As from tomorrow the city of Milan hosts a record-breaking Universal Exhibition on ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’, with 140 countries participating and over 20 million expected visitors, EU lawmakers call on the European governments and institutions to get momentum from this extraordinary event to ensure the right to healthy food consumption, and support a strong and sustainable agricultural sector across the bloc.
In a resolution adopted today in Strasbourg, the European Parliament pointed especially to existing unbalances in the right to nutrition, recalling that 30% of food worldwide is wasted and hunger co-exists with paradoxical levels of obesity.
S&D spokesperson on farm policies, Paolo De Castro MEP, who initiated this resolution, said:
"Expo Milan represents an incredible occasion to discuss, at international level, the global issue of food security, where agriculture and fisheries are central.
"The EP resolution urges the Commission and all EU member states to use this opportunity to get involved, together with the European Parliament, in the fight against food waste and under-nutrition by providing universal access to food. This result can only be achieved through the implementation of agricultural, environmental and social policies encouraging a use of the land 'resource' with a view to sustainability, which is a vital component in meeting the food security challenge."
S&D vice-president Isabelle Thomas added:
"It's important to consider fisheries, like agriculture, in the context of our food policy agenda, as they are also producing protein.
"As vice-president of the S&D Group in charge of both of these policy areas, I often notice many similarities between them and both sectors' needs for regulation on issues such as the environment, traceability, sustainability and price, at European and world level."
