Pierfrancesco Maran, Milan's councillor for Urban Planning, Green Spaces and Agriculture, took part in Seeds&Chips 2019. We asked him about the city's food policy, as Milan continues to grow greener and more inclusive.
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"The food policy is one of the legacies of Expo 2015. On the one hand, surplus food from shopping centres, supermarkets and other facilities that can be reused is recovered; on the other, we have linked school canteens to certain local products, such as rice, for example." Pierfrancesco Maran, Milan's councillor for Urban Planning, Green Spaces and Agriculture at the Comune di Milano, explains the city's food policy – which leads the way in Italy – in these words. It is no coincidence that we met him at Seeds&Chips, a global event dedicated to innovations in the food sector aimed at making it more sustainable.
Milan is among the cities leading the fight against global warming worldwide. "We aim to have around 30 per cent more green space than currently exists. I think that between now and 2030 we will be able to create twenty new parks within the municipality and plant three million trees in the metropolitan area," explains Maran. A decision praised even by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, an environmental activist.
Precisely because of climate change, combined with demographic growth, more and more people will be living in urban environments in the years to come. "We are making very significant economic investments in the outskirts, amounting to one billion six hundred million. I believe that the results will be seen step by step, and the infrastructure – think of the M4 and the new Circle line – will ensure that what is citizens' primary need, namely moving quickly and efficiently, is met," the councillor concludes.
Seeds&Chips is the most important international summit on food innovation. It is held annually in the Lombard capital during Milano Food City, which carries forward the legacy of Expo 2015. This year Seeds&Chips takes place from 6 to 9 May at the Rho exhibition centre. LifeGate is a media partner of the event, giving a voice to speakers, policy makers and companies in the debate around one of the greatest current challenges: guaranteeing the world's population a sustainable food supply. Join the conversation with the hashtag #SaC19. Thanks to BWT Italia.
