzioni vulcaniche da 4 a 6 ore in anticipo: durante la notte gli animali si svegliarono e camminavano nervosamente, e durante il giorno si trasferirono in una zona sicura dove la vegetazione alta suggeriva che fosse stata risparmiata dai flussi di lava precedenti.

Ora il direttore dell’Istituto Max Planch per l’Ornitologi alleva animali nella fattoria italiana – un coniglio, pecore, mucche, tacchini, polli, e cani – con piccoli sensori sofisticati che misurano i movimenti ogni secondo: la direzione magnetica, la velocità, l’altitudine, la temperatura, l’umidità, l’accelerazione, e la posizione.  Crede che diverse specie possano sentire l’ambiente in modo distinto e insieme potrebbero formare un sistema collettivo di rilevamento.

L’osservazione degli animali era un fattore profetico in Cina nel 1975: topi e serpenti apparivano “congelati” in strade incapaci di proseguire; mucche e cavalli apparivano agitati; i polli rifiutavano di restare nei pollai; e le oche prendevano il volo con grande frequenza.  Il governo ordinò l’evacuazione di Haicheng, una città da 1 milione di abitanti, soltanto pochi giorni prima di un terremoto di magnitudo 7.3 gradi della scala Richter.  La manovra salvò la vita a moltissime persone; rimasero uccise 2.000 persone, ma secondo alcune previsioni senza l’evacuazione ne sarebbero morte più di 150.000.  Fu scoperto in seguito, tuttavia, che una rara serie di scosse minori aveva colpito la città prima dell’enorme terremoto di Haicheng.  Furono le piccole scosse che convinsero il governo cinese ad evacuare.  Tuttavia, i cinesi continuano a studiare il comportamento degli animali in queste situazioni, in quanto le piccole scosse potrebbero contribuire agli strani comportamenti che sono stati osservati.

I geologi tendono a dare poco peso alle relazioni aneddotiche dei proprietari degli animali domestici, dicendo che ripetono un comportamento strano solo dopo un terremoto o un altro disastro.  In altre parole, confondono causalità e correlazione.  Gli animali reagiscono a molte cose—essere affamati, difendere il loro territorio, accoppiarsi, ai predatori.  Suggerire una connessione tra comportamento animale ed un successivo tremolo richiederebbe molto più dati dei casi isolati.  Un cane che abbaia non può stabilire una correlazione, ma forse 100 potrebbero.

Una proposta è la creazione di un numero telefonico e un sito internet in cui le persone possono segnalare comportamenti anomali di animali.  Il computer potrebbe analizzare l’origine e la frequenza dei messaggi, insieme alle misure di sismologia, per vedere se è possibile stabilire una correlazione.  Nel frattempo, lo studio degli animali dalla fattoria a Pieve Torina continua con alcuni risultati incoraggianti.  È troppo presto per segnalare i risultati prima della pubblicazione in una rivista scientifica, ma i dati sembrano finora dimostrare che gli animali si muovevano in modo coerente nelle ore precedenti un terremoto.

 

 

 

 

Posted in Abitudini, Animali, Foto, Italia, Italiano, Orvieto, Sicilia, Storia | 1 Comment

Can Animals Predict an Earthquake?

Posted on October 26, 2017 by babbityjean

A series of powerful earthquakes struck Italy in the last year (August and October 2016 and January 2017) in the regions of Abruzzo, Lazio, and Marche, and more recently in Campania.  They caused deaths and homelessness, and have cost 23 billion euros ($26 billion) in damage—some to priceless medieval structures and art.  While visiting Sicily last fall, we went to restaurants that donated proceeds of orders of pasta all’amatriciana to earthquake victims and to the recovery process.   When we were in Orvieto during Holy Week in April, Zubin Mehta conducted a concert at the Duomo; attendees made donations for earthquake victims.

Earthquakes raise the age-old question of whether animals can predict their occurrence.  Even as far back as 373 B.C., historians of the city of Elice in Greece documented that many animals, including mice, snakes, and weasels fled a few days before a devastating earthquake.  Other similar episodes have been subsequently reported:  catfish in frenetic motion, chickens that stop laying eggs, bees that abandon their hives, and dogs and cats that behave strangely before the earth shakes.  However, it is not known precisely what the animals feel or perceive in these cases.  Some scientists have proposed that they can perceive the earth’s vibrations before humans do, others that animals notice electrical changes in the air or gases released during a quake.

Researchers around the world, particularly in Japan, China, and the United States, continue to pursue the hypothesis of whether animals can anticipate these natural disasters.  Beginning last October, a German scientist has been studying animal behavior on a farm in Pieve Torina in the Marches region of central Italy.  Previously he had conducted a study on volcanic eruptions from 2012 to 2014 by monitoring goats and sheep on the side of Mount Etna, in Sicily.  The animals predicted the 8 major volcanic eruptions 4 to 6 hours in advance:  At night the animals woke up and nervously walked around, and in the daytime, they moved to a safe area where high vegetation suggested that it had been spared of previous lava flows.

Now the director of the Max Planch Institute for Ornithology has tagged animals on the Italian farm—a rabbit, sheep, cows, turkeys, chickens, and dogs– with small, sophisticated sensors that measure the animals’ movements down to the second:  their magnetic direction, speed, altitude, temperature, humidity, acceleration and location.  He believes that different species might sense the environment in a distinct way and together they might form a collective sensing system.

The observation of animals was a predictive factor in China in 1975:  Mice and snakes appeared “frozen” on streets incapable of proceeding; cows and horses appeared agitated; chickens refused to stay in the hen house; and geese took flight with great frequency.  The government ordered the evacuation of Haicheng, a city of a million inhabitants, only a few days before an earthquake of magnitude 7.3.  The move saved the lives of many people:  2,000 people died, but without the evacuation, it was predicted that more than 150,000 would have died.  It was discovered afterwards, however, that a rare series of minor shakes had hit the city before the enormous quake in Haicheng.  It was really the small shakes that convinced the Chinese government to evacuate; however, the Chinese continue to study animal behavior in these situations, as the small shakes could have contributed to the strange behaviors that were observed.

Geologists tend to give little weight to the anecdotal reports of owners of domestic animals, saying that they recall strange behavior only after an earthquake or other disaster has occurred.  In other words, they are confusing causality with correlation.  Animals react to lots of things—being hungry, defending their territory, mating, and predators.  To suggest a connection between animal behavior and a subsequent quake would require much more data than isolated cases.  One dog that barks cannot establish a correlation, but perhaps 100 could.

One proposal is the creation of a telephone number and an internet site where people can report strange animal behavior.  The computer could analyze the origin and frequency of the messages, along with seismology measures, to see if a correlation can be established.

The study of tagged farm animals in Pieve Torina continues with some encouraging preliminary results.  It is too soon to report the findings before publication in a scientific journal, but the data seem so far to show that the animals moved in a consistent way in the hours before a quake.

 

Posted in Animali, English, Foto, Italia, Orvieto, Sicilia, Storia | 1 Comment