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The purpose of this article is to review the main hypotheses on Questione meridionale, the Southern Question, a term which means the differences between the North & South of Italy, their causes, & possible solutions. All the hypotheses on the problem refer to three sectors: structural, economic, & cultural. Structural explanations include inefficiency, corruption of state administration, poor infrastructure & clientelism. Economic explanations revolve around the economic relation that was established between the North & South after the political union (1861). On one hand the Southern capitals go to the North in the form of taxes or State investments or Treasury bonds; on the other hand the North uses the South as a market for its manufactured goods. Cultural approaches explain Southern backwardness as is the result of a mentality characterized by lack of collaboration, lack of interest in public welfare, & victimization. All three types of explanations are inspired by North American or North European models, & "blame" the South for not being more like the North. In the last part of this article two scenarios are discussed. The first is that the cleavage between North & South will remain in the coming years. The second is that the cleavage will disappear as a result of European cultural & economic integration process & new cleavages formed by non-European immigration. 9 Tables, 1 Chart, 174 References. Adapted from the source document.

When animals are exposed to a novel situation such as transportation, they react by eliciting certain physiological and behavioural functions in order to cope with the situation. These changes can be measured to indicate how much stress the animal is suffering. Physiological stress indicators often measured in animal transport research include changes in heart rate, live-weight, cortisol levels, and blood composition including electrolytes, metabolites and enzymes (Broom and Johnson, 1993). Animal behavioural stress indicators include struggling, vocalisation, kicking or biting, hunching of the back, urination, defecation and recumbence (Broom et al. 1996; Gregory, 1998). Meat quality parameters post mortem can also help to indicate stress levels in animals (Grandin, 1990; Gregory, 1998). These include incidence of bruising and DFD in all farm animal species and PSE in pigs. Mortality is also an obvious indicator of poor welfare. Combined aspects of transport that contribute to causing stress in livestock include loading and unloading procedures, close proximity to stock handlers, water/feed deprivation, noise, riding in a truck, mixing with other animals and being forced into unfamiliar environments. The responses of stock to these conditions will depend on the animal's genetically controlled adaptability, physical condition and its previous handling experiences (Gross and Siegel, 1993). Factors such as the adequate preparation of animals for transport, controlled prior access to feed and water, minimal disruption to social groups, considerate animal handling skills, adequate handling and transport facilities including good ventilation in trucks, and careful driving technique are major areas that dictate the standard of animal transport. For example, considerations for pigs should include a pre-transport fasting period which balances the requirement to avoid hunger, travel sickness and deaths. Breeding and selecting for more stress-resistant genotypes of pigs can improve the welfare by reducing mortality and the metabolic consequences of transport stress. Other factors influencing animal transport include farm size and country size. For example, livestock transport in Scandinavia involves transport vehicles travelling to more than one farm in order to fill a vehicle. In Australia often one farm pick up can fill a truck, and although the distances may be much longer to the abattoir, it will be more direct. The market demand dictates the type of animals transported. For example the veal trade in Europe demands young live calves to be transported over long distances from northern countries which supply it to the southern countries which demand it. This trade exists in live animals rather than meat because the demanding countries further fatten and slaughter these animals specific to their needs. The industry set up influences the standard of animal transport in different countries. For example in countries where industries are vertically integrated consisting of producer-owned slaughter plant co-operatives (Sweden and Denmark), producers are paid according to slaughter weight and lean meat percentage, therefore there is more consistent quality control measures in place. In Australia the marketing system is such that it provides no economic incentive to reduce losses. Greater public awareness of animal welfare seems to be increasing in western countries, and as a result there is more pressure on the livestock industry to adopt better standards for the farming, handling, transport and slaughter of animals. The transport of livestock in Australia continues to be under increased scrutiny from overseas markets and animal welfare groups. In the European Union (EU), public pressure has been a successful instigator to the drafting and continued improvement of comprehensive legislation for animal transport. EU animal transport laws cover aspects such as minimum design standards for livestock vehicles (including ventilation controls), maximum journey lengths before resting intervals, stocking rates, what animals are considered as fit to travel, and general handling and care requirements of animals in transport. These laws are causing debate between northern and southern countries in areas such as maximum journey lengths and vehicle design standards. Some countries such as the UK have also gone to a great effort to adjust national laws in order to incorporate EU transport laws, but countries such as Spain and Italy have not. Typically it is these countries that more often have poor standards of animal welfare, and the welfare of farmed animals has historically been of low priority (Schmidt, 1995). When and how these countries will adopt the comprehensive EU animal transport regulations, continues to be an unanswered and politically sensitive question between EU member states.

