Abstract
Critical consumption is dependent upon the consumers’ behaviours regarding their evaluation of the environmental, social and economic sustainability of products and production. Within legal framework related to critical consumption, GAS (Italian acronym for “Gruppi di Acquisto Solidale”, in English “ethical purchasing groups”) is particularly noteworthy. Regulated by Italian Law no. 244/2007, the GAS are associations aimed at collectively purchasing goods under fair prices and conditions, including respecting the environment and enhancing the solidarity between consumers, traders and producers. Law no. 244/2007 identifies the purpose of the GAS in reference to the link between social solidarity, established in Article 2 of the Italian Constitution, and environmental sustainability. It appears to aim towards a significant evolution of the constitutional principle of solidarity, correlating it closely with environmental sustainability. Food diversity therefore becomes increasingly more important not only because it is necessary to guarantee the right to food, e.g., contributing to reductions in biodiversity loss (protected by Law no. 194/2015), but also because it serves as an index of territorial identity. The GAS could represent an example of this new kind of “sustainable solidarity”, strengthening the perspective in favour of including, by way of evolutionary interpretation, a new inviolable right in the open list of Article 2 of the Italian Constitution: the right to food sovereignty.
This chapter represents the results of a joint research effort; with reference to each author’s contribution, Sects. 1 and 2 have been drawn up by Virginia Tascagni and Sects. 3, 4, and 5 by Roberto Franco Greco. The conclusions contained in Sect. 6 were jointly written by both authors.
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Notes
- 1.
Bauman (2000).
- 2.
Minestroni (2006).
- 3.
Scagliarini (2015).
- 4.
See infra, para. 4.
- 5.
Resolution of Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe no. 1957/2013: “Food is our most basic need and right. If we cannot secure access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food for present and future generations, our health, development and fundamental rights will be compromised”.
- 6.
Ferrara (2010).
- 7.
See infra, para. 4.
- 8.
Biggeri and Volpi (2006).
- 9.
Vignudelli (1984).
- 10.
Minestroni (2006).
- 11.
See infra, para. 4.
- 12.
Marzanati and Mattioni (2007).
- 13.
Pizzolato (2010).
- 14.
East (2003).
- 15.
Colombo and Onorati (2009).
- 16.
Tanza (2009).
- 17.
Besides the importance given in the second pillar of the Common Agricultural Policy to the enhancement of the resources and therefore rural areas, consider the aforementioned Resolution n. 1957/2013 of the Council of Europe, inasmuch as it attaches great importance to responsible consumption, food security and access to food. In particular, “[…] as concerns affordability of food: strengthen solidarity mechanisms to combat poverty, which obstructs access to food by the population concerned; increase development aid devoted to agriculture and improved food preservation, and honour aid commitments entered into; […] foster food security in fragile countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia, by improving small farms’ resilience and rural livelihoods, assisting good regional governance in agriculture and food policies, and enhancing aid to vulnerable populations; support the minimum human rights principles applicable to large-scale land acquisitions or leases identified by the United Nations Human Rights Council […]; promote food security by establishing a new universal framework for post-2015, integrating the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals […]”.
- 18.
Benozzo and Bruno (2009).
- 19.
See the contribution by Monteduro in this volume.
- 20.
Benozzo and Bruno (2009).
- 21.
FAO (2004). The preference for monocultural agriculture, uncontrollably imposed at least since the beginning of the nineties, has significantly compromised the biodiversity, determining a rise in the homogenisation of food and consequently of eating habits. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that around three-quarters of the plant varieties have been lost because of globalisation.
- 22.
FAO (2015).
- 23.
East (2003).
- 24.
Arcidiacono (2013).
- 25.
The same law defines them, in Art. 13, c. 2, as “local areas resulting from agreements between local farmers, farmers and livestock breeders, purchasing groups, schools and universities, research centers, associations for the protection of agricultural and food biodiversity, school cafeterias, hospitals, caterers, commercial businesses, small and medium-sized artisan businesses for agricultural and food processing, as well as public bodies”.
