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Sunday mornings are for slow coffee and big ideas. Here’s a simple one: school dinners are a political choice. The UK government just updated its School Food Standards for the first time in a decade. By September 2027, schools must serve actual food: whole grains, vegetables, lentils, and chickpeas. This policy targets the real enemy: ultra-processed products. It demands real ingredients on school lunch trays—something Movimento Metropolitano (MoM) has advocated for years. Go

LOST IN TRANSLATION: LIFE OF A JAPANESE GIRL IN ITALY One of the most significant dates in Italy in August is Ferragosto, on 15 August. Its name comes from the Feriae Augusti, a period of rest introduced by Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Later, in the Christian calendar, 15 August became the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and today it marks the peak of the Italian summer holiday season. It coincides with the Obon period in Japan; many shops close, and people

Why soaring supermarket costs could be forcing a rethink of the weekly shop. When a basic weekly shop feels like a luxury purchase, consumer habits begin to shift. The Food and Drink Federation forecasts UK food inflation could peak near 6.4% next summer. A standard £100 basket heads towards £147.50. British households face a prolonged squeeze. Energy costs, climate patterns, and trade barriers keep supermarket prices high while quality stays the same. This pressure doesn’t a

LOST IN TRANSLATION: LIFE OF A JAPANESE GIRL IN ITALY I had the opportunity to spend a month of my summer doing an internship in Mantova, a city in the Lombardy region of northern Italy. My favourite view in the city was the one I would see from Ponte di San Giorgio on my way from where I was staying into the city centre. As I reached Ponte di San Giorgio, the stretch of land that had continued up to that point suddenly gave way, and the view opened onto the lake on both sid

September arrives. The clock ticks faster. People drop short-term diet fads. They look for food that genuinely supports digestion, immunity, and well-being over the new season. Fermented products like kefir, kimchi, and kombucha have moved straight into the mainstream, valued for microbes as mush as flavour. Supermarkets and industrial food science offer quick fixes like shelf-stable sauerkraut for instant gratification. The city demands speed. But fermentation moves at its

Walk down any supermarket aisle, and you will face a literal wall of white. Cow’s milk now battles for shelf space against extracts of almond, oat, soy, coconut, pea, and hemp. On the surface, this feels like consumer freedom. Beneath the glossy packaging, it is an utter puzzle. When did buying milk require a degree in dietetics? And when did we decide a crushed nut mixed with water is milk? The law is already fighting over this. The US Dairy Pride Act wants plant brands bann

At the very heart of our urban disconnect lies the seed. We live in cities that treat food as a finished industrial product, entirely removed from the soil and the season, but the seed remains the origin of everything we consume and everything we are. Our modern education cuts the vital link between human health and the natural world, turning us into passive consumers. True wellness begins at the root. If we choose to build healthier communities and stronger neighbourhoods, t

When we think about healthcare, we focus on doctors, nurses, and medicine. We rarely think about food. Yet, for Movimento Metropolitano (MoM), nutrition is an essential part of medical care. We need to stop making nutrition sound like a complex scientific word—it’s not. It simply means the food we eat and how our bodies use it to stay strong. Certain foods are vital for healing, strength, and recovery and this vital information needs to reach people, giving more equal opportu

Movimento Metropolitano turns away from tech-heavy trends and single-nutrient obsessions. Making a meal does not require endless gadgets or a digital assistant. Let’s get back to the basics and listen to our bodies. Look at beans and legumes. They are honest, affordable powerhouses that require zero biohacking, whether in a vibrant summer salad or a hearty winter stew. Real nutrition lives in community and local connection. Guided by our simple MoM Good Food principles —treat

Britain’s food system rests on a fragile assumption. Water will be there when farmers need it. Recent heatwaves and drought exposed the weakness in that assumption. Smaller yields, earlier harvests, and higher prices are the immediate consequences. The bigger issue is whether Britain has the water infrastructure to produce food reliably. The message from the National Farmers’ Union is clear: ‘Water security is food security. Food security is national security.’ Eight days abo

