10.6092/issn.1973-9494/12795
Le attività dell’uomo e lo sfruttamento delle risorse naturali provocano la perdita della biodiversità, causando scarsità d’acqua potabile e diffusione di malattie gravi e sconosciute. Perciò l’OMS ha lanciato l’allarme sulle morti premature nel mondo determinate da inquinamento ambientale. Nel Nord Italia, come in Cina, l’elevato livello di particelle inquinanti PM10 ha contribuito alla diffusione virulenta dell’epidemia Covid 19. E’ questo un ulteriore sostegno alla filosofia dell’insicurezza che difende la fragilità del “rischio zero”. L’attuale pandemia oltre ai tanti e dolorosi decessi ha creato anche una generale e profonda crisi economica mettendo a rischio la sopravvivenza delle popolazioni più deboli. In Italia ha agito pesantemente sia sul comparto della produzione, sia su quello dei beni culturali, elemento chiave dell’immagine del Paese nel mondo, nonché sul settore agroalimentare. Il prioritario intervento da parte della Sanità è ora trasferito all’economia e alla politica, cui compete l’adozione dei provvedimenti appropriati per una ripresa, possibilmente rapida, della produzione e, con essa, del lavoro, del reddito, della protezione della salute, dell’ambiente e del patrimonio culturale.
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1973-9494
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Pier Giorgio Tupini
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Conservation Science in Cultural Heritage
culture
Environment, Food, Culture: Covid-19
Text.Serial.Journal
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/
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Articles
2021-05-13
2021-04-27
2021-05-13
2021-05-13
139-145
CSCH
Pier Giorgio Tupini
2020
10.6092/issn.1973-9494/12795
139
President of the Accademia Cultura Enogastronomica, Rome, Italy
1973-9494
culture
en
145
Environment, Food, Culture: Covid-19
https://conservation-science.unibo.it/article/download/12795/12511
20
E     NVIRONMENT, FOOD, CULTURE: COVID-19


    Pier Giorgio Tupini *
    President of the Accademia Cultura Enogastronomica
    Rome, Italy


    Keywords: Covid-19, philosophy of insecurity, culture



    1. Environment and Covid-19

     In contrast to the principle of “sustainable development”, the excessive exploitation
of the land, deforestation, desertification, mineral extraction activities, the illegal spill of
hazardous waste, air and water pollution, the massive use of antibiotics, and globaliza-
tion, contribute to unfavorably modifying the environment, causing the loss of biodiver-
sity and scarcity of drinking water, all of which result in the spread of serious unknown
diseases. Thus, the increase in temperature, with the consequent thawing of polar gla-
ciers and the permafrost, has released and will continue to release lethal viruses and
bacteria that have survived for millions of years, and which, in the past, have been
responsible for destructive epidemics [1-2].
     The effects of interaction between the environment, raw food materials and health,
as well as their influence on the lives of populations, have been studied and dissemi-
nated by the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), an international body
which processes scientific, technical and socio-economic information. Based on this
knowledge, the WHO announced that between 2030 and 2050 the climate crisis will
cause 2 million premature deaths worldwide every year, prevalently (50%) in developing
countries [3-4].
     Unfortunately, the increase in risk confirms the philosophy of insecurity which con-
siders tragic events as being the price to pay for the evolution of humanity. This is the
new element in the global risk society, where it is accepted that final decisions give rise
to global problems and dangers that contradict the promises of effective control (known
as organized irresponsibility). The “philosophy of insecurity” adds that the system of col-
lective security weakens individual defenses which, anaesthetized by the aggressive
invasion of a globalized production system, becomes an increasingly more vulnerable
victim in the event of an attack by resistant or unknown elements [5].
     If we evaluate the devastating events of pandemics, earthquakes, floods and fires,
it is plausible to assume that there is no such thing as “zero risk” in the world; likewise,
the fact that total security, with regard to the growth and modernization of production,
is an unknown factor, since it threatens freedom and the capacity for development and
innovation and prevents humankind from overcoming its own limits and improving the
conditions of the species. A concept that, with the no-limit approach to carrying out life
and work activities to increase herd immunity, was expressed in the approach to the
Covid-19 pandemic by England and Sweden, as well as by a number of movements


