Looking back to go forward

Rituals and people: the heritage of the Mediterranean Diet.

“A ritual is the enactment of a myth. And, by participating in the ritual, you are participating in the myth. And since myth is a projection of the depth wisdom of the psyche, by participating in a ritual, participating in the myth, you are being, as it were, put in accord with that wisdom, which is the wisdom that is inherent within you anyhow. Your consciousness is being reminded of the wisdom of your own life. I think ritual is terribly important.” — Joseph Campbell

This year we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the Mediterranean Diet as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. An international recognition to value, honor, and preserve the importance of “a set of skills, knowledge, rituals, symbols, and traditions concerning crops, harvesting, fishing, animal husbandry, conservation, processing, cooking” characterizing the Mediterranean basin.

However, how is that possible that in the 21st century, in the middle of the 4th industrial revolution, where digitalization and hyper connection have been characterizing our lives, rituals and traditions are re-gaining traction?

Rituals: conceptions and misconceptions

Often rituals are related to something from the past, whether in the form of static and outdated realities, or specific religious practices.

And this is probably the reason why rituals have faded so much from our daily life. It is evident that, especially within our busy and globalized society, marriages are decreasing compared to cohabitation, just as spiritual rituals are becoming less frequent; evidence of a gradual disconnection from the natural environment and our inner reality.

However, rituals involve much broader aspects.

Within our kitchens, reiterated common practices have become rituals, turning into recipes that have survived the test of time. Eating behaviors and practices are now seen as aspects of our cultural identity. Rituals in the fields have been reconsidered and rediscovered as precious legacies to achieve regenerative practices for the planet, the people, and the economy.

Far from being mechanical gestures, rituals were developed to stress the importance of the specific action, an action that was made with consciousness and intention. In this sense, the symbol embodies the value and significance behind it.

Food rituals

Food is much more than energy and nourishment. Food is family, experience, inclusion, community. Food is identity.

In the Mediterranean Basin, commensality and conviviality have become cultural heritage aspects to be preserved and valued.

In Morocco, the tea ritual is ceremonial, just as in Italy, pasta and coffee are still perceived as sacred customs without which we could not survive..

Why is food so important? According to a socio-anthropologist of food, Claude Fischler, this is related to the “principle of incorporation”: food is the element that transitions from the outside to our inside. It is its ability to cross the border in/out of us and become an inner part of ourselves to make it so important. It is not only a tool that biologically sustains us, but is also physically and symbolically incorporated into ourselves.

This aspect intersects with a sacred dimension of food we have inherited from the ancient past. Starting from a pagan vision, both ancient Greeks and Romans associated food, and specifically certain foods, with divinities. The Mother Goddess, Demeter (Ceres for the Romans) was linked with cereals; the Goddess of Balance, Athena (Minerva for the Romans) was linked with olive oil; Dionysius (or Bacchus for the Romans) was the God of Wine.

This aspect of sacrality around those three basic foods, which are the basis of the Mediterranean Diet, is also confirmed in the Christian religion. Bread, wine, and oil are central aspects also in the Christian ritual, the first two elements as the symbols for Christ’s body and blood, while the third is related to the etymology of the Hebraic word for Christ, meaning indeed oiled.

“The Christians turn the elements at the basis of the Mediterranean Diet into sacred elements, as they restore the balance between the human and divine dimension. The value of the Mediterranean Diet is that it turns food into an element of commonality: humans can start to identify themselves for what they eat rather than what they do not eat.”

Marino Niola — from the Boot Camp in Pollica

Time scans rituals and life itself

Regardless of the level of technologies involved, agricultural practices are all characterized by the same rhythms and cycles: sowing, watering, waiting, curing, harvesting. Each phase requires time and patience, respect for natural cycles and seasonality, which also reproduces the perfect balance and circle of life: Life-death-life.

Within the cyclicality and alternation of rhythms, it is time that rules our wellbeing: we inhale and exhale; we work and rest; we plant and collect. This ancient wisdom, that in the past was respected and valued, nowadays has been dangerously hindered by the speed of technologies, frenetic lifestyles, the fast world in which we all are living. Today, time represents a precious, dormant resource we do not control.

