Long live the crazy Turk!

As I write this article, the amount of pesticides in tomatoes exported from Turkey to Romania was found to be 34 times the permitted limit. The tomatoes were sent back.

Since the beginning of the year, 14 different pesticide residues have been detected in peppers exported to Europe. Some peppers were found to contain chlorpyrifos-methyl, the use of which was terminated in 2021.

In dried figs intended for export to Germany, aflatoxin was detected at 3.3 times the limit, and they were returned to Turkey. 

Many agricultural products sent from Turkey to Europe are being returned because the amount of pesticides detected is far above standards. 

So, is there any inspection in Turkey?

In an analysis of red peppers purchased last week from a store operating as a premium branch of a discount supermarket chain in Istanbul, Formetanate was detected at 110 times the safe limit.

The product was also found to contain Chlorpyrifos, a substance banned in Turkey!

In regions where waste imported from Europe to Adana is stored, the rate of carcinogens in the soil has increased by exactly 400 thousand times. 

Our soil is toxic, our rivers are toxic, our food is toxic. 

Cervantes’ famous character Don Quixote says to Sancho; “We are fighting three giants, dear Sancho: Injustice, fear, and ignorance”. 

Amidst this despair, there are people who struggle and work for their country with great idealism. One of them is a very hardworking scientist who carries all the characteristics of the '68 generation, a Kemalist, and equally idealistic.  

He established a research network that is very important for Turkey's food safety. He has spearheaded numerous international conferences. He brought professionals, local administrators, and producers together under the umbrella of this research network.

The Turkish Geographical Indication Research Network (YÜciTA) has become one of Turkey's important non-governmental organizations. Thanks to YÜciTA, the Intellectual Property Law No. 6769, which also includes provisions for geographical indications, was enacted. Thanks to the work of this research network, Turkey's products with geographical indication registration have gained recognition. Gastronomy departments in vocational schools have included geographical indications in their curricula.

YÜciTA's mission is to work on creating awareness about the importance of Geographical Indications across the country, establishing an ideal Geographical Indication system in Turkey, supporting sustainable rural development by adding value to local products, and protecting cultural and biological diversity. 

Thanks to YÜciTA, which is based on volunteerism and consists of members from many regions of Turkey and from different segments and profiles of various institutions and organizations, many of our products have received European registration. 

A sustainable gastronomy culture and a sustainable food economy depend on the protection of our local products and geographical indications. Why are Malatya apricots, Aydın figs, and Taşköprü garlic—each a geographical indication—not returned from the countries they are exported to? Because they are registered and protected by the European Union, their governance processes are relatively close to ideal, and their inspection mechanisms are systematic.

Does the Ministry of Agriculture know about this? I don't know.

YÜciTA's approximately 600-page compendium-style journal, YÜciDER-Gİ, was deemed worthy of the Gourmand Awards, considered the world's biggest award in the field of gastronomy. 

Its new issue will meet the public on December 6. The existence of YÜciTA's founder, Prof. Dr. Yavuz Tekelioğlu, and YÜciTA volunteers like him, who are idealistic and whose hearts are full of love for Turkey, increases my hope for the future. 

They are Turkey's crazy Turks. That crazy Turk, who is approaching the age of 82, 

Turkey's Don Quixote, Prof. Dr. Yavuz Tekelioğlu, is my father.

Long live the crazy Turk, 

Long live YÜciTA!