- 26.
See the contribution of Monteduro in this volume.
- 27.
Compare Art. 12 and 13, Law 194/2015. See infra, para. 5.
- 28.
GAS is generally composed of families who come together to buy food and goods of common use, directly from the producer, to then distribute them. Direct contact with the producer is the central feature of such purchasing practices. They thereby cut out the intermediaries from the distribution to create a short supply chain. This provides clear opportunities for savings in the purchase of products. This has definitely represented one of the most decisive factors in the growth and rapid spread of the phenomenon, but the central element is provided for in the solidaristic approach to consumption. Even before it was legally recognized according to the formula of ethical purpose, social solidarity and environmental sustainability, the BASIC DOCUMENT OF GAS (1999) identified it as a fundamental paradigm of their activities. In this, it states that GAS are “one of the many situations in which you are making an alternative conception of the economy, now present in various parts of Italy in more or less structured forms. We call them “Ethical” Purchasing Groups to distinguish them from the simple purchasing groups, which do not need to present ethical connotations, but just be an instrument of savings. The ethical aspect, or solidarity, of such groups seems the most important side, which characterises them as having experience in the field of critical consumption (…)”. Pirani et al. (2009).
- 29.
Title II. of legal persons.
- 30.
Visconti (2008).
- 31.
Particularly, Art. 148, paragraph 1, with reference to associative entities, provides that “activity carried out for members or participants is not considered commercial, in accordance with the institutional purposes of associations, consortia and other non-commercial entities of an associative type (…)”.
- 32.
The point should be made clear that the tax category of non-commercial entity does not coincide perfectly with that of civil law subjects that pursue aims “non-economically valuable”. The reference is precisely to associations, foundations and committees. The tax profile is relevant to the object of the activity, which cannot be exclusively or principally commercial (Art. 73, T.U.I.R.). Instead, under civil law, the non-commercial status of the entity depends on the purpose pursued. Therefore it is possible that a non-profit entity would come under the application of the tax provisions for commercial entities where, although the aims pursued are not economically valuable, the object of the activity concerned is principally or exclusively commercial. Ultimately, the absence of profit is necessary but is not, in and of itself, sufficient to render the entity non-commercial from a tax point of view. According to the same Art. 73, paragraph 4 “the exclusive or principal object of the resident entity is determined according to the law, the articles of incorporation or charter, if they exist as public articles or a private agreement authenticated or registered. The principal object means the essential activity to directly accomplish the primary aims laid down by law, the articles of incorporation or the charter”. Colombo and Poletto (2012).
- 33.
- 34.
Created following the liberalisation of the energy market, the energy service purchasing groups spread rapidly in Italy and Europe. Liberalisation has encouraged the development of economies of scale that allow access to much better price conditions the greater the demand for energy.
- 35.
Renewable Energy Certificate System.
- 36.
The certification is done through the purchase of Guarantee of Origin (G.O.) certificates, introduced at the European level by Directive 2011/77 CE. In Italy, this was implemented by D.M. of 6 July 2012 with the aim “to support the production of electrical energy from renewable sources by establishing incentives and modes of simple and stable access, that promotes effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of the incentives in adequate relation to the pursuit of its objectives (…)” (Art. 1). As well as by natural persons, the service purchasing groups are often triggered by small and medium-sized businesses as part of the Green Marketing strategies promoted by different operators. Green Marketing includes the set of business activities directed to provide services, products, technical solutions and tariffs compatible with the environment. On this theme, Corradi (2011).
- 37.
Social solidarity is only one aspect of the solidarity attribute. It enables you to grasp, in the most intuitive way because it literally draws, its direct link with the constitutional principle of solidarity. As previously revealed, the solidaristic characteristic of GAS also consists of ethical and environmental sustainability aims.
- 38.
