European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety: Choosing between Fast Food and Slow Food is a Choice of Ethics and Sustainability

“Terra Madre is asking us to preserve the Planet. Choosing between Fast Food and Slow Food is our choice, it is a choice of ethics and sustainability,” said European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis at the opening ceremony of the 12^th edition of Terra Madre Salone del Gusto. During the first day of the event, the commissioner addressed issues concerning food waste and the use of antibiotics in farms, and engaged in a dialogue with citizens. Terra Madre Salone del Gusto was opened on September 20, in Turin, Italy, and will continue until September 24.

A Scandal of the Century

“Food waste is a 21^st century scandal,” said Mr Andriukaitis at the thematic forum Fighting Food Waste with intelligence and creativity. The fact that European consumers waste between 95 and 115 kg of food per year, while millions go to bed hungry, is “unacceptable”.

Mr Andriukaitis stressed the importance of enabling consumers to change their behavior when it comes to food waste. “We need creative alternatives, accessible solutions, relevant to reality,” said the Commissioner, mentioning “Disco soup” events run by “Slow Food” as a good example of that. “I would like to take this occasion to publicly praise the great work that ‘Slow Food’ is doing in this field,” added Mr. Andriukaitis.

Among several solutions to fight food waste, EU Health and Food Safety chief distinguished food donations. The Commission has promoted this idea for the past few years. A number of non-governmental organizations, including Slow Food, believe, however, that food donations do not tackle food waste fundamentally and address symptoms rather than causes.

The EU has committed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, one of which is to reduce food waste by half by 2030. According to Mr Andriukaitis, the Commission will consider establishing EU-wide food waste reduction targets, to be met by the targeted year. Disappointingly however, the targets were not included in a recently approved waste framework directive.

Antimicrobial Resistance: a Growing Threat

During the forum dedicated to Antibiotic Resistance, the Commissioner called for a stop to the unnecessary and inappropriate use of antibiotics in farming, saying that “AMR will only get worse in the future if we do not inspire change in the present.”

In the EU alone, Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is linked to 25,000 deaths a year.  In 2006, the EU imposed one of the first bans on antibiotics in feed additives for livestock, leading other countries to do the same. Last year, it introduced a new EU action plan, which aims to help the Member States to deliver innovative, effective, and sustainable responses to AMR. Civil society, however, expects more concrete and urgent action to be taken.

Fruitful Encounters

During a packed day, Mr Andriukaitis met for a constructive dialogue with the Italian minister of Agriculture Gian Marco Centinaio and Slow Food President Carlo Petrini, calling the latter the best teacher and guiding light for slow food.

Commissioner also had a lively debate with citizens at the Convention Waste and Food Security in the EU. During the debate, a range of different opinions were heard regarding critical issues such as GMOs, pesticides, food waste, and new planting techniques. Despite disagreements, the debate reinforced the importance of providing a venue for citizens and policy-makers to exchange thoughts on critical issues such as food and its safety, in search of a consensus.

Terra Madre Salone del Gusto 2018 Press Office

Slow Food, +39 329 83 212 85 [email protected] – Twitter: @SlowFoodPress

Region of Piedmont, +39 011 432 2549 – [email protected]

City of Turin, +39 01101123602 – +39 3494162657 – [email protected]

Terra Madre Salone del Gusto is an event organized by the City of Turin, Slow Food, and the Region of Piedmont in collaboration with MIPAAF (Italy’s Ministry for Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies). It has been made possible thanks to its many sponsors, including the Official Partners, GLEvents-Lingotto Fiere, IREN, Lavazza, Lurisia, Parmigiano Reggiano, Pastificio Di Martino and Quality Beer Academy; with the support of Compagnia di San Paolo, Fondazione CRT-Cassa di Risparmio di Torino, Associazione delle Fondazioni di Origine Bancaria del Piemonte, and Coldiretti; and with the contribution of IFAD, the European Union, and CIA (Confederazione Italiana Agricoltori).

Slow Food is a global grassroots organization that envisions a world in which all people can access and enjoy food that is good for them, good for those who grow it, and good for the planet. Slow Food involves over a million activists, chefs, experts, youth, farmers, fishers, and academics in over 160 countries.