Per una politica non distruttiva delle risorse dell'economia montana : alcune riflessioni a partire dal caso della tutela del formaggio Bitto

The case of the protection of Bitto, an Alpine cheese tat is a sceciality of the valleys of Gerola and Albaredo (Sondrio) is, at first glance, a simple dispute about the Protected Geographical Staus Dop. However, it also refers to various crucial questions about the role of agriculture i rural and mountain areas, as well as the relationship between institutions and "agencies", and their influence, with their "technical" choice, on territorial area management, the use of resources and hunan settlements. The case began in 1996, when the Dop was awarded and the production area of Bitto Dop was "decreed" bt law to be the entire province of Sondrio and not just the two small valleys were it was traditionally produced. Furthermore, in 2006, a new measure in Bitto production was passed by the Italian authorities, although it is still undergoing "transitional approval" by the European Union: among other thing it introduced the use of milk from cows which were fed not only with forage but also with cereals, soy and soy byproducts. The producers of the "historical" Bitto grom the Gerola and Albaredo valleys sustain that this represents a surrender to a productionist logic that is contrary both to their interests and the interest of consumers.