المنتدى العالمي المعني بالأمن الغذائي والتغذية

Re: The contribution of the private sector and civil society to improve nutrition

Dear Etienne du Vachat, facilitator of the discussion - FSN Moderator

I am happy for the participation of Barilla's Forum as evidence of the successful series of publications and scientific Forums on specific themes of the wide area of people nutrition issues that are target for improvement by scientific progress and through diffusion of open debates with stakeholders and key rulers of healthy policies of behaviour.

In this respect, I like to mention another example of smart plan of information covered by another private corporation, i.e. Bayer CropScience, Italy, that financed the edition of a series of treaties on the most common crops (Collana Coltura & cultura), invited work with farmers "to help them meet the good agricultural practices set out by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)", "To support the fight against malnutrition and improve food quality" and "joined the HarvestPlus program which is supported by the World Bank and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and others".

I invite the management of Bayer in Milano to continue the action on the field to share and lead "the FAO calls on farmers and food processors to use all available knowledge to produce food sustainably ­ both economically, environmentally and socially."

A relevant rural company (Racemes) has commented on its' web-site-page the mission of Bayer CS with the following text:

QUOTE (in Italian):

Bayer CropScience ha reso possibile la realizzazione della collana "Coltura & Cultura" per far conoscere i valori della produzione agroalimentare italiana, della sua storia e degli stretti legami con il territorio e per contribuire a colmare la faglia che esiste tra il mondo dei consumatori che non conoscono quello che mangiano e la necessità dei produttori di far conoscere quello che producono.Per la prima volta sono riunite tutte le conoscenze sulle colture italiane: dalla botanica al paesaggio, dalle varie forme di utilizzazione artigianale e industriale fino al mercato nazionale e mondiale. E ancora la storia e le forme di espressione artistica e culturale, senza dimenticare l'alimentazione, con valori nutrizionali e ricette della migliore tradizione italiana Racemus condivide questa ammirevole scelta aziendale e promuove, unitamente alle altre aziende del territorio, tutte le iniziative volte alla formazione del consumatore.

UNQUOTE

At http://www.colturaecultura.it/partner.asp the scope of Coltura & cultura is edited in Italian in similar words, signed by the present General Manager of the Italian company, Mrs Karina Von Detten - Bayer CropScience <http://www.bayercropscience.it/>. She states:

"³Coltura & Cultura² vanta ad oggi la collaborazione di oltre 600 autori, grandi nomi della ricerca, della comunicazione, della filiera, con l¹obiettivo comune di fornire gli strumenti necessari per apprezzare l¹agricoltura vera e sostenibile e di contribuire a far conoscere i valori di qualità e sicurezza quali elementi distintivi e caratterizzanti la produzione agroalimentare italiana.

From direct press conference and confirmed in http://bayerus.online-pressroom.com/index.cfm/events/150-years-of-bayer/

among the most recent initiative in this area of rural and social knowledge progress, the hit is an internationally planned 150° Anniversary Tour, around the planet.

QUOTE

"" To mark the 150th anniversary of Bayer, an interactive exhibition showing how the company has improved the quality of life for millions of people around the world will appear at 30 locations in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and Australia. The exhibition will focus on the topics of health care, agriculture and high-performance materials.  Click here to learn more about the Anniversary Tour.

<http://www.news.bayer.de/baynews/baynews.nsf/id/World-tour-to-mark-150-Years-of-Bayer?Open&parent=Press-Releases-150-Years&ccm=005010>

The Anniversary Tour will appear in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, from June 11 - 13. ""

A gallery provides images anbd scope for each stop and exhibition of the issues with a smart stimulus to a personal interactive Q&A personal dialogue visitor-spot exhibited. " Families discover the varied interactive exhibits of the Anniversary Tour in Lyon, France."

" The younger generation has fun with the interactive exhibition."

" Students tour the Science For A Better Life exhibition in Toronto, Canada, and take part in a quiz."

At that occasion, special awards were granted to Italian students to compete in the spread cultural and formation culture on food.

