The government in Italy controls much of the agriculture of the country. It controls how much wheat can be produced, for example, and how much wheat can be imported. The government was not successful during the 1990s in its efforts to increase agricultural production. Italy imports about one-half of its meat, and in the late 1990s and through 2001, concerns over European beef because of mad cow disease and hoof and mouth disease caused the prices of beef to increase.
Read more: http://www.foodbycountry.com/Germany-to-Japan/Italy.html#ixzz3x2znmezC
Read more: http://www.foodbycountry.com/Germany-to-Japan/Italy.html#ixzz3x2yyCSHf