From now on, when we talk about health, we are talking about a concept that no longer concerns people alone. Because for everyone on this planet to be well, no one can be left behind. And the key to it all is returning to an agriculture that respects the land.
When we talk about health, unless otherwise specified, we mean the health of the individual, of the human being. As if "being well", "being healthy" were luxuries that only our species can afford. And yet the concept of health is perhaps the most wide-ranging thing in the world. Because the Earth is itself a living organism, and if it is an animal or plant species that is "unwell", then we all feel the effects. The word "health", then, is undergoing a holistic evolution similar to that of other terms and expressions connected to sustainability. For our species to be well, the environment we live in — the Earth that hosts us — must also be healthy. And the first sign of all this is respect for the food chain, for the way we nourish ourselves, for the food we produce and consume.
To discuss all of this, on 2 July at the Serre dei Giardini Margherita in Bologna, the first round table was held as part of a journey called Siamo fatti di terra. A project born from the collaboration between Alce Nero, the participatory enterprise made up of organic farmers and processors, and LifeGate, with the precise aim of prompting reflection on the fact that what is good for the environment and the Earth is good for people. Because no food, no agricultural product, can nourish an organism in a healthy way if it comes from a model that exploits land, resources and workers.
Seated at a table for a discussion full of passion were Dr Fiorella Belpoggi, head of the "Cesare Maltoni" Cancer Research Centre, which is part of the Ramazzini Institute of Bologna; Professor Giovanni Dinelli from the Department of Agri-Food Sciences and Technologies at the University of Bologna; Manlio Masucci from the organisation Navdanya International, founded in India by scientist and activist Vandana Shiva; Chiara Marzaduri, head of communications at Alce Nero; and Nicoletta Tranquillo, founder of Kilowatt, the organisation that manages the Serre dei Giardini Margherita space itself.
"Food can be a political choice because it is a way of conveying concepts capable of changing society, both from the point of view of production and of food justice," opened the host, Tranquillo of Kilowatt. The reference is to GreatLife, the European project led by the University of Bologna, which aims to trial new resilient crops to reduce the impact of climate change, while helping to support farmers' incomes and creating quality products for the final market. "Food can be a vehicle for relationships between people who are open to stimuli, including cultural ones. This is why our goal, as Kilowatt, is to achieve wellbeing — as a synonym for good health — in order to give work the same quality we give to leisure time."
A concept elaborated on by Professor Dinelli: "The GreatLife project, which involves the University of Bologna, Kilowatt and Alce Nero, was created in part to provide education — that is, to teach or help farmers rediscover the principles of agroecology, such as the importance of avoiding monoculture and using seed variety mixtures. This is one of the best approaches against global warming because these 'blends' adapt better to change. One of the key words, then, is agroecology itself — or rather, its rediscovery, in order to then be able to handle technologies such as precision agriculture. All of this requires knowledge and responsibility."
It was also agroecology as an alternative to the "failure of the green revolution" that Masucci spoke about. "Many Indian farmers have lost any kind of agricultural knowledge, caught in the grip of multinationals and the debts taken on to buy seeds and pesticides. Beyond knowledge, the current industrial system destroys the soil and contaminates water, causing immense damage to human health as well," Masucci continued. "When we go to the supermarket and buy a 'cheap' product that comes from this type of production, we are only saving money in theory, because that money ends up being spent in other ways — for example, on treating people who contract illnesses caused by pesticides."
On the subject of human health, Dr Belpoggi — who has been engaged in scientific research for 40 years — made her contribution: "The pesticides currently on the market number in the tens of thousands as active ingredients and in the millions as formulated products. The impact on agriculture is therefore enormous, and what we are facing is something unique and inadequately studied. These are agents that are dangerous to the environment and to human beings, and have so far not received the attention they deserve, especially when mixed together. Even where some information exists, however, the process of removing them from commerce and from the environment is far too slow due to bureaucracy. Take the example of Chlorpyrifos, which is still with us even though we have known for decades that it is neurotoxic," Belpoggi stressed. "We have a study under way on the ten most common pesticides found in apples, all at the daily concentration permitted in humans, but mixed together in a cocktail. And the first study of this kind carried out by the Ramazzini Institute leads us to believe that the results will be significant."
The conclusions bring us back to individuals — to the people who ultimately find themselves buying products over which they must have the ability to choose. Choosing what respects people and the land, and rejecting products that "exploit without ever giving back," said Marzaduri of Alce Nero. According to the fifth national observatory on sustainable lifestyles presented by LifeGate, 34 million Italians have declared themselves ready for this change, in a growing wave of attention from citizens towards a fully sustainable form of development. And 34 per cent say they eat products from organic farming. A rising trend that must also involve "those who are usually excluded from the economic and cultural model linked to food, such as farmers and processors." "For Alce Nero," Marzaduri continued, "the key is to stop feeding an extractive system. For us, giving back is a fundamental phase in bringing to life a model of collaboration between 'different parties'. The farmer needs to be listened to and, at the same time, to receive innovative tools with which to look ahead. This is the time to collaborate for a participatory model and a shared interest. The alternative is to stand still, but that is no longer possible, because standing still means feeding a general impoverishment that is already under way."
Health, then, encompasses all of this. And the context — the historical moment in which we find ourselves — allows no appeal. Faced with a climate crisis that brings with it an intensification of extreme weather events, like the season we are currently living through, which risks bringing the agricultural sector to its knees, all we can do is change and take our cue from those species — such as plants — that are capable of responding to danger by forming networks. A technique that has allowed them to survive on this planet for tens of millions of years.
