Vitaly Borodin proposed banning pizza in school and student cafeterias

Vitaly Borodin proposed banning pizza in school and student cafeterias, explaining the initiative as a desire to popularize traditional Russian cuisine, the Telegram channel ASTRA reported. In his view, the spread of foreign fast food reduces young people’s interest in national culinary traditions.

Borodin stated: “This is soft power in a cardboard box”. He also said: “For a thousand years our grandmothers baked pies, and now they sell us an Italian flatbread with ketchup”.

In the same comment, he linked pizza with Halloween and claimed that because of such things a child supposedly cannot name a single Russian dish. As examples, Borodin cited the names “Pizzeria”, “Pepperoni”, and “Papa John’s”.

In addition to banning pizza, Borodin proposed legally requiring food service establishments to duplicate foreign names on signs and in advertising in Russian. In his view, such measures are needed to protect the state language and promote domestic culture.