    * Corresponding author: ptupini@gmail.com
                                                     within the Italian political opposition who objected to adopting measures to contain the
                                                     contagion from Covid-19.
                                                          Official science does not offer any certainty on the interconnection between envi-
                                                     ronmental changes and the spread of infectious diseases, since they are physico-bio-
                                                     logical phenomena that cannot be measured with great precision. However, experts
                                                     and international institutions have found that the peaks in the most virulent epidemics,
                                                     SARS (Avian Influenza) in 2003, H1N1 (Swine Flu) in 2009, MERS (Middle East Re-
                                                     spiratory Syndrome transmitted in the bat-camel-human sequence) in 2012, and today
                                                     COVID-19, occurred at temperatures of at least 0.6 or 0.7 degrees above the average
                                                     [6].Climate change and epidemics know no borders since “Tout se tient” (everything is
                                                     connected); but can the virus, in a situation such as Schengen, stop at the border,
                                                     given the difference in the number of infections in the different countries?
                                                          Having examined the trend of the epidemic in Northern Italy, the hypothesis arose
                                                     – supported by the Italian Society of Environmental Medicine (SIMA) and shared by
                                                     the University of Bologna and the University of Bari – that the deaths that occurred in
                                                     the most productive areas of Lombardy and Veneto may be attributed to specific
                                                     causes of environmental pollution as these are regions that have recorded the highest
                                                     levels of PM10 pollutant particles in the air and are responsible for complications in the
                                                     respiratory system attacked by Covid-19 [7].
                                                          This hypothesis is supported by the comparison between the PM10 data detected
                                                     in the epicenter of the epidemic, namely Hubei in China, which had among the highest
                                                     levels in the world and those of the Po Valley area where the levels of PM10 were the
                                                     highest in Europe; in Lombardy a PM10 value of up to 53 µg / m³ was also recorded
                                                     (maximum annual average value 40 µg / m³) [8-9].
                                                          Mathematics has also provided its contribution on the topic of how an epidemic can
                                                     be “curbed”. In this regard, the climatologist-physicist Antonello Pasini using the equa-
                                                     tion of disasters (R = P x V x E,) considered risk (R), which also includes pandemics,
                                                     in relation to danger (P), and to the vulnerability (V) of the territory and individual expo-
                                                     sure (E), depending on age, health, chronic diseases and climate change.
                                                          The equation is a product whereby, if a factor = zero, any risk (R) is annulled, but
                                                     in the case of Covid-19 it is intractable because it is more dangerous than other known
P.G. Tupini - Environment, food, culture: Covid-19




                                                     influenza viruses, so vulnerability (V) is high, also due to the fact there is no antidote.
                                                     All we can do is to act on exposure (E), which is implemented by avoiding contact with
                                                     carriers of the virus [10]. This is the meaning of lockdown and closing public spaces
                                                     and businesses (bars, restaurants, hotels, places of worship and study) where contact
                                                     is easier, with all the consequent negative economic repercussions, as well as the
                                                     obligation to wear a face mask and personal protective systems for categories at risk.
                                                          There are several theories regarding the high rate of mortality in the red zone of
                                                     northern Italy. One is the reality of a particularly vulnerable elderly Italian population;
                                                     others are rather fanciful, such as the conspiracy of the American athletes participating
                                                     in the 7th Military World Games in Wuhan, accused of spreading the virus, to which the
                                                     US counterattacked with the hypothesis that the Covid-19 virus had leaked from spe-
                                                     cialized Chinese laboratories.
                                                          Another element to consider is that Covid-19 generates greater fear than environ-
                                                     mental pollution because, whereas the former spreads rapidly among the inhabitants
                                                     in urban centers its transmission intensity becoming more and more rampant, the latter
                                                     seems remote, and thus alarmism is attributed to political clashes or fantasies. As a
                                                     result, the environment continues to change unfavorably, its alterations damaging not
                                                     only the soil and our heritage, but also raw food materials in particular, with extremely
                                                     negative economic consequences globally, such as an exponential increase in poverty