QUOTE

   I giovani di tutto il mondo invitati in Canada per aiutare a risolvere il problema di come nutrire un pianeta affamato

E¹ possibile presentare la propria candidatura fino al 15 febbraio 2013

4-H Canada invita i giovani di tutto il mondo a "sedersi al tavolo delle discussioni" dal 19 al 25 agosto 2013 per il ³Youth Ag-Summit² che si svolgerà a Calgary, Alberta, Canada, per condividere idee e sviluppare un piano d'azione per risolvere il problema di come nutrire un pianeta sempre più affamato.

Da oggi fino al 15 febbraio, giovani di età compresa tra i 18 e i 25 anni, provenienti da oltre 20 paesi hanno la possibilità di presentare uno scritto di massimo 2.000 parole o un video di massimo 7 minuti con a tema le sfide per nutrire un pianeta affamato. 120 sarà il numero dei candidati selezionati. Questi avranno la possibilità di partecipare, interamente spesati (volo e soggiorno) al summit ­ un evento della durata di una settimana dove verranno condivise idee ed esplorate opportunità insieme ad altri giovani, business leader e scienziati relativamente a questa sfida globale legata all¹ agricoltura. Un¹idea rivoluzionaria potrebbe fare la storia.

Bayer CropScience è lo sponsor del Youth Ag-Summit ed è impegnata ad ispirare i giovani di tutto il mondo affinchè possano, con il loro contributo, fare la differenza aiutando a portare l'agricoltura in primo piano. I Paesi attualmente coinvolti sono Australia, Canada, Cile, Cina, Costa Rica, Finlandia, Francia, Germania, India, Indonesia, Italia, Giappone, Messico, Sud Africa, Spagna, Taiwan, Regno Unito e Stati Uniti.

Nel novembre 2011 le Nazioni Unite hanno dichiarato che la popolazione mondiale ha superato 7 miliardi di persone. Ciò significa che in meno di 40 anni ci saranno 2 miliardi di bocche in più che necessiteranno cibo salutare e nutriente. Per trovare una soluzione al problema è importante capire quali sono le sfide da affrontare e le opportunità da cogliere. E¹ chiaro che nessuna persona, società o nazione detiene le risposte ma attraverso la discussione e le varie opportunità di collaborazione, come il ³Youth Ag-Summit², vi è la possibilità di trovare concrete soluzioni in agricoltura.

Per maggiori dettagli in merito alla modalità di partecipazione è possibile visitare il sito www.youthagsummit <http://www.youthagsummit> .com

QUOTE From www.youthagsummit

WHEN

4-H Canada and Bayer CropScience are partnering to hold the global 4-H Youth Ag-Summit in Calgary, Alberta on August 19-25, 2013. The Summit will assemble young adults (ages 18-25) from 24 countries worldwide to ³come to the table,² share their ideas and develop a plan of action on how to feed a hungry planet.

WHO

Throughout the week-long event, 120 young agricultural delegates, 25 global mentors, and numerous volunteers will share ideas and explore opportunities with global peers, business leaders, elected officials, and scientists about this global agricultural challenge. One revolutionary idea could make history. As representatives of the next global generation to finding a solution, delegates must understand the challenges and opportunities facing their communities.

WHY

In November 2011, the United Nations declared that the planet¹s population surpassed 7 billion people. By 2050, experts predict an additional 2 billion people will need healthy food and nutrition. No one person, company or nation holds the answer but, through discussion and collaboration, and innovation, these young adults know ground-breaking agricultural solutions can be found, acted upon and achieved.

Hosting the inaugural global 4-H Youth Ag-Summit is a real honour for Canada. We look forward to hosting these young leaders from around the world in Calgary ­ and enabling a meaningful dialogue aimed at addressing issues, opportunities and tangible next steps. We also look forward to the engagement and involvement of Canadian federal and provincial government officials and businesspeople in welcoming this dynamic group of future leaders to Canada.

AGENDA

Youth participating in the Youth Ag-Summit will participate in a full schedule of presentations, debates, discussions, group work, tours and networking, and social opportunities. Starting with a Calgary Stampede Breakfast, Day 1 is for Goal-setting and Orientation capped by a VIP reception. The Day 2 (Wednesday) theme is Innovation, followed by Sustainability on Thursday and Leadership on Friday, as well as Action Planning, final reporting and feedback sessions. Saturday is set aside for a day trip and Celebration. Delegates leave on Sunday.

