Timilia durum wheat: pasta without pesticides

Durum wheat and water: according to Italian law, that's all that's allowed in the spaghetti, penne, fusilli and other types of pasta that are famous far beyond the country's borders. Pasta is a national cultural asset. With a per capita consumption of 26 kilograms per year, Italians are the biggest pasta eaters in the world. The Swiss consume around 9 kilograms on average. But where does this durum wheat come from? And how is it grown?

After all that we know about the mysterious and mafia-like detours of Italian olive oil or tomato paste imports from China, it is hardly surprising that pasta as a raw material is more than just an agricultural product. Old durum wheat varieties, for example, have long since been patented, seed dependencies have been created and the areas under cultivation have been geared towards maximum yields at minimum production prices under the dictates of bulk buyers. But even so, durum wheat production in Italy is not enough to satisfy the huge hunger for pasta. Many large pasta manufacturers, such as Barilla, buy durum wheat from Canada, the USA and Ukraine. The wheat from Canada is still (as of March 2021) treated with the herbicide glyphosate, which is banned in Europe - and traces of the poison have already been detected in Italian pasta.

In short: pasta is highly political. Our partner cooperative "Valdibella" knows this too. They see themselves as the guardians of one of the oldest durum wheat varieties in Sicily, the timilia. Find out more in Carole's blog. Not only is it extremely robust and can be grown without any pesticides, but it also tastes really good. I have captured exactly what this durum wheat variety is all about in this short film.

Order Timilia products directly from Valdibella in Sicily