                                  140
levels and deaths. This situation in turn leads to exacerbating situations of widespread
fear, collective panic and uncertainty about the future [11-12].
     But there is also the challenge regarding who is going to determine the best ap-
proximation date on which the epidemic curve finally reaches zero transmission and
simultaneously, the production curve starts its upward trend of recovery, achievable if
the state and a more collaborative Europe guarantee a consistent flow of liquidity to
support income and consumption through (necessarily public) investments. The urgent
short-term economic recovery, characterized by new technological and digital competi-
tiveness, is essential to contain the further impoverishment of weak populations, whose
survival, in the tragic scenario of absolute poverty, is seriously at risk.
     And so, the fast and efficient lifestyle of developed societies has become the main
enemy [13].
     SARS caused an estimated 40 billion dollars’ worth of damage, but Covid-19 could
generate costs of trillions of dollars depending on the duration of the pandemic.
     The measures already implemented to prevent adverse effects on human health
and to reduce food safety risks, not only in critical areas of the world such as Africa and
South Asia, but also in the Mediterranean area, have not guaranteed appreciable re-
sults, so much so that vast crops are often attacked by pathogens capable of destroy-
ing them: in Italy typical plantations such as olive trees, tomatoes and vines have suf-
fered extensive damage [14].
     Therefore, since the food market, which follows guidelines on health protection and
life expectancy, constantly requires new safety measures, it should be considered from
a broader perspective rather than from the simple prerequisite common to all food
products. Hence, investments are needed in order to address additional issues, such
as the absence (non-presence) of known pathogenic organisms, knowledge of the ori-
gins of the food and its production processes (traceability or product tracking), exclusion
of the use of substances considered “suspicious” even if not yet scientifically declared
“dangerous” as a preventive measure, as well as providing correct information on the
contents and nutritional risks of the product.




                                                                                                Conservation science in Cultural Heritage
     But it is also true that among the psychological factors that have negatively influ-
enced the perception of risk in the public’s opinion on nutrition, is the message that
foods are not potentially contagious vehicles. The information is true and should have
tranquilized the population, instead of causing the disorderly onslaught of food markets
due to the panic-buying of food and a surge in infections, with the curious hoarding of
both natural and chemical yeasts.
     Ultimately in the relationship between environment, nutrition and health, food qual-
ity, quantity and availability are to be considered fundamental, a system that bases the
philosophy of safety on trust in production and distribution. Therefore, an existential
trust which, translated into institutions set up for this purpose (the safety apparatus),
today has new connotations and does not immediately refer to the generic “suitability
for consumption” of the product, but invades the sphere of the more strictly “qualitative”
characteristics, including hygiene and health, that are essential to improve the consum-
er-producer relationship damaged by successive economic and food crises.


   2. Culture and Covid-19

    Despite everything, the environment along with the climate, continue to adversely
affect artistic and natural heritage by damaging elements that are exposed to harmful
agents. The supply chain of companies dedicated to cultural heritage preservation and


