Anybody up for boycotting Barilla Pasta?

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Barilla Pasta Chairman Says No Gays Allowed In Company’s Ads
“If gays don’t like it, they can always eat another brand of pasta.”
http://www.buzzfeed.com/lilyhiottmillis/barilla-pasta-chairman-says-no-gays-allowed-in-companys-ads

Tweet your angry responses to @BarillaUS
Or email them at http://www.barilla.com/contactus

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Type: Discussion • Score: 26 • Views: 21,051 • Replies: 322

@tsarstepan,

Thanks for the info.

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I never heard of this pasta brand before, but then I don't eat a great deal of it.

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@edgarblythe,

I like it, but I've other pasta brands I like just fine.

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But I would boycott it if I could.

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@edgarblythe,

Well you should drive to your local supermarkets and tell them you're not buying it anyway.

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@eurocelticyankee,

Could you do that for me? I am tied up at present.

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@edgarblythe,

edgarblythe wrote:

I never heard of this pasta brand before, but then I don't eat a great deal of it.

Very common brand in Europe and around the world in fact - it's a low-end, non-gourmet type product. They also make pesto and awful jars of sauce e.g. bolognese containing God knows what, cow's vulvas, udders and and ears probably. Worth avoiding for those reasons alone.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barilla_Group

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@contrex,

Quote:

It was founded in 1877 in Ponte Taro, Italy by Pietro Barilla. The company is privately held, and remains in the fourth generation of Barilla family ownership and control through three brothers, Chairman Guido Barilla, and Vice Chairmen Luca Barilla and Paolo Barilla.

It controls Barilla (multinational pasta maker), Mulino Bianco, Pavesi, Voiello, Alixir and Academia Barilla (Italy), Wasabröd (Sweden), Misko (Greece), Filiz (Turkey), Yemina and Vesta (Mexico) trademarks.

It produces several kinds of pasta and it is the world's leading pasta maker with 40-45% of the Italian market and 25% of the US market.[1] It produces pasta in over 120 shapes and sizes. Barilla brand pasta is sold in numerous restaurants worldwide, such as those belonging to the Pastamania chain.[2] It is also the leading seller of bakery products in Italy. Through its acquisition of the Swedish company Wasa, it is the world's leading producer of flatbread (a Scandinavian staple), selling 60,000 tons annually.[3]

I like some of their pastas but they'll be easy to give up and I will let the store manager go when I'm in on Saturday. I tell him products I like/am looking for/don't like/avoid etc. He writes it all down ... who knows what happens after that.

It will be harder to give up the Wasa crispbreads as I really like them.

1 Reply

@tsarstepan,

No, I personally wouldn't boycott Barilla over that, and Barilla is a brand of pasta I generally buy. I like the Barilla Plus pasta because of its high protein and fiber content, and that's what influences my choice, not the type of family they depict in their advertising.

If they want their ads to only show a "traditional" family, what's the big deal? Off-hand I can't recall seeing ads for any products that show gay or lesbian families, and ads showing interracial families have just begun appearing.

Ads are designed to sell products, and to appeal to certain demographic groups, and if Barilla is doing just fine using the traditional family image, why should it want to change that? Most gays have grown up in traditional families, and are part of these traditional families, so they can connect with these ads as well. The purpose of the ad is to peddle the pasta.

Are all corporations under some obligation to promote gay marriages and gay families by showing them in ads?

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@ehBeth,

I agree that the Barilla pastas are ordinary, but relative to what others are available at my close, most visited market, they're fine. I can switch to another 'fine enough' brand most of the time, and go for the big ride to a local specialty shop (double length bus, whizzzzz) and stock up when I make the trip there for some several items when my wallet is fatter than usual. That place is almost painful though - so much there that I like (nod's to Keller's, a local small firm, they deserve one). Don't get me started about their array of sausages, my eyes bug out.

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@firefly,

Are all corporations under some obligation to promote gay marriages and gay families by showing them in ads? (quote)

No, of course not.
Still, given the present scion's vocalized opinion, I'm moving along myself.
I tend (this will surprise no one here) to follow italian news of various sorts, if in a sporadic fashion. Looking forward to some reads. Wish a website that I used to like was still posting - a sardonic site called Only in Italy, then written by some Sicilians with a hearty take on various news items - though I haven't checked lately if the blog has been revitalized. This foofoo may get them going again.

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@ossobuco,

Snort - I wonder what Beppe Grillo thinks.

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If they keep mum about it, nobody will be able to get angry. To state as much publicly is a different matter.

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@edgarblythe,

Well said Edgar.

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In a Catholic country, where gay marriage is not legal, I'm not sure Barilla's remarks, or attitude, should surprise anyone. And the comments Barilla made were in the context of an interview and I'm not really sure how they came about. It's not as though Barilla suddenly decided to issue a corporate statement on this issue, totally out of the blue.

And what's the purpose of boycotting Barilla--to force them to show gay families in their ads? If that's the aim, I'm not sure I agree with that either.

