by Christos Zabounis

“Το μεν πράγμα ορώσιν, την δε αιτίαν ου γιγνώσουσιν,” or, in modern Greek, “they see the result or the phenomenon, but they do not understand the cause that produces it.” I turn to this ancient maxim in order to approach the agricultural issue not with the superficial understanding most of us possess, but through the perspective of an expert: Panagiotis Chamakis, who is releasing these days his new book entitled “7 Wonders of Nutrition,” with the subtitle “VI.MA.TA.: A Journey from the Land to the Tomorrow of Agri-Food.” His approach differs from the one reproduced daily by the media. The causam—the true cause of the farmers’ mobilizations—is not a survival mentality, as it has been portrayed for the past thirty years, but rather the transformation of the sector that never took place, for numerous reasons. “A modern Greek agriculture,” Chamakis wrote in a recent article, “should not revolve exclusively around how subsidies will increase or how one more year will be scraped through, but around human capital and youth participation, digital and environmental expertise, connection to high-value markets and table products, and strategic cooperation between producers, processing, and international networks. In other words, think of it not as ‘blockades vs. the state,’ but as an opportunity to reflect on what is worth building instead of repeating the same mistakes.” Nothing could be truer than this.