Not to be out done by German High Command and strange decisions, Mussolini and his Government almost triggers a civil war with the Pasta & Rice Ration Announcement.
The announcement is triggered by the limited import of wheat used for making pasta, Italian farms cannot keep up with demand. This also applies to Italian Rice which can be grown in the quantities needed but needs time to build up its infrastructure.
Mussolini hates Italy’s “dependence” on pasta and wants Italian-grown rice to become the national dish, he claims: “A nation of spaghetti eaters can’t restore
Roman civilization!”
All Italian citizens will receive 2kilos of pasta or rice a month. Restaurants are banned from serving spaghetti more than once a day. As you can imagine, there is civil unrest and a rush on shops. In Sicily, the Mafia see an opportunity to make some additional profit and win favour with the locals by taking control over the distribution of the wheat, pasta and rice.
The reports of the unrest are brought back to London, where despite the ration not being all that popular, the Ministry of Food has avoided civil unrest and will use what happened in Italy on what not to do when the next food announcement is required.
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