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Trieste hosts workshop on the challenges of feeding the planet sustainably

23.02.2023

Taking stock of how science and technology can help address current and future challenges for feeding the growing planet, including in fragile ecosystems such as mountains, was the focus of the two-day workshop "Science and sustainable food: How scientific instruments can help food and biodiversity issues for the planet and its inhabitants' health" held on 22-23 February 2023 in Trieste, Italy.

Sustainability and science, sustainability and health, and sustainability and society were the three macro-themes of the workshop. Experts from various disciplines – ranging from genetics, chemistry and microbiology, to economics, agricultural technology and communication – met to discuss how scientific tools can help improve food security and protect biodiversity with a multidisciplinary approach. Ideas spanned from new technologies in the genetic and agronomic fields, to the need for efficient legislation to allow innovations to reach markets without unnecessary constraints and/or restrictions, as well as the importance of building citizens' trust in science and technology.

The Mountain Partnership Secretariat (MPS) presented on multistakeholder platforms as a best practice for supporting sustainable agriculture in fragile ecosystems. "Multistakeholder platforms can provide essential action towards promoting and guiding a transition to sustainable food systems in mountains and other fragile ecosystems across the globe," said Federico Mattei, economist and sustainable food systems expert of the MPS at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

The workshop was organized as part of the Trieste Laboratory on Quantitative Sustainability, a project of the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics, and the Trieste International Foundation thanks to the collaboration with the University of Udine and the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region, in partnership with the Business and Professional Women Federation (BPW Italy – FIDAPA). The event was held at the headquarters of the Abdus Salam International Center for Theoretical Physics.

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News by National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics 

Photo: ©Trieste Laboratory on Quantitative Sustainability