Food culture

The is an ongoing debate in the current government budget talks about a general reduction of VAT on food in Finland from 17% to 8% aimed to take effect latest at the beginning of the year 2009.

And consumption of healthier foods might be made preferable for consumers by reducing the taxation on vegetables and low-fat products. The Finnish Minister of Agriculture and Forestry emphasises it taking at least six months before consideration of possible tax benefits of healthy foods and that this should not be mixed with the general VAT reduction on food.

Today on Finland also has received its’ first commissioner for Food culture after in recent years a couple of visiting foreign politicians having loudly expressed their demeaning opinions on Finnish food and the complete lack of food culture in Finland. Now the food culture commissioner has to enhance the appreciation of Finnish food and form a trend of food culture in this country.

As he was interviewed on morning TV this morning the Food culture commissioner emphasised that food has to look like itself, to be recognizable, instead of being fancily disguised, in order to be appropriately appreciated.

I have for long been along the same lines, simple food looking like what it is and no cross-over-cuisine, maybe that should go for the cooking on morning TV as well. I really wonder what this food culture commissioner thinks about their cooking and him being a former teacher in one of the best cooking schools in Finland, well wonder what grades he’d give for the coleslaw made yesterday for instance?

At least that Coleslaw would be eligible for the tax-reduction for the vegetables as well as for the light sour cream used in it.