It should come as no surprise, then, that the longing for a more natural and harmonic lifestyle has been leading people, specifically youths back to the field, back to the essentials of life: food production, nourishment and nutrients, reconnection with the natural environment, the landscape, the culture, the community, and the tradition. Back again, as cyclically happened, to one of the most ancient human activities: agriculture.

Pollica, one of the seven emblematic communities that identifies with the values of the Mediterranean Diet, embodies those principles of deceleration and reflection, which are so closely related to a sustainable and good quality of life, typical of Slow Cities.

Some psychologists, like Jungian Clarissa Pinkola Estes, draw a parallel between gardens and our psyche: “Everything that can happen to a garden can happen to the soul and psyche: too much water, too little, annoyance, heat, storm, flood, invasion, miracles, death, rebirth, grace, blossoming, healing, beauty”. In the same way that nature offers winter as a time to rest, recover, and regenerate, the same should happen to our minds and bodies, without confusing reflections with unproductivity. Just as our gardens, Jungian Clarissa Pinkola Estes says, our minds “cannot always be bloomed”.

Rituals today are more important than ever before in allowing us to understand the importance of gestures, to regain consciousness and awareness of what drives our choices, actions, beliefs, and habits. Everything on Earth is strictly interconnected and we, as human beings, are simply part of a bigger picture. We have already started witnessing the beginning of a new era, where leadership must be and is already starting to be more purpose-driven, businesses turning more sustainable, innovation entangled with restoration and regeneration, managers asked to be more thoughtful and consumers more responsible.

Rituals and the central role played by individuals

Rituals cannot be separated by the central role played by people.

At least for the Mediterranean Diet, women play a key role in transmitting knowledge about ingredients, cooking techniques, and values to the household and the broader community, given their role as gatekeeper.

Equally, farmers are more than just food producers. They care, wait, protect the seeds then turn them into nutritious and tasty products to reach our tables. They are the real guardians of our territory and landscape.

The idea of multifunctionality in agriculture (and therefore the multifunctional role of the farmer) is a necessity that has been increasing over the past decades, reaching its peak at the height of the global health pandemic and enduring through today.

Prioritizing the common good above individual interests is how we are asked to solve the three major challenges of our epoch: the environment, the demographic, and public health. Implementing the “Integral ecology,” as invoked by Pope Francis, requires union, companionship, solidarity, collaboration, and multi-disciplinary approaches.

With this aim, the Mediterranean Diet taught us and is still teaching us a lot.

It is a lifestyle in which time is valued, as a deep connection among the natural, social, and inner dimensions.

It is a ritual of profound respect for nature, placing food into the sacred dimension.

It is an example of inclusion and democratization, given that the ingredients at the basis of the Mediterranean Diet are among the most affordable, at least for the population living in the Mediterranean Basin and elevating conviviality as a pillar of cultural identity.

But it is also the archetype of adaptation, resilience, and evolution. We should not forget that the Mediterranean lifestyle itself has never been static. It has been coherent in values, in its constant flexibility.

Rituals should not be fossilized into memories from a perfect past. They should still be studied and understood in their broader and systemic meaning to allow future generations to take advantage of their wisdom and adapt their principles to the peculiarity of a new context. In this sense, the Mediterranean Diet is a beacon of inspiration, perspiration, and action.

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. “ — Steve Jobs

Co-Authored with Margherita Tiriduzzi, Erika Solimeo.

The Future Food Institute believes climate change is at the end of your fork. By harnessing the power of our global ecosystem of partners, innovators, researchers, educators, and entrepreneurs, FFI aims to sustainably improve life on Earth through the transformation of global food systems.

We advocate and initiate positive change initiatives in Food Waste & Circular Systems, Water Safety & Security, Climate & Earth Regeneration, Mediterranean Foodscape, Nutrition & New Foods, and Humana Communitas, all tied in with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

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