International Food and Nutrition Forum Held

The Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition (BCFN), established to analyze global food and nutrition issues, held the 10th International Food and Nutrition Forum in Milan.

The event brought together food experts, scientists, thought leaders, activists, company representatives and young talents from around the world, with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined in the 2030 agenda and the Paris Climate Change Agreement signed in 2015 placed on the agenda.

This year's event addressed the topics of 'Food Education', 'Digitalization in Agricultural Food', 'Food and Cities', 'Farmers of the Future', 'Soil Protection' and 'Improving the Food Sector' with proposed solutions. Over the past 10 years, the BCFN Forum has shared future prospects on food, nutrition habits, hunger, obesity, food losses, and the impacts of food and climate change. This year's forum was organized in collaboration with World Food Programme Italy, National Geographic Italy, United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UN SDSN), Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Columbia Center for Sustainable Investment (CCSI), University of Siena Santa Chiara Laboratory (SCL) and Global Alliance for the Future of Food (GAFF). Among this year's speakers were Ertharin Cousin, Global Food and Agriculture Researcher at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, Hilal Elver, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Donatella Bianchi, President of WWF Italy, Professor Ilaria Capua, Director of One Health Center of Excellence, Juha Heikkila, Head of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Unit at European Commission DG CNECT A1, and Paul Winters, Deputy Head of IFAD Strategy and Knowledge Division. The speakers made a louder call to institutions, companies, researchers and citizens to embark together on a new sustainable development journey starting with food. This year's event was marked by the report "Better Growth: Ten Critical Transitions to Transform Food and Land Use". The report noted that irreversible damage to ecosystems is increasing due to agricultural food systems; in addition to these damages, particularly public health hidden costs resulting from chronic diseases linked to unhealthy eating habits reached USD 12 trillion on a global scale. According to the report, this figure far exceeds the USD 10 trillion in economic value generated by agricultural food systems, creating a gap of USD 2 trillion. Experts speaking at BCFN's 10th forum emphasized that a new revolution is needed to increase agricultural land use to 1.2 billion hectares by 2050 and save USD 10.5 trillion in hidden costs, calling for "urgent reconsideration of how we produce food".

Foundation President Guido Barilla, noting that only 10 years remain to achieve the sustainable development goals in the UN's 2030 agenda, stated: "It is clearly evident that we must urgently intervene in current agricultural food systems. The idea of development and progress based on the belief that the planet's resources are unlimited is no longer valid. To lay the foundations for an inclusive, lasting and prosperous future, we must view food in its economic, social and environmental dimensions and place all relevant actors from the private sector to citizens at the center of the Development Agenda." Jeremy Oppenheim from Systemiq emphasized in the forum that the research "Better Growth: Ten Critical Transitions to Transform Food and Land Use" he shared would bring economic benefits alongside the sustainable steps to be taken. He stated that if annual investments of USD 300-350 billion (less than 0.3% of global GDP) are made during the transformation process of agricultural food systems, returns of approximately USD 5.7 trillion (more than 15 times the initial cost) can be generated by 2030, and new business opportunities worth up to USD 4.5 trillion annually would also be created. At this year's forum, Lauren Landis, Director of the Nutrition Unit of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), shared the activities conducted by BCFN Foundation and WFP to combat hunger worldwide in a panel on improving the health of people and the planet. In the same panel, Vincenzo Sanasi D'Arpe, President of the WFP Italy Committee, stated: "Ending all forms of hunger and malnutrition, ensuring food security and improving nutrition and promoting sustainable agriculture are commitments established in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and are a priority for the World Food Programme. We are proud to collaborate with the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition to address these fundamental issues for our future."