The Constitutional Court has on many occasions held that the inviolable rights constitute the irretractable heritage and, together with the fundamental principles, represent those values that underpin the entire system. In the past, ex plurimis, it has been observed in: judgment n. 30 from 2015, which states that they “constitute the identification and inalienable elements of the constitutional order”; decision n. 238 of 2014 that sets the “boundaries of respect for the identification elements of the constitutional order, namely the fundamental principles and the inviolable rights of man”. The central role the Italian Constitution gives to the inviolable rights involves the impossibility to completely sacrifice them should they be subjected to balancing with other constitutionally protected interests. In these cases, it is necessary to ensure a minimum level of protection guaranteed to prevent their impairment. On this issue, the Constitutional Court, with ruling n. 252 of 2001, made clear the need to “guarantee an irreducible core of laws (…) as inviolable to human dignity, which requires prevention of establishment of situations without protection”. Along the same lines, also see, ex plurimis, judgments n. 509 of 2000, n. 309 of 1999 and n. 267 of 1998.
- 39.
Note that the Italian Constitution recognises the inviolable rights of man and not to the citizen. This led the Constitutional Court to conclude that, with respect to the principle of equality (Art. 3), they must also be guaranteed to foreigners (already with ruling n. 120 of 1967). Therefore, it is the duty of the Republic to remove the economic and social obstacles that limit freedom and equality between men (Art. 3), both citizens and foreigners. For more background, see judgments n. 22 and 230 from 2015 of the Constitutional Court. On reflection, in reference to GAS, it is possible to identify the person as the recipient of the solidarity activity they carry out. This indication is not obvious if one thinks, for example, about the current handling of the migratory crisis in the European political sphere, in which the welfare state often proves inadequate to ensure decent living conditions for foreigners. In this sense, public-private cooperation and the pursuit of ethical, social and environmental objectives, attributes that already refer to a necessarily global dimension, assume, today perhaps more than ever, a particular political and social value.
- 40.
The theme of the role played by the system of constitutional duties located in Lombardi (1967) and Carbone (1968) is important, albeit dated, doctrine. Now it is subject of revived attention. Ex plurimis, see more recently Balduzzi et al. (2006); Violante (2014); Grandi (2014); and, in particular, Rimoli (2015).
- 41.
The relationship between inviolable rights and the solidarity principle, according to Rodotà (2006): “(…) Article 2 of the Italian Constitution talks about a dialogue between subsidiaries, a social individual in which the alternative and the separation between rights and duties are overcome by (and embedded in) the link between inviolable rights and the solidarity principle: the Republic “recognises and guarantees rights” and, together, “it demands the fulfilment of mandatory duties of solidarity (…)”.
- 42.
Monteduro (2014).
- 43.
On the general relation between the right to work and non-profits, see Alpa and Conte (2013).
- 44.
- 45.
Not by coincidence, Rodotà (2014), in recognising the impossibility of a democracy devoid of solidarity, speaks of it as a “necessary utopia”.
- 46.
See the contribution of Monteduro in this volume.
- 47.
The provision states the purely athropocentric character of environmental protection. On this theme, see Lugaresi (2015).
- 48.
- 49.
Fracchia (2015). Even the constitutional jurisprudence has progressively abandoned the approach toward the environment as the object of a subjective legal situation and has progressively elevated it to an interest of constitutional status. More particularly, the courts have stated that it is an intangible asset composed of elements ex se subject to discipline and specific protection without compromising its magnitude of unitary good. Morzenti Pellegrini (2008).
- 50.
Fracchia (2015).
- 51.
Law n. 208 (Stability Law 2016) was also considered in 2015, and its Art. 1, para. 391 provides that “(…) the National Family Card also functions to create one or more family purchasing groups or national ethical purchasing groups”. According to the same paragraph, Family Card means the Card “targeting families consisting of Italian citizens or foreign citizens in Italian territory, with at least three dependent minor children (…) The card provides access to discounts on the purchase of goods or services or tariff reductions granted by public or private entities wishing to contribute to the initiative”. The fact that it can be dedicated to the creation of national GAS manifests the acquired awareness of the legislature with respect to the groups’ operation and the intention to promote the establishment of new ones.
