Rispetto, sicurezza e pluralismo alimentare. Tensioni concettuali e prospettive di conciliazione

Abstract: One of the most compelling challenges faced by multicultural societies in recent years has been the need to implement strategies for assuring a healthy population able to coexist with respectful attitudes towards the members of ethno-cultural minorities and the values that inform their specific identity. Notably, a conflict of reasons arises when adherence to specific food habits causes problems of inadequate nutrition that, besides compromising individual health, also entail high health-care expenditures for governments. This paper offers a conceptual clarification of the main problems involved by presenting some difficulties of adaptation experienced by minority members as cases posing risks for food security. It also proposes a pattern of respectful treatment of individuals suitable for theoretically framing and critically assessing the normative orientations of Italy’s sanitation policy.