Science nutrients poster-Italy

Socio-cultural factor

Italy religion: mostly catholic

Catholic churches follow the Biblical practice of Jesus Christ and the Jews. Every Friday and during the season of lent, Catholics are not allowed to eat meat. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, Catholics are to abstain from all foods (fasting).

Because of this religion, Catholic Italians lack protein because of abstaining from meat. Also, on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, they are to fast, which means they are to abstain from all foods, so on those days, they lack all food groups, starch, for example: rice, bread, cereal, pasta, corn, beans, potatoes, lentils, oatmeal, etc. They also lack proteins: lean meat (chicken, beef, fish, and turkey), eggs, tofu, etc. They lack the fruit group: apples, dragon fruit, avocado, pear, blueberries, kiwifruits, pomegranates, orange, strawberries, etc. The vegetable group: onion, garlic, lettuce, broccoli, carrots, greens, cabbage, Bok choi, etc. Last but not least, they lack fat: cheese, butter, cream, coconut milk, etc.

Economy factor

Italy’s import partners are Germany, France, China, Netherlands, Libya and Russia. Above all, Germany imports the most. Some of Germany’s main foods are:

    Starch: bread in Germany is considered necessary for a healthy diet, there are many different kinds of bread in Germany, there are about 600 main types of breads, 1,200 different types of pastries. Rolls are produced in about 17,000 bakeries and another 10,000 in-shop bakeries. The most popular bread types in Germany are Rye-wheat, toast bread, whole-grain,  wheat-rye,  white bread, multi-grain, usually wheat-rye-oats with sesame or linseed, rye Sunflower seeds in dark rye bread Pumpkin seeds in dark rye bread and roasted onions in light wheat-rye bread. Pumpernickel is also a very well-known bread in Germany. Germans use almost all available types of grain for their breads: wheat, rye, barley, spelt, oats, millet, corn and rice. Some are even made with potato starch flour. Bread rolls are also very common, it is eaten with butter or margarine, Cheese, honey, jam, Nutella, meat, fish, or preserves are then placed between the two halves.

    Proteins: Pork, beef, and poultry are the main varieties of meat in Germany, the most popular would be pork. Chicken is most common, although duck, goose, and turkey are also available in Germany. Game meats, especially boar, rabbit, and venison are also widely available all year round. Meat is usually pot-roasted. Most meats in Germany are made into sausages.

    Vegetables: often used in stews or vegetable stew. Carrots, turnips, spinach, peas, beans, broccoli and many types of cabbage are very common. Fried onions and asparagus-especially white asparagus-are very common side dishes.

     Fats: you can consider pretzels as fat, but it can also be starch or grains.

Environmental factor

Italy has few natural resources, much of the land is unsuited for farming, so Italy has to import lots of food from other countries. There is no iron, coal or oil. But there is natural gas and renewable energy. Italy is now one of the world's largest producers of renewable energy, world’s fifth largest solar energy producer in 2009 and the sixth largest producer of wind power in 2008.