Organic farming and buying directly from local producers are the true alternative to the industrial model, so that nutritional quality and product diversity are not sacrificed. The editorial by Navdanya International.
Since the birth and spread, from the post-Second World War period onwards, of industrial large-scale retail, the nutritional quality, diversity and traceability of goods available on the market have been radically compromised. So too has the food sovereignty of entire geographical areas and regions — as illustrated by the case of Sardinia, which is now 80 per cent dependent on imports for its food supply.
Shopping at the supermarket often means making a bitter compromise: saving money at the expense of the genuineness and richness of our diet. Istat data show that supermarkets and hypermarkets are the places most commonly used by Italian families for food shopping, accounting for 59.6 per cent of household food expenditure. The share of food spending at hard discounters (supermarkets that sell products at very low prices, ed.) stands at 11 per cent and is rising. Against this rather unsettling backdrop — particularly for consumers and for quality local producers — the first concrete proposals and alternatives are beginning to emerge.
In recent years, Italy has seen growth in both organic farming (which has grown by 20 per cent over the past thirty years) and direct producers who refuse to conform to the techniques and principles of conventional agriculture. In numerous cities, farmers' markets, solidarity purchasing groups and outlets selling traditional, local and natural products are beginning to establish themselves. The need to produce and buy food free from toxins, obtained in a way that respects ecosystems and their diversity, is starting to be felt by an ever-growing share of the population. This is demonstrated by the increasing participation and interest in initiatives moving in this direction, particularly among young people.
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One example was the festival Cibo per la salute (in Sardinian, Mandigu pro sa Salude), dedicated to genuine and natural food and to the protection of biodiversity, which was held in Rome on 17 and 18 November. The event hosted a farmers' market on both days, with the participation of associations, biodiversity committees and direct producers from Sardinia and Lazio. From olive oil to honey, from legumes and ancient grains to vegetables and cheeses, every product that filled the market stalls was obtained by respecting and enhancing ecological diversity. The event concluded with a conference on nutrition, covering peasant economics, European regulations on organic produce and seeds, and food sovereignty, with contributions from numerous experts. On this occasion, the Food for Health manifesto, a policy document produced by Navdanya International and published by Terra Nuova Edizioni, was also presented in Rome for the first time; compiled with the involvement of experts from around the world, it aims to serve as a tool for mobilisation and to outline viable alternatives for a paradigm shift.
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The festival brought together the realities of two territories — Sardinia and Lazio — which are extremely different yet united by the struggle for a different agri-food model. The committees and producers who took part in the initiative demonstrated that it is possible to cultivate and work the land while respecting and enriching it. In Sardinia, dozens of committees are working and joining forces to recover the island's genetic wealth, returning to the use of ancient and native varieties of olives, wheat and fruit trees. In Lazio, the experience of the Castelli Romani farmers' market, which involves dozens of direct producers and organic farms, represents a concrete and successful example of promoting the role of farming and of the circular economy.
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Experiences such as these offer communities — particularly city dwellers, for whom finding fresh and local produce is more difficult — the opportunity to access healthy, natural, nutrient-rich food produced with respect for the environment and for people. The answer to the externalities, limitations and monopolies tied to industrial agri-food production, based on the maximisation of profits and yields, lies in the hands of those who work, know and respect the land: small producers and farmers.
Experiments based on promoting small-scale ecological production are beginning to show that a transition in agriculture — from uniform, chemical and globalised to diversified, natural and local — is feasible. The acceleration of climate change and global warming, the pollution and degradation of water and ecosystems, the loss of soil fertility and the growing evidence of the health damage caused by chemical substances all call for an urgent and radical change of course. The key to initiating this process lies in returning to local territories, launching pathways of struggle, creating concrete alternatives to mass consumption and agro-industry, and strengthening ties between those who produce in an agroecological way.