                                                                                              141
                                                     protection is being dramatically impacted by the crisis resulting from the spread of the
                                                     infection and are risking bankruptcy. The whole sector is concerned about the sudden
                                                     decrease in tourist presences and admissions to protected territorial areas of archaeo-
                                                     logical and naturalistic interest, parks, museums and places of culture, as well as the
                                                     cancellation of educational trips, to which is added the malaise in the related sectors of
                                                     catering, tourist-accommodation facilities and spas.
                                                          In fact, the companies involved in the restoration and conservation of cultural heri-
                                                     tage, archaeological parks, churches and the recovery of local built heritage, though
                                                     being tangible and intangible demo-ethno-anthropological assets, have suspended
                                                     on-site work to comply with the regulations on containing the Covid 19 pandemic. This
                                                     has evidently not only blocked the activity of archaeologists, architects, restorers, tech-
                                                     nicians and related services, including associations, cultural institutions, volunteers,
                                                     but also that of artists, musicians, actors ... and primarily the indispensable interven-
                                                     tions needed for the conservation and protection of listed assets.
                                                          If the situation continues, the degradation of the many monuments, museums, art
                                                     galleries, churches, theaters, auditoriums, archives, libraries and cinemas scattered
                                                     around the territory will continue, with intuitively unfavorable consequences for their
                                                     safeguard and enjoyment. Nevertheless, though the pandemic has immobilized peo-
                                                     ple, museums and cultural heritage have found a new purpose and relationship with
                                                     the public through digital technology and it has become an essential tool with which
                                                     culture can be observed and shared. It offers the public the opportunity of virtually visiting
                                                     much-loved places, galleries, museum spaces, libraries, archives, conservatories, ar-
                                                     chaeological parks and keeps the importance of the link between the cultural world and
                                                     its community alive.
                                                          Naturally, the tourism sector, closely linked to that of cultural heritage, is also suf-
                                                     fering. In particular, all activities involved in hotels and other accommodation facilities,
                                                     food and beverage service outlets, travel agencies and tour operators, are at a stand-
                                                     still and the forecast for the future is not encouraging.
                                                          The penalized categories have consequently asked the government to compen-
                                                     sate them for the damage to the entire sector, which exceeds 16 billion euros, hoping
P.G. Tupini - Environment, food, culture: Covid-19




                                                     that a National Fund for Culture will be instituted. It is expected to be an investment
                                                     fund guaranteed by the state, with swift procedures and structured so as not to increase
                                                     public debt. It should serve to protect cultural heritage and those who work in the field
                                                     of production and cultural offer, so that what is at present a utopia – that one can make
                                                     a living from culture and live well on it – can become a reality.
                                                          The fund would be open to contributions from all those who wish to support the
                                                     sector during the current emergency and liquidity crisis, due to the closure of museums,
                                                     cinemas, theatres and bookstores.
                                                          As already mentioned, the repercussions of the crisis from Covid-19 on the com-
                                                     posite and variegated world of cultural enterprise, which employs hundreds of thou-
                                                     sands of people, are dramatic and could ultimately prove fatal. From now on the diffi-
                                                     cult financial conditions of cultural enterprises will have to be dealt with efficiently to
                                                     ensure their survival and enable them to return to producing culture, thus contributing
                                                     to social cohesion and economic wealth.
                                                          Once the epidemic is over, partnerships and cooperation between businesses, ar-
                                                     tistic associations and the third sector (NGOs, non-profit organizations, etc.) will be
                                                     important. They will have to team up to relaunch new ways of creating and disseminat-
                                                     ing culture, so as to show the world that Italy, as the nation with the most UNESCO sites,
                                                     has the ability to react positively.


                                    142
     In Italy at the end of 2019 the budget forecast for revenue and expenditure issued
by the various Ministries for the three years 2020-2022, yet again excluded provisions
for structural interventions in the cultural sphere.
     The Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage, Activities and Tourism (MiBACT) delegat-
ed to deal with all matters pertaining to tourism, ordinary and extraordinary conserva-
tion, and maintenance of the cultural heritage, as well as its recovery, also in the in-
ternational field of illegally exported assets, has allocated most of its funding to the
“Missione: Tutela e valorizzazione dei beni e delle attività culturali e paesaggistici”. For
2020, allocated funds are 2640.5 million euros for artefacts of high cultural, scientific,
artistic and historical significance, from the budget the Fund for the protection of cul-
tural heritage will receive 139.2 million euros, while that for the implementation of the
strategic plan “Grandi progetti beni culturali” is 112.7 million euros. Two acts on legisla-
tive delegation are foreseen, one for the amendment of the Code for Cultural and Land-
scape Heritage and the other for entertainment. In addition, a fund for the Carta Giovani
Nazionale (CGN) has been set up by Italy’s Presidential Board for 2020-2021-2022
aimed at the 18-35 age group, which guarantees a number of discounts and benefits
for museums, cinema, theatre, sports events, cultural events, concerts and sports ac-
tivities. Additionally, there are 400 million euros each year from 2025-2034 in invest-
ment funds for municipalities to enhance local heritage and to make provisions for the
“Mappa del Recupero” for those artefacts in need of protection, focusing on disadvan-
taged areas and small enterprises. And lastly, a fund for small museums and art galler-
ies aimed at reducing social marginalization and improving urban décor.
     The challenge is in the field of reconstructing the cultural heritage in which the
state, by implementing Art. 9 of the Constitution, should ensure that private individu-
als do not earn high profits from public assets but are open to patronage, i.e. those
who donate and in return only ask for moral recognition (with this approach, France
collects one billion euros a year). It is necessary to catch up with the great museums
of the world in producing content by becoming a knowledge community and forming




