Nowadays almost all the pasta is made with durum wheat, but it can also be made with soft wheat, triticale... The Mediterranean countries farm half the worldwide durum wheat, although there are countries like Canada that export almost all their production, the Mediterranean durum wheat is mainly destined for own consumption. Pasta is a product that gives us many possibilities to maintain the agrarian diversity and to support local agriculture.
Most wheat is grown according to conventional intensive agriculture model which uses pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizers. The mills working with flours that are not ecological are fumigated with chemicals. This model generates abandonment of rural environment and ecological imbalances. Let us choose the pasta which is more respectful with the environment.
The best options are ecological, whole-grain, or semi whole-grain, and local ones.
research centres: Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries d'Espanya, Institut Nacional de Recerca Agronòmica d'Algèria;
magazines: Pimiento Verde, The Ethical Consumer;
books: several authors, L'alimentació mediterrània, Institut Català de la Mediterrània, 1996, D. López i J. A. López: Con la comida no se juega, Traficantes de Sueños 2003;
organizations: Coordinadora de Organizaciones de Agricultores y Ganaderos, Unió de Pagesos.
