Rice Banned At Weddings In Venice To Keep Birds Away

From Reuters

VENICE (Reuters) - Throwing rice at newly-weds will soon be banned in Venice as the city steps up its fight against pigeons soiling its squares and chipping away at monuments.

The mayor of the canal city is preparing a measure to stop pigeons banqueting outside the central Palazzo Cavalli, where civil weddings are celebrated, municipal police chief Marco Agostini said on Monday.

Tango’s Take
Typical. The Italians, the world’s most unapologetic pasta eaters, are banning rice at weddings. What about Asian-Italians and Latin-Italians (if either exist)? What are they going to do at their weddings with dishes that require rice? Without the rice, arroz con pollo is just chicken, man. We sense some nefarious presence here. We wonder if Silvio Berlusconi owns any noodle companies.
Note: We realize that they’re just banning throwing uncooked rice at the departing bride and groom because the rice attracts pigeons and sometimes causes them to explode. To quote Bart Simpson on this subject, “why am I just finding out about this now?” Any way, it starts with outdoor weddings and the next thing you know it affects the menu at the reception. Appeasement doesn't work.

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