A delegation from the European network of organic cities convened in Milan. The urban food policies of Nuremberg, Vienna and Paris towards the 2030 goals were compared.
Over 50 per cent of the world's population currently lives in urban areas. By 2050, this percentage is expected to rise to nearly 70 per cent. In light of this, the importance of urban food policies and the leading role of large municipalities becomes clear — their choices largely determine agricultural models and contribute to the spread of sustainable food supply chains. To reflect on and discuss the subject in relation to the eleventh sustainable development goal (SDG 11) of the UN 2030 agenda, which aims to achieve sustainable cities and communities, the European network of organic cities (Organic Cities Network Europe, Ocne) convened in Milan on 3 June. The meeting took place in the Sala Crociera of the Università degli Studi di Milano, bringing together representatives of the cities and networks that have chosen to promote the consumption of organic products as a response to food and environmental needs.
Speaking on behalf of the nearly 40 million European citizens from the six member states of the European network of organic cities (Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden), representatives of Nuremberg, Vienna and Paris took the floor, having been invited to Milan by Livia Pomodoro, president of the Milan center for food law and policy (a documentation and study centre on regulations and public policies in the field of nutrition, founded in 2015) and holder of the Unesco chair Food: access and law at the Università Statale di Milano.
A co-founder of the European network, the Milan center organised this meeting in conjunction with the Festival dello sviluppo sostenibile, to "reaffirm that the sustainability of the food systems supplying European cities is intrinsically linked to the issue of the right to adequate food".
A subject particularly close to the city of Milan, as underlined by Alan Christian Rizzi (under-secretary with responsibility for relations with international delegations, Regione Lombardia), who recalled: "The sustainability of the agri-food system is the true legacy of Expo for Milan, which in 2015 became one of the most international cities in Europe. We want to defend this achievement tooth and nail, to continue to be a point of reference." Milan's bid to host COP26 is viewed in this same light.
The event was also the occasion for Professor Maria Pia Abbracchio, deputy vice-chancellor of the Università Statale, to announce the imminent opening of a new Coordinated Research Centre (Crc), which is to be approved before the end of June: "The centre will bring together the expertise of the centre directed by Livia Pomodoro and of ten departments of our university, to create a steering body on issues of sustainability, health and the environment, facilitating initiatives in this area and helping to build critical mass on these subjects, in order to secure political support through targeted interventions."
Claudio Serafini, director of Organic Cities Network Europe, recalled how the network was founded in 2018 in Paris, in the very rooms where the climate agreement was signed, "to answer Expo's question 'How do we feed the planet?'" Today this network "brings together global cities with smaller towns and cities that nonetheless have specific experiences to offer." Fundamental at this stage are "the commitment to persevering on the subject of alliances (which represent a long road to travel and one that does not bear immediate fruit) and the aspirational value of sustainability, which must be tackled in a systematic way."
Enea Roveda, chief executive of LifeGate, present as a partner of the event, brought some data drawn from the latest Osservatorio nazionale sullo stile di vita sostenibile, placing it in relation to past trends and possible future scenarios. "Awareness of sustainability issues among Italians has grown enormously and it began precisely in connection with the subject of food. I am referring to many events of the past, such as Chernobyl or mad cow disease, which brought about a change in the perception of food, influencing personal choices first for the good of one's own family and then for that of the planet."
A wave that began several years ago and which, in the data from the observatory — which has been mapping the habits of Italians for five years — has shown a growing trend: "In 2015, the people who declared themselves interested in sustainability were 18 per cent, whereas today they are 33 per cent." As regards interest in organic products, Enea Roveda highlighted how it has grown even during times of crisis, remaining over the years one of the most keenly felt topics: "Today 34 per cent of Italians show a propensity to spend or to want to spend more on sustainable food, and the figure has grown by 5 per cent compared to 2018."
At the heart of the Milan meeting was the exchange between some of the representatives of the European network of organic cities, introduced by Stefano Bocchi (full professor, Department of Environmental Science and Policy, rector's delegate for sustainability, Osservatorio italiano per l'Agroecologia – Opera, Università degli Studi di Milano).
Sharing his testimony and experience for the benefit of all was Professor Peter Pluschke of Organic Metropolis Nuremberg, who stressed that organic farming represents a strongly expanding sector in Germany: "Many cities are joining up, following the model of Italian organic cities. Two years ago the German Organic Cities Network was founded, which includes large cities such as Hamburg, Munich and now Berlin as well. The Biostädte (organic cities) in Germany number 19 and are home to 13 per cent of the national population."
