Public Conference in Florence: Food for Health

On Wednesday, 16 May, at 6 p.m. in the atrium of Palazzo Budini Gattai, Piazza Santissima Annunziata, 1, Dr. Vandana Shiva, president of Navdanya International, will hold a public conference to present the Executive Summary of the draft Manifesto on Food for Health. Joining her will be members of the Group of Experts, among which, Hilal Elver, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Richard Falk, Professor of International Law Emeritus at Princeton University, Patrizia Gentilini, International Society of Doctors for the Environment (ISDE) Scientific Committee.

The Manifesto, collectively drafted by the Group of Experts, is a continuation of the work of the International Commission on Future of Food and Agriculture. It advocates the need for a new paradigm, a new way of thinking about health which is ecologically centred, a new paradigm based on systems thinking and not mechanistic reductionism, recognizing that the health of the earth and people’s health are  inextricably linked and one continuum.

Food and Health experts from around the world will gather in Florence to compare data, experiences and analysis on the impacts of industrial agriculture, its high chemical inputs on soils, air, water and therefore in the food we eat daily. The high levels of contamination found in the environment and in food have an impact, in turn, on human health. It is a global health crisis that involves millions of people and puts a strain on public finances.

The Manifesto aims to help strengthen the food and health movements as a whole by creating dynamic synergy between the movements for Sustainable Agriculture and Public Health and between consumers, producers and stakeholders, highlighting links between Biodiversity, sustainable agriculture and public health.

International Meeting of Experts on Food For Health

List of Participants at the conference (Group of Experts on Food for Health)

Vandana Shiva, Meeting convenor, Founder, Navdanya, Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology

Renata Alleva, Specialist in the Science of Nutritition, Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Science, University of Bologna, ISDE – International Society of Doctors for the Environment, Scientific Committee

Sergio Bernasconi, Full Professor of Paediatrics, former Head of Paediatric Clinic, University of Parma

Piero Bevilacqua, Author, Sociologist, Historian, Sapienza University of Rome

Lucio Cavazzoni, former president of Alce Nero (organic food & products), bee-keeper

Salvatore Ceccarelli, International expert in Agronomy and Plant Genetics

Famiano Crucianelli, Biodistretti, Surgeon, Under-secretary for Foreign Affairs (2006 -2008)

Guy D’hallewin, Coordinator, National Research Council, CNR – ISPA UOS Sassari

Hilal Elver,  UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food

Richard Falk, Professor of International Law Emeritus, Princeton; Director Climate Change Project; Advisor, POMEAS Project, Istanbul Policy Center, Sabanci University

Patrizia Gentilini,  Oncologist and Haematologist, ISDE – International Society of Doctors for the Environment, Scientific Committee

Jacopo Gabriele Orlando, Public Affairs & Project Development Manager, Aboca Group (research and innovation in medicinal herb-based products)

Srinath Reddy, President, Public Health Foundation of India and the World Heart Federation, All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS)

Mira Shiva, Director, Initiative for Health and Equity in Society, Chairperson, Health Action International Asia –Pacific

Full Photo Album

Webpage with more details: https://www.navdanyainternational.it/en/events-navdanya-international/551-food-for-health