Gastronomy is Not About Haute Cuisine Across Europe, the word Japanese is becoming increasingly visible. In Japanese restaurants and matcha cafés run by Japanese people, words such as IKIGAI, ZEN, DŌ and WABI-SABI often appear. Together with Japanese ceramics, carefully designed interiors and thoughtfully curated spaces, they are presented as part of a single image of Japan. Yet something often feels incomplete. The words that are meant to represent Japan are all there, but t

Walk through any supermarket, and you’ll see shelves full of highly processed foods. We’ve come to see this as normal. The UK government’s ban on advertising less healthy food and drinks may look like a big win for public health. It’s surely a step in the right direction, but we should not let it distract us from the bigger problem. The Soft Drinks Industry Levy shows what can happen when policies encourage companies to change their products. It has been linked to significant

LOST IN TRANSLATION: LIFE OF A JAPANESE GIRL IN ITALY ‘There is no such dish as 'curry' in India.’ That was what a friend from India told me. I could not understand what she meant. Until then, I had never questioned the idea that curry was India's national dish. A fish curry made by my friend from Tamil Nadu in southern India, using his mother's recipe. For Japanese people, curry is a home-cooked favourite, loved by both children and adults, alongside fried chicken and hambur

Every festival begins with an act of faith. Faith that ordinary life can be suspended. Neighbours will laugh together. Families will return to the same table. Strangers in a crowded square will feel less alone. Whether lanterns drift across Japanese waters, fireworks illuminate India's skies, or Italian families gather by the sea in the height of summer, festivals ask us to do one simple thing: stop. Gather. It is one of humanity’s oldest habits. We often think of festivals a

LOST IN TRANSLATION: LIFE OF A JAPANESE GIRL IN ITALY One day, I came across Yakult in an Italian supermarket. I stopped in my tracks. ‘They have Yakult in Italy?’ While studying the gut microbiome at the University of Gastronomic Sciences, I realised that the variety of probiotic drinks and functional yoghurts found in Japanese supermarkets and convenience stores is unusual internationally. A scene I took for granted in Japan seemed rather strange abroad. A classmate from T

Modern life reduces herbs to a visual cliché. We see them as bright green flourishes rather than food. Herbarium reminds us this is a mistake. Herbs are not garnish, they are essential nutrition. We are missing the point. Their leaves are dense with vital compounds. Consider the parsley in the Algerian Slata Maadnous (parsley salad), where parsley is the main ingredient, tossed with tomatoes and a zesty vinaigrette. You consume a dense, raw concentration of Vitamin K, Vitamin

LOST IN TRANSLATION: LIFE OF A JAPANESE GIRL IN ITALY I recently visited the Netherlands for a university study trip. One memorable visit was to Koppert Cress, a Dutch company supported by many leading chefs, including those working in Michelin-starred restaurants around the world. They supply microgreens and edible flowers to professional kitchens. They do more than deliver ingredients; they also offer new ideas and cooking inspiration. Today, the company offers around 60 pr

The government’s new ‘Great British Summer Savings’ initiative cuts VAT from 20% to 5% on children’s meals. It makes eating out more accessible. But for MoM, it’s more than a subsidy for a cheaper meal. We live in an age of nutritional displacement. Corporate fast-food chains colonise our high streets. They serve food engineered for mass transit and shelf-life, not for seasonal nourishment. When we eat at these chains, we consume a product, not a meal. We end up participating

Italian Bakery Apprenticeship Series (3) LOST IN TRANSLATION: LIFE OF A JAPANESE GIRL IN ITALY I baked a sourdough loaf using the starter shared by a local bakery in Bra. The next day, I returned to the bakery to ask what they thought of the result. That conversation unexpectedly led to an invitation. I spent several mornings learning alongside the bakers. This is the final instalment of my series. I want to share my observations and the quiet philosophies behind how Ital

At the heart of this conversation with Andrea Rasca , he shares his unique perspective on the future of food and the driving forces behind MoM's mission. He cuts through the noise and gets straight to the point about how we can make real change. We often hear the phrase 'lifelong passion’, but passions are rarely born in a vacuum. Walk me through the formative moments that sparked your interest in food. Was it a particular person, a place, a meal? You're right, passions ra