Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

This member contributed to:

    • Contribution submitted by the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition  (www.barillacfn.com) – September 2013

      Note : The Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition (BCFN) is an international think thank established in 2009 with the objective to analyze the major issues related to food and nutrition around the world.  Economic, scientific, social, and environmental factors are analyzed in relation to their impacts on   food, through a multidisciplinary approach. For more information www.barillacfn.com

      Structure policies and social-health interventions to effectively promote thespreading of healthy eating behavior, also looking to the international best practices in this area

      In our view, the way in which available scientific knowledge in the field of nutritionand health can be translated into concrete action, toward broad, comprehensive planning that can have a real impact on people’s behavior, should be re-thinked. The public institutions most involved in these issues are not the only ones called on to participate in the definition and implementation of such projects, but other parties, including private companies and doctors, will also need to play a proactive role (according to their specific areas of expertise). A brief summary of these guidelines for improving all of the measures for the actual spread of healthier eating habits and lifestyles is below:

      - It is essential that the dietary and lifestyle recommendations provided be practical and workable: in fact, they must be understandable and adoptable by families and individuals for the concrete circumstances of their lives

      - Intervention plans formulated for nutrition and health should be defined in structural terms that aim to influence behavior in a sustainable manner over time: from this point of view, the time horizon cannot be limited to the short term, despite the need for practical improvements to be found within a reasonable length of time.

      - In general, it is desirable that interventions on diet and health have a national (at least) breadth, with necessary local variations, which may differ in the form of their execution, but do not differ in substance from the guidelines and principles defined at the national (or international) level;

      - For children and adolescents, it is necessary that the issues related to diet and lifestyle be addressed with an approach that combines information and experience (“active education”)

      - It is necessary to involve the medical profession in the process of spreading healthy eating habits. The family doctor and the pediatrician, in particular, could be a great “conveyor belt” of more correct dietary habits.

       - It is necessary to ask the agro-food industry to think about implementing strategies and operational plans consistent with the guidelines identified for proper nutrition. This can help encourage them to conduct scientific, nutritional and technological research and to work constructively on several important topics that concern them (for example, the progressive improvement of the nutritional profiles, the definition of food with specific features, the improvement of the nutritional density of the products, etc.).

      Agronomic “knowledge” is not very widespread.

      With the development of science, farming is increasingly characterized by the articulation and breadth of knowledge gained regarding the characteristics of the natural environment and the physiology of plant species. All this is combined with the practical experience accumulated over centuries of activity. In other words, there is a wealth of knowledge available of extraordinary value that is only partially used today. In certain surroundings, this seems to be due to the lack of effective processes for transferring knowledge.

      Biodiversity as an instrument for correct risk management.

      A pragmatic approach, without prejudice, to the choice of agricultural models allows – at the level of policymaking – the maximization of the overall resilience of agricultural systems. Proper management of biodiversity and the coexistence of different models, all equally optimized concerning sustainability boosts the possibilities of response to adverse events and the search for specific objectives of the system, when these are alternative (e.g., maximum quality vs. large volumes).

      Sustainable diets and healthy lifestyles.

      Healthy lifestyles and food choices have an increasing impact on the environment, besides people’ health.

      In the food sector, we witness a gradual shift in the consumption patterns which are not consistent with the protection of the environment and people’s well-being. An example of such shift is represented by the increase in the consumption of animal proteins in the emerging countries - with subsequent increase of agricultural raw materials destined to animal feeding -  and nutritional imbalances in daily diets.

      We believe the food consumption patterns based on sustainable diets may have a beneficial effect on agricultural productions and the environment.