The current malnutrition epidemic calls for multiple solutions. The aim of the thesis is to identify the themes of the debate regarding the development of a single Front of-package nutrition label in the European Union. In order to reach the aim, a case study approach was used by looking at the positions of different stakeholders in Sweden, Italy as well as by looking at the debate inside of the European Commission and European Council of Ministries. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analysis of documents. The results show that the stakeholders are trying to influence the process towards contrasting outcomes. Different stakeholders argue for very different ideal labelling schemes, while still agreeing on the need for harmonization. Major disagreement arise on whether the label should be voluntary, based on portion or 100 g and on the ideal label design. The type of view depends on the stakeholder role and on its previous experience with this type of labelling. The political debate inside of the European Union is still at an early stage and no consensus has yet been reached, the divergences between the representatives of the Member Countries partially deal with arguments similar to those exposed by the stakeholders. The patterns that emerge from the analysis of the different point of views can facilitate the cooperation between stakeholders and policy-makers. ; Trots teknologisk utveckling har nuvarande livsmedelssystem inte förmått att uppnå livsmedelssäkerhet och folkhälsa för alla. Problemen i världens många livsmedessystem varierar i grad och fokus. I stunden är 17 % av barn som bor i Europa överviktiga, och givet dagens förutsättningar i livsmedelssystem och levnadsvanor förutspås 37 % av vuxna i Europa vara feta 2030. Denna situation är att betrakta som en epidemi, som drabbar vissa grupper i samhället mer än andra, och den är kopplad till många andra icke smittsamma sjukdomar. För individen kan övervikt leda till en lägre livskvalité och för samhället innebär det ökade hälso- och sjukvårdskostnader. Eftersom det är många faktorer som påverkar en individs matvanor ligger ansvaret både på individer och på samhälle för att skapa förutsättningar för en hälsosam livsstil vad gäller livsmedelskonsumtion. För att vägleda konsumenter i matrelaterade val har många länder i Europa en tradition som innebär att konsumenten får hälsorelaterad information om produkten på förpackningen. Det ger konsumenten möjlighet att göra konsumtionsval baserat på mer information. Traditionen inom EU att använda information, fakta och symboler, på livsmedelsprodukter skiljer sig dock mellan länder, och det leder till förvirring och politiska problem. Problemen har banat väg för att EU 2020 kommunicerade målet att skapa en harmoniserad form för information på livsmedelsprodukter som säljs i länder i EU. Detta löfte har skapat debatt och starka röster som ser väldigt olika lösningar på problemet. Syftet med projektet är att identifiera tema i debatten i EU om ett harmoniserat format för information på livsmedelsprodukter. Studien är en fallstudie i vilken debatten från två länders perspektiv, Italien och Sverige, är av speciellt intresse. Tillgängliga sekundärdata från EU och de två valda länderna, och semistrukturerade intervjuer utgör datainsamlingsmetod. En innehållsanalys genomfördes med utgångspunkt i intressent-, varumärkes- och standardutvecklingsbegrepp som hörnstenar för en förståelse för förändringsprocessen. Resultaten från studien visar att representanter för de valda organisationerna i studien förordar en harmonisering av regler för konsumentinformation. Synen på sättet på vilket det skall göras skiljer sig däremot åt. Återkommande tema i intervjuerna är frivillighet, som innebär att det är upp till livsmedelsproducenten att bestämma om produkten skall ha en symbol som visar övergripande näringsinformation eller detaljerad näringsinnehållsinformation. Olika intressenter arbetar