Mipaaf, Bellanova: “food sustainability and health crucial for Italy. We work to promote the diversification of agricultural production "
"There is no sustainability or health without conscious choices".
This is the message that Minister Bellanova wanted to deliver by speaking this morning at the 32nd Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe on the sustainability of agri-food systems and healthy diets hosted, in virtual form, by the Government of Uzbekistan and with the participation , among others, by Agnes Kalibata, special correspondent for the 2021 United Nations Summit on Food Systems.
“The issues at the center of today's discussion”, Bellanova pointed out, “are crucial for the Italian government and represent absolute priorities of my Ministry. At the same time, they require the joint effort of the governments of our region and of all the players in the agri-food chain ", continued the Minister," we firmly believe in the need to develop increasingly resilient systems that can ensure safe, healthy and quality food. And it is necessary that the comparison on the sustainability of the food supply chain includes, together with environmental problems, also the social dimension, that is the living conditions of those who produce food, as a guarantee of quality, attention to the territory and a means to satisfy a primary right of citizens. . These are the principles that guided me in foreseeing an important allocation, in Italy, for the Food Emergency Fund, which I would like to become more and more a reference in Europe, and which push me to want to do more and more to make the fight against waste effective. food ".
Bellanova then touched on the topic of food safety. From the point of view, he highlighted, also of the protection of local productions.
“We must inform about the origin of the products”, the Minister urged, “and reflect on how to shorten the supply chains, without protectionist temptations. To this is added the need to promote the diversification of agricultural production, well highlighted by the document prepared by FAO.
Sustainability, fight against waste, diversification and promotion of local products, protection of the landscape and traditional agricultural practices: all these essential objectives are fundamental elements of the traditional diets of our region. For this ", he continued," I want to pay homage to the Mediterranean Diet, which will be the tenth anniversary of its recognition as a UNESCO heritage in a few days. It is much more than a healthy diet, it is a way of understanding life and a compendium of flavors and knowledge to be kept alive ”.
To conclude: “I hope that the promotion of healthy eating habits can be the subject of ever greater collaboration between our countries, also through a multidisciplinary approach that privileges correct information addressed to the consumer for informed choices. This is what we intend to do in Italy, also with the new front-pack labeling scheme aimed at making the nutritional contributions of foods understandable based on the daily need for nutrients ”.