Mass tourism in Portugal is threatening the identity of local gastronomy and accelerating the consumption of ultra-processed foods, a study led by ambassadors of the European Climate Pact has revealed.
“Tourism should be a driver of appreciation for regional gastronomy, but it is reinforcing homogenized and less healthy eating patterns, putting the gastronomic identity and food security of the regions at risk,” warned the ambassador of the European Climate Pact, Amélia Delgado, who coordinated the study.
The study ‘Food and Tourism Nexus, Challenges and Opportunities’ indicated that the increase in food prices, especially during times of high tourist influx, has led to the replacement of local and seasonal products with standardized alternatives, aligned with visitors’ habits.
According to the ambassadors of the European Climate Pact, Portuguese food identity could be at risk, “if urgent measures are not adopted”.
The European Climate Pact has called on the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities (ANMP) to “take a central role in promoting policies that integrate food sustainability into municipal planning”.
“ANMP has the responsibility of mobilizing municipalities to protect food culture and ensure the appreciation of regional products.”
According to the researcher specializing in food science, tourism can and should be an ally of sustainable traditional gastronomy.
However, “without a clear strategy, the replacement of local products, which monetize natural heritage, will continue to accelerate.”
Local products are replaced by ultra-processed products, which are “harmful to public health and resilience in the face of disruptions in supply chains, and also hinder strategies for adapting to climate change”.
According to Amélia Delgado, many tourists seek a globalized diet, based on industrial or exotic products that are not adapted to the local climate or to a balanced diet, relegating traditional gastronomy to the background.
“As a result, large food companies, especially those that produce ultra-processed foods, have come to dominate the market, supplying frozen and pre-prepared products even to traditional restaurants, where it is believed that they will continue to satisfy customers while reducing costs”, she said.
The researcher also explained that the Mediterranean Diet is often associated with poverty, “when, in fact, it represents a balanced model, where meat and fish complement the dishes instead of being the main focus”.
“It is an almost vegetarian food culture, where seasonality and the absence of waste predominate”, he stressed, also recalling that, in the past, products sold by small producers were more nutritious, “but today they face increasing difficulties in competing with multinationals that supply unsustainable, unhealthy, but cheap food products”.
Price, he said, cannot be the main determinant in food purchases.
“Food is a basic right and current food systems have high costs, for health systems, for local economies and for the planet, which is our home,” he concluded.
The study ‘Food and Tourism Nexus, Challenges and Opportunities’ is part of the ‘Global Nutrition Dialogues Synthesis Report’, a project by the NGO 4SD, presented in March in Paris.
In addition to Amélia Delgado, the European Climate Pact ambassadors Luísa Barateiro, Rosmel Rodriguez and Anna Staszewska participated in the research and writing, based on research with several experts, including a doctor who is an expert in obesity, an olive oil producer, a chef, researchers in urban planning and tourism and an economist.
We see at Pingo a large choice in processed and treated food. All vegetables are processed and prepacked. If possible I buy the unpacked greens and of course the local Sunday market is my first choice.
Noud is correct. Since the Pingo Doce chain has been bought some years ago by the Dutch-Belgian owned holding company Ahold-Delhaize, owners of the largest supermarket chains in the Netherlands and Belgium, we see the collection change and the northern supermarket habits increase. Much more prepacked stuff and heavily processed food, that was virtually absent not too long ago. The worst habit they have taken on is to moisten the non-packed vegetables to make them look fresher than they are but makes them rot as soon as you bring them home and put them in your fridge. So yes, we try and buy our vegetables and fruits exclusively at the local Sunday farmers market (forget the Lavradores in Funchal, that is just a tourist trap). Always freshly harvested, usually on Saturday.
As for the restaurants, yes, there is a loss of identity if you go to the tourist oriented businesses. They all seem to have no sense of adventure and want to eat the food they are used to at home.
When you go around the restaurants, particularly in Funchal, many have the same dishes. To get a real taste of Madeira you need to get out to where the locals go.
I prefer spending my hard earned cash at McDonald’s – food always freshly cooked and reasonably priced, unlike many local restaurants overpriced servings of yesterday’s tasteless food.
Now why doesn’t that surprise me!
It is the same in mainland if you go to visit certain tourist areas there is always the typical dishes and very difficult to find anything different .
Peter, Heaven forbid we should allow the individual to choose how and on what he/she should spend their hard earned cash on.
Gastronomy on Madeira has adapted to the mass tourism. A few fantastic “secret places” and their specialities are still left.
I remember few years ago when I was young that did existed many good restaurant in Machico one was called Residencial O Facho” em Machico está localizado na Praceta 25 de Abril. It was a great restaurant with typical cuisine made in a different way and also different dishes was opened for many years but later was closed for good I cant remember why did close maybe because the owner did died or decide to close for other reasons . And like many others in restaurants over Madeira that closed because the owners did died and no one wants to continue .
Mention made of “local Sunday’s farmers market” and the only one I know of is at Santo da Serra. We went 2 weeks ago and had no problem parking on the marked parking on the RHS of the road leading in. However, leaving at 11.30 was a nightmare as with parking designated on one side of the road there is no room for 2 way traffic, plus it seems large tourist buses are also coming to the market, resulting gridlock meant we queued for half an hour to get to the road to Machico just before the public gardens. Like many tourist spots it’s becoming not worth the hassle.
The main problem in Madeira is that the tourists often gravitate to the same popular spots in Madeira due to factors like accessibility, well-established infrastructure, and the island’s reputation for specific attractions areas leading them to not expanding exploring beyond of that areas causing the excess of cars and buses plus parking problems and congestion in that areas . And the other problem with this tourism surge is that bringing more visitors than ever before, new concerns have emerged. Many locals feel that the benefits aren’t as widespread as they’d hoped. There are complaints about the strain on resources like water and electricity, the increase in prices for housing, and the sense that some areas are becoming almost unrecognizable due to commercialization. Many are frustrated that the island’s natural beauty is at risk, and the tranquil, close-knit community life they cherish is shifting toward something more chaotic and crowded. It is a difficult complex of balancing economic growth with cultural preservation. There’s also a strong sense of pride at play; Madeira’s want people to experience the island but in a way that respects the local lifestyle and environment. They hope the visitors can appreciate the island’s traditions, and tread lightly, and can contribute to the local economy without overwhelming it.