UIV: Well done scientific community on moderate consumption

In Toledo, at the Lifestyle, diet, wine & health congress, the international scientific community highlighted the importance of moderate wine consumption as part of a healthy, balanced lifestyle. But according to the Italian Wine Union, European funds for the promotion of wine and red meat are at risk.

Unione italiana vini (Uiv) expresses appreciation for what emerged in Toledo during the concluding day of the scientific congress "Lifestyle, diet, wine & health." "We look with extreme interest at the concluding statement "Lifestyle matters" - said Uiv president Lamberto Frescobaldi - and the scientific community that discussed and highlighted the importance of moderate wine consumption as part of a balanced and healthy lifestyle.  This is," he concluded, "a position that has unfortunately not been acknowledged in the EU, where clouds are once again gathering that want wine to be strongly penalized in upcoming promotion programs.

A first alarm, noted by Uiv, is related to wine and red meat, which are back in the crosshairs of the European Commission in the call for the Horizontal Promotion of European Agricultural Products, for a total value of more than 176 million euros. the text proposed by Dg Agri, to be voted by the member states next October 25, includes among the criteria of premiums the compatibility with Union documents, such as the Farm to Fork and especially the Beating Cancer plan (BECA), the controversial anti-cancer plan signed among controversy 18 months ago. This is a return to the past - according to Unione italiana vini (Italian Wine Union) - as the proposal to effectively exclude wine from the rankings had been approved 2 years ago, also due to Italy's own silence-assent. UIV believes that wine-a sector with €8 billion a year in exports-cannot be jeopardized by such an important promotional opportunity as the one on the ballot, and trusts in Italy's clear opposition, as happened successfully last year. Once again the concept of wine as a harmful product regardless of how it is consumed is passing, just the opposite of what was established today in Toledo.

The statement, which was signed by some 30 scientists attending the conference, specifically reports that "a balanced diet such as the Mediterranean lifestyle, which includes moderation in all aspects of life including wine consumption, is recognized as a positive contribution to a sustainable and healthy lifestyle."

The manifesto will be posted on the congress website: https://www.lifestylewine2023.com/