Food Geopolitics and the Freedom to Choose – BookCity Milan
At BookCity Milan, during an event at Cascina Cuccagna, we presented the key ideas from my new book Obesity. Instructions for Rebellion (buy it here), written with Professor Michele Carruba and prefaced by Letizia Moratti. The discussion quickly moved beyond nutrition and health: food is identity, power, geopolitics, and, above all, freedom of choice.
Food Geopolitics and the Freedom to Choose
Our conversation at BookCity Milan brought together different perspectives on food and society. Professor Michele Carruba and I presented the main arguments of Obesity. Instructions for Rebellion, while journalist Antonio D’Anna moderated a dialogue that also included Luigi Chiarello, author of Nel nome del pane. What emerged was clear: food and lifestyle are never neutral, they reflect culture, economics, and global interests.
We began with obesity, a multifactorial condition that cannot be reduced to single nutrients or moral judgments. Current policies often rely on simplistic narratives: sugar as the enemy, fat as the enemy, meat as the enemy. These approaches overlook the cultural, social, environmental, and behavioural drivers of obesity. Measures like food taxes or front-of-pack labels such as Nutri-Score risk limiting individual freedom without addressing the real determinants of health.
From there, the discussion expanded to the geopolitical dimension of food. The trade of agricultural commodities, palm oil, wheat, sugar, and others, shapes global power relations and influences national strategies. At the same time, the demonisation of processed and industrial food ignores its essential role in ensuring safety, affordability, accessibility, and reduced food waste. Not all “traditional” or “natural” foods are inherently healthier.
Presenting the book on the day Italy celebrates the Mediterranean Diet made our message even more timely. The Mediterranean way is not nostalgia: it is a living, evidence-based model of balance, diversity, movement, and mindful eating. It is an antidote to ideological excesses and one-size-fits-all solutions.
Our goal is simple and ambitious: promote knowledge, strengthen personal responsibility, and protect the freedom to choose. Because health begins with understanding, not prohibition.
