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United in Food: SDSN Mediterranean Participates in Stakeholder Conference

By Dorothea Strüber

In view of the upcoming Food Systems Summit in New York, SDSN Mediterranean participated in Buono! , an event hosted by Maker Faire Rome. It tells the importance of food for our future, the value of a balanced diet like the Mediterranean one and the good practices of our farmers and entrepreneurs for the well-being of people and the environment.
The event happened on June 24 and 25 as an independent dialogue towards the United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021, a powerful opportunity to enhance the protagonists of the world of production, nutrition, food consumption and the culture that moves around them and that they help to nourish. To learn more, visit the Food Systems Summit website.

Buono! was the stage where the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Agriculture, the chairs of the eight Italian associations of farmers, food companies and large distribution companies shared a breakthrough document, ‘ Uniti nel Cibo ’ (United in Food) with ten commitments for a more sustainable Italian food system:

  1. We are committed to continuing to implement production processes that are attentive to the protection of the environment, soil, water and air quality, the protection of biodiversity, animal welfare, the responsible and sustainable use of water resources, to the reduction and enhancement of losses, waste and rejects, in a perspective of circular bio-economy.
  2. We are committed to contributing to the food education of the population and to a greater diffusion of healthy diets and lifestyles, based on the principles of the Mediterranean Diet, guaranteeing access to healthy and nutritious products, the result of sustainable and traced production activities; enhancing foods that derive from raw materials of cultivation and breeding and obtained from processes with techniques in line with the tradition and culture of the territory, and not with fake production models; avoiding adherence to universal diets, homologating and devoid of essential nutrients and ingredients.
  3. We are committed to enhancing "good corporate citizenship", promoting positive relationships with the communities and territories of reference, traditionally a strong point of our products, contributing to their social and economic development.
  4. We are committed to adopting, within the supply chain, every useful tool to ensure respect for social and environmental sustainability, the protection of workers' rights and a fair economic return for the various operators.
  5. We are committed to integrating the principles of environmental and social sustainability into company strategies and policies, in a perspective that reconciles medium to long-term profitability with attention to the environment and principles of equity.
  6. We undertake to promote, in internal production processes and along the supply chain, the adoption of technological, organizational and social innovation, as a key factor in ensuring economic, social and environmental sustainability and food safety through the enhancement of good practice. We also encourage closer collaboration between companies, universities, research institutions and the world of research, so that commitments relating to sustainability are based on scientific assumptions and fruitful exchanges of knowledge are carried out.
  7. We are committed to adopting intermediate evaluation mechanisms inherent to the degree of achievement of the objectives of the 2030 Agenda, consistent with the size of the company and in line with international best practices.
  8. We are committed to promoting training, updating and learning courses for our employees, with particular regard to sustainability issues and the necessary technological and digital skills.
  9. We are committed to strengthening the networks and alliances between producers, processors, commercial distribution and consumers, with the aim of maximizing the resilience of the agrifood sector, in terms of food safety and supply guarantee, also from an international perspective and with particular with regard to the most vulnerable operators and those exposed to risks and market volatility.
  10. We are committed to aligning ourselves with the internationally shared objectives in terms of green and digital transition and environmental, social and economic sustainability of agrifood production.

In support of these commitments, companies and trade associations in the agrifood sector will adopt methodologies for defining and identifying concrete objectives consistent with the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and mechanisms for enhancing best practices.