Rural Development and Food Μinister Spilios Livanos said on Monday that the ministry’s goal is to promote the “Greek Diet” brand. Speaking to Skai TV, Livanos said that the goal includes to subsidize infrastructure, increase exports and train farmers and promote the “Greek Diet” brand. He also spoke about the new EU Common Agricultural Policy, which will bring 19.7 billion euros to Greece, and stressed the need for judicious investment in infrastructure.
“If we manage our investments in infrastructure soundly and increase production and exports, giving added value to our products, then we will have succeeded. If the money is spent on simple grants then we will have failed, as has been the case in previous decades. Our ally in this effort is the Recovery Fund,” Livanos underlined and added: ”
“The priority of the ministry is the promotion, worldwide, of the Greek Diet brand,” Livanos said adding that “Greece has the privilege of producing excellent products. These products must acquire an identity, they must acquire a branding as the Greek diet..”
He noted that “We have a wealth to consume ourselves and to consume it in large quantities as part of a healthy diet but also as a part of our culture, our tradition and our history, which we must connect with our tourism. Tourists can become the best ambassadors of the Greek diet.”
He also explained that “We must understand, first of all, in our families, in our schools, that we must prefer Greek products, not out of nationalism, but because they are better in quality. The primary and secondary sector, which I have the honour to serve, is essentially the driving force for the Greek economy to start at another level. But it must be linked to tourism, culture and our health policy. If we succeed and create this new framework, internally and then externally, I believe in a few years we will work miracles.”
He also spoke about the new EU Common Agricultural Policy, which will bring 19.7 billion euros to Greece, and stressed the need for judicious investment in infrastructure.
PS the minister did not elaborate on the “Greek Diet” program as much as he could but given the extra pounds gained during the long lockdowns, it has possibilities to sound … promising. Unless Livanos has something else in mind…
Mean foreigners on Twitter mentioned french fries, Pita-gyros, Frappe & cigarettes for breakfast and feta cheese everywhere.
BTW: What happened to that “Greek Breakfast” brand that was to be promoted and implemented several years ago?
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I have to say that olive oil is far cheaper in the UK than it is in Greece — as is the case with Feta Cheese — I wonder why that is?
Jo, maybe the olive oil you can buy in your own store is not the best one. Then of course it is cheaper. And likewise with the feta cheese. Quality costs, you have to find what you really like. There have been some frauds with olive oil for example. Read on the decription lable on the back. There are many different sorts of olive oil and likewise with feta cheese.
PS: look for olive oil from Crete or Kalamata. They are usually very good. Or if you want more taste try the oil from Lesbos. But, they are more expensive of course. Ouality costs….
PPS: look for: cold extracted extra virgin olive oil! With a acidity lower than 0,6 %. The best oil is also bottled in Greece.
I have never heard such a load of crap coming out of a Greek minister’s mouth…. I wonder what HE eats: it must be something that affects his mental abilities, I guess.
And of course Livanos “has something else in mind”: those 19,7 billion euros from the EU Common Agricultural Policy…. business as usual, and it has nothing to do with promoting the healthy Greek Diet brand.
Talking about “healthy”: I live since 15 years in a small village on a Greek island, and all those years I have see youngsters passing my house every day, coming back from school, paying a visit to the bakery or the mini-market, buying and eating all kinds of sweet and fat fastfood (who gave them that money?), their bodies growing fatter and fatter, and then – surprise, surprise – they are not hungry anymore when they arrive at home for lunch, where the mother (who has a fulltime job and doesn’t have time or doesn’t know how to cook a proper meal anyway) has warmed up some prefab supermarket junk food out of the freezer…. So you can imagine how the situation in bigger towns and cities is. Healthy Greek Diet? Don’t make me laugh: those were the days!
And talking about tourists as “ambassadors” for the Greek diet: 98% of all the tourists who visit my village, order the following ‘healthy’ food’ at the local taverns and restaurants (usually only what they know from their home countries): French fries, bifteki, spaghetti bolognese or carbonara (not Greek at all !), souvlaki, mousaka (heated up in a microwave), deep-fried kalamari and pizza (yes, pizza !). Although, to be completely honest: SOME courageous tourists eat a Greek salad (albeit without olive oil), the sole healthy dish on their table. Again: don’t make me laugh….
Mean people have mentioned the “frappe and cigarette” breakfast? This only goes to show the great social progrerss Greece has made in the EU. Only 20 years ago it was a “Greek coffee and cigarette” breakfast! Frappe is so much more sophisticated.
I guess your comment was meant to be sarcastic…..