You can't blame the trade press for doing its job, namely promoting the interests of its members and underwriters. You can blame the (general-interest) business press for not paying attention.
Case in point: a freelancer named Cecilia Rodriguez shamelessly appropriates a two-year-old study by Coldiretti, the Italian ag-promotion outfit, that issued an ominous warning about the Mafia taking over Italy's food supply. Idiotic on its face, but no matter. Rodriguez, who is based in Luxembourg and doesn't get out much, somehow convinced the editors at Forbes (no less) that this was an important issue. In under 450 words, Rodriguez wrote this up for the online version of Forbes, where it was promptly picked up by the industry aggregator Food News.
Next thing you know, the Mafia is being indicted afresh for the sins of the fathers.
The real scandal is actually in another corner of the Coldiretti website: only 2.5 million Italian households (out of 25 million) eat together daily. The comparable figure in the US is actually higher because the question is phrased differently and allows for fast-food (Mamma mia!) And the Italians: that's every meal, every day.
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