                                                                                                  Conservation science in Cultural Heritage
connections with schools, who should be the first recipients and interlocutors in any
heritage policy.
     Once the epidemic is over, joining together and cooperating with companies, artis-
tic associations and the third sector will be important in relaunching new ways of creat-
ing and disseminating culture. This will show how Italy is able to respond positively,
being, as mentioned earlier, the nation with the largest number of cultural heritage mon-
uments and sites on UNESCO’s world heritage list.
     Furthermore, since crises are times for newfound awareness and often determine
a turning point which consequently leads to a change in the way we live, communicate
and work, it will be necessary to finance innovative projects that experiment with new
ways to produce and disseminate culture, as well as taking full advantage of EU funds
allocated to the sector, but which are not always utilized.


   3. Conclusion

    The future has to be planned bearing in mind that humankind (the giant Goliath)
can succumb to a viral particle that is smaller than 0.1 microns (the young David) and
can threaten its survival. It is however evident that experiencing the shock caused by
disasters, including that of Covid-19, can result in a major concern about the concrete
possibility of recovery. This is also in relation to the crude live coverage of the aforemen-


                                                                                                143
                                                     tioned disasters by the media without the defenseless individual having any real pos-
                                                     sibility of changing their direction, thus compromising the principle of silent trust be-
                                                     tween producer, consumer, authorities and democracy.
                                                         The normality of existence is no longer normal and the pandemic “will change if we
                                                     change”, but with the real risk that, in the meantime, the longer it lasts, the more it gener-
                                                     ates mental apathy and resignation, as bitterly highlighted in the title of Francisco Goya’s
                                                     etching “The sleep of reason produces monsters”.


                                                           References

                                                     [1]    Commissione salute dell’Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei 2020, Rapporto Covid 19.
                                                            Scienza in rete. Roma 1° aprile 2020
                                                     [2]    Lentini G., 2020, Storia della climatologia. Lezioni Climalteranti
                                                     [3]    Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 2006, Linee guida OMS
                                                     [4]    Tilche A., Cambiamenti climatici, Covid 19, Ed. Epidemie, Futuro, Scienza
                                                     [5]    Caserini S., 2020, L’IPCC e la gestione dell’incertezza. Lezioni climalteranti
                                                     [6]    Grasselli G., Pesenti A., Cecconi M., 2020, Critical care, Utilization for the COVID 19
                                                            Outbreak in Lombardy, Italy, PubMed Early. 20 febbraio 2020
                                                     [7]    Brusaferro S., 2020, Decisivi i prossimi sette giorni, Economia e Finanza, Primo
                                                            piano
                                                     [8]    Arpa Lombardia, 2019, Il PM10 nei capoluoghi lombardi, Pubbl. Resoconto
                                                     [9]    Geiler J., Michaelis M., Naczk P., Leutz A.,2010, N-acetyl-L-cysteine(NAC) inhibits
                                                            virus replication and expression of pro-inflammatory molecules in A549 cells
                                                            infected with highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza A virus, Ed. Biochimica
                                                     [10]   Pasini A., 2020, L’equazione dei disastri, Codice Edizioni
                                                     [11]   2020, Why lockdowns can halt the spread of COVID 19, World Economic Fo-
                                                            rum
                                                     [12]   Zygmunt Bauman, 2016, Il demone della paura, Ed. Laterza La Repubblica
                                                     [13]   Franzini M., 2019, Il Covid 19 e le disuguaglianze economiche, Questione Giu-
P.G. Tupini - Environment, food, culture: Covid-19




