The celebrations for the fruit and vegetables day began in front of the "No farmers, no party" Pavilion along the South Cardo, where farmers welcomed the Vice Commissioner of the Government for Expo 2015, Giuseppe Sala, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry Policies, Maurizio Martina, and the President of Coldiretti, Roberto Moncalvo who spoke about the Italian fruit and vegetable market, the solutions to stop the use of agricultural land and a fair retribution for farmers. During the meeting, the data coming from research conducted by ISTAT and Censis were shared reporting that Italian families’ meat consumption has dropped in favor of domestic cultivation and consumption of fruits and vegetables.

 

Discover and taste fruit at the Fruit and Legumes Cluster

 

During the afternoon the Fruit and Legumes Cluster hosted an official meeting with the Vice Commissioner of the Government for Expo 2015, Giuseppe Sala, and the representative of the Countries of the Cluster, Harriet Saine from the Gambia Pavilion. “The Festival of Fruits and Vegetables has been very successful," said Giuseppe Sala “thanks to the participation of countries and partners. This is an important opportunity to try exotic fruits and unusual but tasty combinations. In this sense, we can speak of an Expo of curious people.” The institutional meeting ended with the tasting of drinks and products, all made with fruit or vegetables, that, from the orange and saffron juice offered by the Afghanistan Pavilion to the baobab and hibiscus drink of Gambia has confirmed the role of Expo Milano 2015 as a place of cultural exchange and dialogue.