Food is intertwined with our heritage, landscape, and life.

Food is intertwined with our heritage, landscape, and life itself. Catalonia has been awarded the title of World Region of Gastronomy in 2025. It's no wonder. This corner of the world boasts an extraordinary level of diversity. You can travel several kilometers and the same dish will have variations and even a different name. We have a history that many countries would envy—the oldest cookbook in Europe not written in Latin is in Catalan and is 700 years old: the Sent Soví's BookAnd, as if that weren't enough, we have the talent and craftsmanship of some of the world's best restaurants right here. From the most traditional to the most innovative. People from all over the world want to learn to cook in Catalonia, and you'll find great chefs who truly understand the essence of surf and turf. Our markets are the envy of everyone who visits us, not only for the quality of their produce, of course, but also because they nourish the soul. Besides acting as a bridge between producers and consumers, the stallholders are people we trust, people who have the ability to build a community and foster a strong network.

In the Catalan wine sector, there have been such great advances that some bottles have carved out a niche for themselves on the global stage and are featured on prestigious international lists. These bottles are also much more affordable than those from neighboring countries. The same is true for olive oil, one of the ingredients that most strongly connects us to our land and culture. Moreover, it's a healthy option full of beneficial nutritional properties. The current picture is quite favorable, but it's not all sunshine and roses. What's needed now is to bolster our gastronomic heritage for the future. The challenges are significant and urgent.

On the one hand, people are cooking less at home. We don't have the time, we don't have the budget to buy fresh produce, we don't know how, or we don't consider it a priority. The consumption of ultra-processed food is growing. In fact, food is a very seductive lure that generates a lot of money. The figure is substantial. Food (and this includes everyone from farmers to supermarkets, school cafeterias, hospitals, and restaurants) accounts for nearly 20% of Catalonia's GDP. This means we need a sound food policy, because we all know that if you don't create one, someone else will.

We live in times of change; therefore, it's time to make decisions about what kind of country we want to be. The time is now, and it's a priority. Our Mediterranean diet is one of the best in the world. Everyone wants to replicate it because we have scientific evidence of its incredible benefits. However, the relentless march of globalization is slowly causing us to lose ground. Young people consume what they see on TikTok, often what's on the other side of the ocean, not what's right next door. Preserving ingredients means preserving landscapes, producers, villages, and our health. However, the weakest link in the chain is precisely those who produce the food. We have fewer and fewer fishermen, and we're gaining too much forestry at the expense of farmland. Therefore, it is essential to ensure that those working in the primary sector can earn a living. Would we pay a few cents more for a locally grown apple? Can we, through technology, improve crops, their environmental impact, and harvesting practices? Of course we can, and this is one of the first challenges. To help those who feed us and guarantee that Catalonia has thriving villages, food with a smaller carbon footprint, and as much food sovereignty as possible.

The second challenge is to promote food literacy. It's very easy to ensnare an uninformed population by selling miracle diets or supposed superfoods that later turn out not to be all they're cracked up to be. supers neither feed So much so. And here, the media also bears a large part of the responsibility. Josep Usall, director general of IRTA, states: "Consumers are still quite uninformed. So much information is available that it's very difficult to understand." We must better filter what is published and guarantee its scientific rigor, because in our country there is a wealth of knowledge and research.

And finally, we must teach cooking in schools. And shopping. We have to start from the beginning. In an education system based on competencies, we have forgotten a competency we practice three times a day: eating. Some will say that it used to be learned at home. That's true, but this has changed, and as a society we must remedy this to reverse a situation that is approaching us like a wave that could sweep away our position of absolute privilege.