                                                            stizia
                                                     [14]   Giro M., 2018, La globalizzazione difficile, Mondadori


                                                           Biographical notes

                                                         Pier Giorgio Tupini is President of the Accademia della Cultura Enogastronomica
                                                     in Rome and Professor (Technical School) at the “Free School of Engineering and
                                                     Applied Sciences in Industry”, Friborg, Switzerland. He is a former lecturer in the Mas-
                                                     ter “Hygiene and Environmental Safety” and an expert on “Political Economics” at the
                                                     University of Rome “La Sapienza.” As Director of the Environmental and Food Sector
                                                     USL RM1 (local health service) and then Director of the Technical Department ASL
                                                     RMC, he has carried out work in various fields, achieving important results, with refer-
                                                     ence to limitation of atmospheric and environmental pollution, interventions for the
                                                     rehabilitation of the environmental and food sectors in the historical center of Rome
                                                     and in the campaign against smoking in public places. He has also conducted inves-
                                                     tigations in hospitals on matters of hygiene and safety, as well as in establishments,
                                                     laboratories and food markets in Rome. He has published over 100 articles and 3
                                                     monographs.


                                   144
   Summary

     Human activities and the exploitation of natural resources cause the loss of biodi-
versity and a scarcity of drinking water, as well as the spread of serious and unknown
diseases. Therefore, the WHO has raised the alarm regarding the premature deaths in
the world caused by environmental pollution. In Northern Italy, as in China, the high
level of PM10 pollutants have contributed to the virulent spread of the Covid 19 epi-
demic. This is further support for the philosophy of insecurity that defends the fragility
of “zero risk”. In addition to the many painful deaths, the current pandemic has also cre-
ated a general and profound economic crisis, putting the survival of the weakest popu-
lations at risk. In Italy it has heavily affected both the production sector and that of cul-
tural heritage, a key element in the country’s global image, as well as in the agri-food
sector. The priority for intervention has now been transferred from the healthcare sys-
tem to the sectors of economics and politics, which must adopt appropriate measures
for a hopefully rapid recovery in production and, with that, a return to work, with income,
health safety, and the safeguard of the environment and cultural heritage.

   Riassunto

    Le attività dell’uomo e lo sfruttamento delle risorse naturali provocano la perdita del-
la biodiversità, causando scarsità d’acqua potabile e diffusione di malattie gravi e sco-
nosciute. Perciò l’OMS ha lanciato l’allarme sulle morti premature nel mondo determi-
nate da inquinamento ambientale. Nel Nord Italia, come in Cina, l’elevato livello di
particelle inquinanti PM10 ha contribuito alla diffusione virulenta dell’epidemia Covid 19.
È questo un ulteriore sostegno alla filosofia dell’insicurezza che difende la fragilità del
“rischio zero”. L’attuale pandemia oltre ai tanti e dolorosi decessi ha creato anche una
generale e profonda crisi economica mettendo a rischio la sopravvivenza delle popo-
lazioni più deboli. In Italia ha agito pesantemente sia sul comparto della produzione,




                                                                                                  Conservation science in Cultural Heritage
sia su quello dei beni culturali, elemento chiave dell’immagine del Paese nel mondo,
nonché sul settore agroalimentare. Il prioritario intervento da parte della Sanità è ora
trasferito all’economia e alla politica, cui compete l’adozione dei provvedimenti appro-
priati per una ripresa, possibilmente rapida, della produzione e, con essa, del lavoro,
del reddito, della protezione della salute, dell’ambiente e del patrimonio culturale.




                                                                                                145
