World Food Day: Italy’s priority is the defense of traditional diets

NEW YORK, OCTOBER 17 – Promoting sustainable agri-food systems through effective multilateralism focusing  on climate action, the need for greater involvement of women and the definition of integrated humanitarian assistance and development strategies. These are the guidelines of the message delivered today by an Italian diplomat during the World Food Day celebrations.

Reaffirming Italy’s commitment to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 3, related to the fight against hunger in the world and the promotion of healthy diets and lifestyles, the Italian Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Stefano Stefanile, highlighted the priority that Italy assigns, within the framework of the Decade of Action on Nutrition, to healthy diets, based on scientific evidence, and in particular to the promotion of traditional diets – such as the Mediterranean Diet – and of the systems of traditional production, which in turn are able to benefit new technologies and the work of small producers.

Recalling what announced by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte yesterday at FAO, Stefanile stated that Italy would be honored to be able to host the World Food Systems Summit in 2021. Italy already hosts the UN agri-food center ( Fao, Wfp and Ifad) and the European Food Safety Authority; co-facilitated the adoption by the General Assembly of the Political Declaration on non-communicable diseases, such as heart disease and obesity; and it was in 2010 among the countries that promoted the registration of the Mediterranean diet on the list of intangible heritage of UNESCO. (@OnuItalia)