FAO alarm: global agriculture to be rethought

Slow food regrets preaching in a vacuum, but world agriculture needs to be rethought. Quality products must arrive on the tables, above all resulting from eco-sustainable supply chains. Isn't slow food enough? Here then comes the FAO which, with its latest Report, published yesterday, spares no one. The current model of agriculture, industrial and extensive, which underpins our food systems is collapsing, with serious repercussions for our health. This is the dramatic conclusion of the study by the UN organization. There are worrying examples and case studies regarding the irreversible and catastrophic damage to our planet's biodiversity. The FAO denounces the reduction in the diversity of crops and breeds on which our food depends, the destruction of habitats and lands intended for cultivation and the unsustainable management of natural resources. Music for the hearing of Slow Food which in Italy with its President Carlo Petrini and the vast territorial network has been fighting a battle with many faces for some time. Industrial, first of all, but also to safeguard the centuries-old cultures and traditions of our productions. We are at a crossroads and – paradoxes of globalization – in many sectors we are ahead of the others. There are young people who want to return to the countryside but are little assisted from a legal and economic point of view. The sustainability of Italian agriculture and its supply chain has grown, however, more than in France, Germany, Spain. There is a lack of support for national harmonization by the government that overcomes regional agricultural visions, often against Europe. We have been denouncing the dangers contained in the FAO Report for years, commented Slow Food after reading the document. From time to time we have had the sensation of preaching in a vacuum, but nevertheless it seems that people have become more sensitive. But is there an overall understanding of the seriousness of the problem? One thing is a loss, one thing is a catastrophic collapse, in relation to which we need everyone's commitment, says Piero Sardo, Slow Food president for Biodiversity. Sardo is right, but it is necessary to rethink in depth, even the agricultural production systems, the quantity and quality of the employed workforce, the prices of the products, the markets, of which the Sardinian shepherds are reminding us.   Meanwhile, the Slow Food Ark of Taste, its flagship, has reached the milestone of the 5.000th product surveyed. In the next 10 years we need to change course with the ability to increase knowledge of modern productions and technologies. The countryside and agriculture are able to weld traditional knowledge and modern food. There are centuries of work and changes in production chains. By redefining our approach to agriculture and food production - the experts explain - by placing the protection of biodiversity and ecology at the center of the political agendas, we will accept the challenge. It is the optimism of the will that can be contagious. From small businesses to governments, regulations that protect biodiversity and environmental sustainability need to be adopted now. To the efforts of the agricultural world, to professional specialization centres, to young people, to producers' associations, the network politics must give an organic response.