A press conference was held by the Milan Center for Food Law and Policy on Monday July 27 at Expo Milano 2015. The association in question was founded with the support of Expo Milano 2015 to defend the right to food. In the presence of Livia Pomodoro, President of the Milan Center for Food Law and Policy, Giuseppe Sala, Commissioner of the Government for Expo Milano 2015, Andrea Orlando, Minister of Justice, Maurizio Martina, Minister of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, Gian Luca Galletti, Minister for the Environment, and Roberto Arditti, Director of Institutional Affairs also participated in the conference. Benedetto Della Vedova, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation participated in the event with a video.

The right to food is one of the new Millennium Goals
“Expo represents a platform for the future”. With these words, Livia Pomodoro introduced the work carried out by the Milan Center for Food Law and Policy, which has been collecting and monitoring the best practices required to defend the right to food for everyone since February 2014. “We have an ambitious target – explained Pomodoro –, because we want to create a platform for the right to food which is recognized all over the world. There is no food without rights. This is why we are trying to define basic rules which can be shared on an international level.

 

The center has established agreements with the Universities of Milan and of California in Los Angeles, and in October we will be presenting a study on whether the right to food exists, in collaboration with IDLO”. Della Vedova stressed how “Expo represents an opportunity for focusing the attention of public opinion and in this context the Milan Center can be the engine that promotes the creation of advocacy and contributes to the agenda with the post 2015 objectives”.

The Charter of Milan is a point of convergence for all citizens
“2015 – explained Galletti – will mark a turning point for problems regarding the environment and the right to food. Ensuring enough food for everyone can only be done through a common policy, where each one of us strives to establish a clear-cut set of rules which respect the principles of equality and transparency". 

 

Orlando made a point of emphasizing “the serious intention of the government to work at this even after Expo Milano 2015, and this is why we will be showing full support for the Milan Center. We need to tackle the issues by uniting the wealthier nations with the developing ones, as also affirmed by Amartya Sen in his studies that demonstrate the relationship between political conditions and the lack of food. Our objective must be that of introducing food as one of the new Millennium goals to be discussed in September".

 

Minister Martina brought the conference to a close, announcing that the Milan Charter has already collected over 500,000 signatures. “The Milan Center, together with Women for Expo and Milan Charter, is contributing to defining the role of Italy and represents a legacy that will survive even after the Universal Exposition. We have sowed the seeds, which we will then have to cultivate from November 1 onwards. The Milan Charter will arrive in New York on September 26 at the United Nations conference for defining the new Millennium Goals”.