Advocating for equal civil and human rights for gays is one thing, and that's a bandwagon I happy jump on, but I just don't see where Barilla is doing anything to interfere with such rights.

Barilla is already trying to do damage control.

Quote:

Barilla issued a statement on the company Facebook page with an apology and a defense of his comments.

"I apologize if my words have led to misunderstandings or controversy, and have bumped the sensibilities of some people," wrote Barilla. "I have the utmost respect for homosexuals and for freedom of expression to anyone. I also said and repeat that I respect marriages between persons of the same sex. Barilla in its advertising has always chosen to represent the family because this is a symbol of welcome...for all."
http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-barilla-pasta-never-use-homosexual-couples-advertisements-20130926,0,1197076.story

1 Reply

@firefly,

No, I already said they don't have to show gay families in their ads. Hah, that would include female gay people.
Did any of us say we're surprised?
This was your basic gaffe, and given who the gaffer is, quite corporation affecting (perhaps). Or maybe not. Maybe people all over will newly buy a pasta brand they never paid attention to before.

Wonder what pasta is eaten at the vatican.

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I think Barilla's comments might have been made in the context of some of the other gay-related news going on in Italy lately. That could be why an interviewer even asked him whether he would ever feature gay families in his ads. And Barilla personally does not oppose gay marriage, although he does not favor adoptions by gays, so it's really about the idyllic traditional image they want to retain in their ads.

From Italy...

Quote:

Gallery removes exhibition of gay couples kissing in churches after Vatican threatens legal action
by Joseph Patrick McCormick
26 September 2013,

An art gallery in Rome has covered up an exhibition of photographs showing same-sex couples kissing in churches, following a legal threat by the Vatican.

The photography series by Gonzalo Orquin, had been due to open at the Galleria L’Opera beginning on Wednesday evening. The photographer said the gallery had received a legal notice from the Vatican, and that he and the gallery had decided to cover up the photographs.

“A letter arrived from the Vicariate of Rome, an organization that is part of the Vatican, which said the church is against the exhibition. I spoke to lawyers and for security reasons we decided not to show the photos,” Orquín told The Local.

The Vicariate admitted sending the threatening letter, and said the exhibition “could harm the religious sentiment of the faithful”. The Vicariate is an organisation which helps Pope Francis carry out his duties as Bishop of Rome.

Speaking to the Local, a spokesman for the Vicariate Cladio Tanturri said the photographs went against the Italian constitution.

“Italian constitutional law safeguards an individual’s religious feeling and the function of places of worship.

“Therefore photos that are not suitable and do not conform to the spirituality of the place offend and infringe upon the advancement of man in the particular place for the expression of faith.”

The Vicariate, an organization that helps the Pope carry out his functions as Bishop of Rome, confirmed it had sent the letter threatening legal action and said the photographs “could harm the religious sentiment of the faithful”.

Orquin said all but one of the sixteen photographs in the exhibition were taken in churches in the city, and that both gay and straight people volunteered to pose.

“We went to churches, took the photos at the altar and ran off…it’s a bit like a flash mob,” said Orquín, who is himself Catholic. “A number of times we left because there were a people praying. It wasn’t easy.”

Lawyers are currently working on the case, said Orquin, but for the time being, the photographs would remain covered up.
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/09/26/italy-gallery-removes-exhibition-of-gay-couples-kissing-in-churches-after-vatican-threatens-legal-action/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Pinknews+(Pink+News)

Quote:

Mamma Mia! Italian Parliament Stages Same-Sex Kiss-In To Promote Gay Rights
September 23, 2013

We know Italians are a pretty touchy-feely bunch, but some legislators in Rome took things a step further with a same-sex kiss in Parliament to show support for a bill banning discrimination against LGBT people. Politicians from Italy’s Five Star Movement (M5S), the country’s most powerful political party, locked lips on Thursday, interrupting debate on the bill, Some prudish compatriots held up signs calling for more rights for gay Italians.

The stunt must have worked, because the bill passed the lower house of parliament by a margin of 354-79. If it passes a vote in the Italian senate, it will be signed into law.

Not all gays are tickled pick about the measure, though: Some LGBT activists complain that political and religious organizations (like the Roman Catholic Church) would be exempt.
http://www.newnownext.com/mamma-mia-italian-parliament-stages-kiss-in-to-promote-lgbt-anti-bias-bill/09/2013/

1 Reply

No I won't boycott it because I like it and there are a bigger band wagons for me to jump on.

I already avoid Walmart, don't buy nestle products unless I'm unaware of a particular brand they own, and don't drink coca cola anyway (but wouldn't if I felt like a soda)

I feel like gays/lesbians are grown ups and can stand up for their own rights. If my gay family members or friends visit my home and I served Barilla, they have the option to eat it, or not as they sees fit, or leave or stay if it means that much to them. My straight family and friends have the same option.

1 Reply

@firefly,

That may well be true. Fellow is tone deaf, though. Even the apology (no clue there could be female couples - - that also might cook).
Though he's sort of cute.

1 Reply

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