- 52.
In the ecological field, the resilience of environmental systems is the ability of the system to tolerate a disturbance and counteract the negative impacts caused by it. The resilience allows the system not to collapse because of disturbance events, to adapt to new levels of balance and maintain intact its original environmental features because of those changes. The higher the level of a system’s resilience, the lower its vulnerability. Biodiversity, preserving the resilience of the environmental system, has the ability to mitigate the effects of climate change on the human species. See Bignami (2010); Benson and Garmestani (2011); Ruhl (2011); Voigt (2013); Arnold and Gunderson (2013); Allen and Garmestani (2014); Monteduro et al. (2015); Monteduro (2015). For further bibliographic references, see the contribution of Monteduro in this volume.
- 53.
Under Art. 2 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (1992) “the term “biological diversity” means the variability amongst living organisms from all sources, including inter alia terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems, and the ecological complexity of which they are part; including the diversity within species, and between species of the ecosystems”.
- 54.
These agreements, in accordance with Art. 3, may concern: “a) the study, recovery, and transfer of knowledge about genetic resources of local food and agricultural interest; b) the realisation of forms of short supply chains, direct sale, exchange and purchase of agricultural and food products within local circuits; c) the study and dissemination of organic agricultural practices and other cropping systems with low environmental impact and aimed at saving water, lowering carbon emissions, increasing soil fertility and lowering the use of containers for distribution and sale of products; d) the study, recovery and transfer of traditional knowledge related to agricultural crops, natural selection of seeds to cope with climate change and proper nutrition; e) the creation of educational, social, urban and collective gardens, which are instruments to promote local varieties, environmental education and agricultural practices, social gatherings, redevelopment of abandoned or degraded areas and unutilised farmland”.
- 55.
The same law defines them, in Art. 13, c. 2, as “local areas resulting from agreements between local farmers, farmers and livestock breeders, purchasing groups, schools and universities, research centers, associations for the protection of agricultural and food biodiversity, school cafeterias, hospitals, caterers, commercial businesses, small and medium-sized artisan businesses for agricultural and food processing, as well as public bodies”.
- 56.
See also the contribution of Monteduro in this volume.
- 57.
Amongst the experiences that demonstrate the efficacy of critical consumption, two examples are presented. The first is emblematic of Altamura (Bari). In this central city of Puglia, a McDonald’s fast food restaurant, after just a year of activity, was forced to close for lack of customers in 2002. Amongst the main causes of the failure was the opening of a traditional focacceria close to the fast food business. Consumer preferences have been oriented towards the typical “focaccia of Bari”, rather than with respect the products offered at the biggest fast food chain in the world. The story was documented as a Docu-Fiction by Nico Cirasola in 2009, titled Focaccia Blues. The second example relates to a particular variation of critical consumption: the boycott. Specifically, it refers to the one addressed to Nestlè’s products, which demanded from the government of Ethiopia (heavily burdened by famine) substantial compensation for the nationalisation of one of its businesses in 1975 following a coup. The boycott was so pervasive as to force Nestlè to accept symbolic compensation conditioned on the obligation to return it to the Ethiopian coffers, binding the destination to the realisation of public utility works. On the second example, see Antonelli (2004).
- 58.
Mattei (2011).
- 59.
- 60.
Manifesto on the future of food (2003).
- 61.
Petrini (2009).
- 62.
See also Petrini (2009).
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Greco, R.F., Tascagni, V. (2018). Critical Consumption and Ethical Purchasing Groups (GAS). In: Isoni, A., Troisi, M., Pierri, M. (eds) Food Diversity Between Rights, Duties and Autonomies. LITES - Legal Issues in Transdisciplinary Environmental Studies, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75196-2_20
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