The Independent reports on French truffle growers' attempts to secure a subsidy for their business:
Producers of one of the most expensive foods on earth, the truffle, are campaigning for a European Union subsidy. [...] Brussels has turned up its nose at the request, which it says does not "fit" its attempts to cut back on agricultural spending. The French federation of truffle producers says it will continue its campaign in the European Parliament. The problem, it says, is not truffle prices, which are booming, but the quantities of truffles found in Europe - mostly France and Italy - which are plummeting. Dry, hot summers, the advance of the suburbs and the use of agricultural chemicals are all blamed for the growing scarcity of the Tuber melanosporum, or "black" Périgord truffle.
Declining European production could be seen as good news for Southern Hemisphere growers, but I don't see it that way. We're not competing with each other - we should be cooperating to grow the world market - establishing year round demand for premium fresh product, rather than letting chefs get away with using artificial oils and "aromes". Much more worrying for me is the last sentence of the piece:
About 10,000 people in France are engaged in the truffle industry, mostly in the south-east. But only a few dozen make their living entirely from truffles.
I hope we can do better down here.
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