With the project Cultivate the future Riso Gallo, presented the first rice from sustainable agriculture: certified and … very good.

Intensive cultivations, few guarantees for the growers and poor transparency along the supply chain for products that "seem" Italian, thanks to a winking packaging, perhaps dotted with tricolor flags, but that of the Belpaese have seen only the packaging phase. We read frequently, but fortunately there are also those who, proudly, do the opposite to offer products "in accordance with the law" 100% made in Italy of high quality and certified sustainability. Riso Gallo, a family-run company, first took to the field (in the true sense of the term) industry leader for six generations, which since 1856 cultivates, selects and sells quality rice.

The company of the Preve family, born in Genoa and since 1926 stationed at Robbio Lomellina (PV) is present in 80 countries, employs 134 people and managed to marry environmental and social responsibility to economic sustainability. In three years it has reduced by 17% in energy consumption, using 100% electricity from renewable sources and cutting CO2 emissions by 60%. But he also has decreased the waste produced and the use of cardboard for packaging.

Given the more than positive results of the "Cultivate the Future" project, monitored by the University of Milan and certified by Friend of the Earth, the goal now is to double sustainable rice production (currently 2%) with the next harvest. So it will reach 4% by further reducing the greenhouse gases, sowing other flowers along the banks to attract pollinating insects and enhance biodiversity.

Tangible result for consumers? A "rustic rice" for risotto and a second for side dishes and salads, from the grain large, full-bodied and worked in stone. Thanks to abrasion kind the grain remains slightly amber, preserving more fibers and aromas than white rice. On the Riso Gallo site it is possible to follow the stages of cultivation (www.risogallo.it/azienda/sostenibilita/) with the interview to the agronomist of a farm where sustainable rice is born, only 3.4 km from the control plant quality and packaging and video on flooded fields where, in an oasis of productive tranquility, coexist migratory birds and tasty beans. Indeed, chicchiricchi!

Silvia Bombelli
May 2019

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