After 2K years, Easter lamb off menu in Italy?
have fallen off significantly but blame a struggling economy rather than animal welfare concerns.
“Lamb is expensive, particularly Italian lamb,” said Massimiliano as Pino expertly dissected a carcass into oven- friendly joints for a customer willing to pay $ 21 per kilogram for certified Roman lamb — nearly twice the price of imported lamb.
“More and more what we are seeing is all types of meat being imported from eastern Europe where they don’t have the same health and hygiene controls we have here in Italy,” Massimiliano adds.
“People are short of cash so they go to the supermarkets and buy that meat instead.” An opposing view is expressed by Silvia Fassetta, one of the founders of The Green Place, an animal refuge near the spa town of Nepi which is home to two of the brightest young things on the Italian media scene. Rescued lambs with all the cuddly charm of puppies, Elvis and Lina were the stars of a recent online poster campaign in which Italian actors, musicians and TV personalities were snapped holding them under banners urging readers to: “Make a sacrifice this Easter, don’t kill me.” Backed by Italy’s Anti- Vivisection League ( LAV), the campaign has been a slow- burn success with the images widely picked up by national newspapers. Fassetta says that is a sign that her arguments resonate in the country.