UNQUOTE

Another major contribution to the diffusion of knowledge on Food and security issues is provided since may years by NESTLE, on the home page with the motto "Good Food, Good Life".

QUOTE

The Nestlé Supplier Code is an integral part of all purchase orders, supply contracts and is being integrated into all other commercial agreements.

The Nestlé Supplier Code is implemented in each market and business and is applicable to all suppliers.

Read more about how we implement the code worldwide through our Traceability and Responsible Sourcing Audit Programme.

<http://www.nestle.com/csv/responsible-sourcing>

...our supplier base, that includes approximately 165 000 direct suppliers and 680 000 individual farmers, who deliver materials to Nestlé¹s buying stations, in our sourcing overview <http://www.nestle.com/csv/responsible-sourcing> .

Nestlé Supplier Code available in 22 languages

... Quality assurance and product safety is one of Nestlé¹s 10 Corporate Business Principles (pdf, 1 Mb)

overnance/corporate-business-principles-en.pdf> , which form the foundation of all we do.

... Nestlé Quality Policy - Our actions to ensure quality and food safety are guided by the company¹s Quality Policy (pdf, 85 Kb)

uality_policy_nestle.pdf>  which describes our commitment to:

  • Build trust by offering products and services that match consumer expectation and preference
  • Comply with all internal and external food safety, regulatory and quality requirements
  • Gain a zero-defect, no-waste attitude by everyone in our company
  • Make quality a group-wide objective

UNQUOTE

The commitmenmt is kept under severe compliance with quality standards to create value for consumers. "Our internal Quality Management System is audited and verified by independent certification bodies to prove conformity to internal standards, ISO norms, laws and regulatory requirements."

A significative attention is paid to the essential role of WATER.

Part of the solution as support of knowledge to all stakeholders is provided with unloadable reports and statements, trough

Selected topics are:

  • Environmental sustainability
  • Innovation and science
  • Nutrition, health and wellness
  • Insight blog

Among them "Nutrition basics" is a good example of scientific divulgation:

Healthy eating is all about balance ­ eating the right amount to match how active you are, and enjoying a variety of foods, so you get all the nutrients you need.

To function properly, the human body requires over 50 nutrients. No one single food or drink can provide us with all these nutrients at once, which is why eating a variety of foods in the right amounts each day is important to good health.

Use the portion plate to help you choose the right foods While our critics complain that the food industry is responsible for rising levels of non-communicable disease related to obesity in both developed and emerging markets, I firmly believe we can be part of the solution.

It¹s true that our portfolio includes foods such as ice cream and chocolate, but whether Nestlé is in business or not, people will continue to eat these products.

Our responsibility is to provide consumers with the best products we can in these areas; to use our scientific expertise to offer the healthiest choices possible.

In Latin America, as in many other regions of the world where we operate, we can play a valuable leadership role in support of concerted action; from studying how food can help keep people healthy, to finding solutions to managing diet-related diseases.

We have the capacity, and more importantly, the determination to do so.

****

I feel sincerely convinced of the value of contribution that also the international corporation, wile being well lured by a social as well a profit target, are able to provide a significative contribution to the plan endorsed by ONU/FAO to nutrition of the entire planet.

It would take towards a final success of implementation country by country, spot by spot, a popular determination to spread  the culture, practice and pleasure to enjoy good food, health and pleasure, the understanding of personal nutrition value and access " with a variety of foods in the right amounts each day" as an important achievement to good health.

****

Agora Ambrosiana AA Draft - English edition - is a plan for the promotion of themes of debate relevant to the wide issue "FOOD an SECURITY" shared in all territories. The contribution of 2012 to FSN is now edited to the attention of Eurasian/FAO inline consultation whose conclusion are on preparation by FAO/Eurasian

Dr Vincenzo Lo Scalzo, AgoraAmbrosiana - Milano Italy

See the attachments: