Attitudes Towards Gluten Free Foods and Celiac Disease in Italy

Author(s)

Joellyn SperedelozziFollow

Major

Biomedical Engineering

Second Major

Italian

Advisor

Emerson, Hilary

Advisor Department

Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures

Advisor

Pisa, Rosaria

Advisor Department

Women's Studies

Date

5-2023

Keywords

Celiac’s Disease; Italian Food Culture; Gluten Free; Italy

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Abstract

This project addresses the perception and realities of living with Celiac’s Disease in Italy. I combine a literature review with my own anecdotal experiences as an individual with Celiac’s Disease who has lived and studied in Italy. In my paper, I first describe the high awareness of gluten-free living that I noted the first time I studied abroad, being the impetus of this project. I follow this with the history and science of Celiac’s Disease for those who may be unaware of this serious chronic medical condition. I then continue to describe personal experiences I had while living in Naples, Italy from September 2021 through August 2022 and navigating the food culture so that I did not consume gluten. Finally, I dive into an empirical and sociological analysis spanning topics of general nutrition, government policy related to the higher price of gluten-free foods and fortification of flours, sociological and cultural influences on Italian food culture, and the general experience of individuals living with Celiac’s Disease in Italy. In incorporating scientific and historical analysis, I address the recent discoveries related to treatment of Celiac’s Disease and the differences in response to these discoveries in America as compared to Italy. I conclude that while the American perception of gluten-free eating is still fairly negative, Italian perception is less so due to a heightened awareness of the potential underlying medical reasons for a gluten-free diet and a more comprehensive education program about food culture thanks to traditional cultural values. This leads to an altogether more positive perception of those individuals with Celiac’s Disease. In linking my personal experiences with the political, scientific, historical, and cultural aspects of Celiac’s Disease, this interdisciplinary project calls attention to the differences between American and Italian gluten-free food culture.