It is no coincidence that Nuremberg has hosted Biofach for thirty years — the largest organic trade fair, considered one of the leading events in the sector worldwide, attracting 2,500 exhibitors every year. "Following Biofach's example, other linked fairs now exist in China, Japan and America," Pluschke continued. "Our goal is to expand organic production and continue to support local farming by eliminating GMOs. To preserve biodiversity, we have drawn up a document establishing that nothing in Bavaria will be grown using GMOs."
In Nuremberg, a multicultural city, nutritional development also goes hand in hand with social integration: "Here, only 42 per cent of the city's population was born and raised in Nuremberg. Everyone else comes from other parts of Germany or from other European countries (Bulgaria and Romania in particular), but there are also many war refugees who fled from the Middle East." A melting pot to be valued and supported also through food culture: "Bringing people to the same table enables a cultural exchange. By sharing habits and customs, we become a broader community. Mayors and institutions are also increasingly taking part in these initiatives, supporting their development." One example of this trend is an initiative that began in a local parish, which during the Christmas period brought 50,000 organic meals to the table at a cost of 1 euro each, as an open table between people of different cultures and backgrounds."
A virtuous example in sustainable food is that of Vienna, presented as Europe's leading city in the organic sector by Bernhard Kromp, director of the organic farming research institute Bioforschung Austria. "Vienna is ready to take on the presidency of the Organic cities network Europe for the 2020–2021 mandate," Kromp assured, listing the strengths and achievements of the organic sector in the Austrian capital: "A strong cultural background in organic farming; the support offered by the City of Vienna in promoting organic agriculture; citizens' propensity to purchase (1.8 million people regularly buy organic food); the economic success of the organic food market."
In support of this, Kromp presented a number of figures confirming the progressive increase in land cultivated using organic methods and cutting-edge techniques: "The area devoted to organic crops in 2018 was equal to 25 per cent of the total (a 4 per cent increase compared to 2017), and organic farms account for 21 per cent (a 2 per cent increase compared to 2017)." Another encouraging figure is the one recording a 50 per cent increase in Viennese organic shopping between 2012 and 2017.
These results were also achieved thanks to ÖkoKauf Wien, an ecological and sustainable programme in operation since 1998 which, through public procurement, selects and prioritises the purchase of organic food and sustainable goods, making it possible, for example, to serve 36.5 million organic meals a year across hospital canteens, care homes and public schools. Contributing to the growth and availability of organic food, Kromp explains, "are also the surrounding areas that supply the city, and the municipal farm, which has one thousand arable fields, certified organic since 1989." Among Vienna's good practices are the "direct production of vegetables and organic food in care homes, the boom in urban allotments, and the Biotonne composting system, which since 1987 has been converting organic waste into fertiliser."
Aurélie Solans, deputy councillor for the environment of the City of Paris, opened by saying she was "happy to be in Milan, an emblematic place for the themes of food sustainability," recalling the Milan food policy pact, born on 15 October 2015 in the wake of Expo, which saw 191 cities from around the world sign an international pact aimed at addressing food-related issues at the urban level. An action that continues today also through the activities of Organic cities network Europe.
Solans stressed how the zero-emissions goal set by the UN agenda for 2030 remains crucial for the French capital, "through offsetting measures, an increase in renewable energy and a 50 per cent reduction in energy consumption." A plan that aims to reduce the ecological footprint of the City of Paris by 80 per cent, and which passes significantly through action in the agricultural sector. "In the overall emissions balance, food accounts for 18 per cent, which is not the highest figure, but remains significant nonetheless," Solans explained. "Keeping emissions from this sector under control will therefore be essential."
In this direction lies the city's commitment to moving from the current 26 per cent of Parisians who regularly eat organic food to an ambitious 75 per cent by 2030. Hence the particular attention devoted to the regulation of public canteens. "Since 2008, a sustainable food plan has been in place for the city's canteens, which provide 30 million meals a year. In 2018, 41.3 per cent consisted of organic food. Furthermore, the City of Paris was the leading purchaser of organic food in France."
Among the objectives of the Parisian food strategy is also that of "reducing food waste by 50 per cent by 2025 and CO2 emissions by 40 per cent, by increasing the consumption of plant proteins and reducing animal ones." Other more imminent commitments, which the City of Paris wishes to fulfil by 2020, are to guarantee at least 50 per cent organic meals, to reduce the use of palm oil to zero, to eliminate GMOs and deep-sea fish, and to use only free-range white meat.