på flera fronter för att frågan skall få en lösning. Medan EU samlar in data för att kartlägga alternativa metoder och traditioner arbetar Ministerrådet för att skapa politiska förutsättningar för dialog och samsyn i frågan. Grunden för att skapa ett harmoniserat system ligger i en samsyn på vetenskapliga bevis. Den politiska debatten pågår och kommer att kräva tid innan politiska beslut kan fattas. ; Nonostante il suo sviluppo tecnologico, l'attuale sistema alimentare non è stato in grado di garantire la sicurezza alimentare per tutti. I tipi di malnutrizione presenti variano considerevolmente a livello mondiale; al momento il 17% dei bambini europei è obeso o ovrappeso e, alle presenti condizioni, il 37% degli adulti sarà obeso nel 2030. Questa epidemia di malnutrizione colpisce le categorie svantaggiate in maniera sproporzionata ed è connessa con molte malattie non trasmissibili. La malnutrizione contribuisce a una minore qualità della vita e a una maggior pressione sul sistema sanitario. Ci sono molti fattori che influenzano la dieta delle persone e quindi la responsabilità di risolvere il problema è sia individuale sia collettiva. Negli anni, molti paesi Europei hanno creato sistemi di etichettatura nutrizionale fronte-pacco, con lo scopo di aumentare la comprensione della qualità nutrizionale dei prodotti da parte dei consumatori, così che questi possano fare scelte più consapevoli. In questi sistemi, le informazioni sono presentate sul lato del prodotto che i consumatori vedono al momento dell'acquisto, cosi da facilitarne l'utilizzo. I sistemi di etichettatura fronte-pacco in vigore nell'Unione Europea sono molto diversi tra loro, rappresentando una fonte di confusione per i consumatori e un ostacolo al commercio nel Mercato Unico. Nel 2020, la Commissione Europea ha espresso l'intenzione di adottare una singola etichetta fronte-pacco da utilizzare in tutti i Paesi Membri. L'annuncio ha provocato un grande dibattito, dove gli interessati argomentano soluzioni molto diverse tra loro. Lo scopo della tesi è identificare i temi del dibattito riguardante lo sviluppo di un'unica etichetta fronte-pacco all'interno dell'Unione Europea. Il case-study esplora il dibattito sull'etichetta in corso in Italia e Svezia. I dati sono stati raccolti tramite analisi di documenti e interviste semi-strutturate con stakeholder in entrambi i paesi e con la Commissione Europea. I dati sono quindi stati analizzati con l'aiuto delle teorie sugli stakeholder, sulle etichette, sugli standard e sulle transizioni. I risultati mostrano che, nonostante le organizzazioni selezionate siano in favore dell'armonizzazione, ci sono idee molto diverse rispetto quali caratteristiche l'etichetta comune dovrebbe avere. Temi del dibattito sono, per esempio, la volontarietà dell'etichetta o se questa debba presentare una valutazione complessiva del valore nutrizionale dell'alimento o solo il suo contenuto nutrizionale. Sia il ruolo sia il paese di origine degli intervistati influenzano il loro punto di vista, similarità e differenze di opinione possono essere viste lungo queste linee. Le organizzazioni investigate sono attive sia nel dibattito Europeo sia in quelli nazionali. Le istituzioni europee, responsabili del processo legislativo, sono attive sul tema in modo diverso. La Commissione Europea sta ancora raccogliendo le evidenze scientifiche riguardanti questo tipo di etichette e che serviranno per scrivere la Proposta. Il Consiglio dell'Unione Europea non ha ancora trovato una posizione comune e i Ministri partecipanti hanno posizioni molto differenti. Il dibattito politico interno al Consiglio ha a che fare, per la maggior parte, con i temi presentati dalle organizzazioni intervistate. A causa delle rilevanti differenze in termini di etichetta ideale si può supporre che il dibattito andrà avanti ancora per molto tempo e si evolverà mentre emergono nuove evidenze scientifiche e sono prese decisioni politiche.