We are living in a time of extraordinary changes that are leading the global society to value again two key pillars of life: health and food. The global pandemic due to Covid-19 has suddenly made visible all the leaks of an economy-driven globalised culture. Our habits, lifestyles, and social paradigms have been overturned together with the way we conceive whole economic sectors. All of a sudden, we have realized what exactly means to overcome the planetary boundaries. Widespread infectious diseases and extreme and unpredictable natural phenomena, exacerbated by global warming, accelerate drastic morphological transformations of the territory, while worsening food and water insecurity. There is also the demographic factor to deal with: a growing population that by 2050 will eat, drink, and consumes more natural resources, although we are struggling today to satisfy globally basic needs. Empowering the Humana Communitas means empowering a purpose-driven society that gathers around shared values of collaboration, cohesion, commonality, in respect of Nature. “At the level of culture, our goal must be a new and universal ethical perspective attentive to the themes of creation and human life.” Pope Francis – Letter to the President of the Pontifical Academy for Life
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS INVOLVED
How can prosperity-driven communities contribute to solve current food challenges?
Most people below the poverty line earn their income from agriculture. This sector is highly vulnerable to extreme events related to the climate and other economic, social, and environmental shocks and disasters. Supporting small farmers direclty or indirectly through a minimisation of food waste (which adds weight to the agricultural social costs) becomes crucial for poverty reduction.
What are the missing values of today that are necessary to implement and lead towards a future where People, Planet and Presperity are in harmony?
Ensuring access to nutritious food is a pre-requisite for reducing environmental degradation. This is notably reiterated also by target 2.4, stressing the importance of ensuring sustainable food production systems and agricultural practices that are resilient and adaptive to extreme weather events.
How to implement a multistakeholder approach in the decision-making process? And how to combine the pledge of leaving no-one behind with an effective global inclusion in the decision-making process?
“According to the WHO, malnutrition refers to deficiencies, excesses, or imbalances in a person’s intake of energy and/or nutrients. Through food and better food, we can reduce the major contributor of diseases in the world, that kills every year more than 4 billion people: malnutrition.”
Promoting education to achieve sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles is embedded in target 4.7, which equally considers common values such as spreading a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship, and enhancement of cultural diversity.
We cannot achieve inclusive purpose-driven societies without eliminating every form of gender inequalities. With specific reference to the agricultural sector, women represent 43% of the workforce with incomes that are around 50% in some regions of Asia and South Saharan Africa. Female empowerment programs would, therefore, have direct impacts on agriculture.
Protecting labor rights and encouraging a safe working environment for all workers are vital challenges that the global pandemic has risen, especially during these last weeks. Equally, as target 8.4 stresses, economic growth cannot come at the expense of environmental degradation.
7 out of 10 people live in countries that have seen an increase in inequalities in the past 30 years. The movement of ‘Black Lives Matter’ is gaining international attention. Enhancing and promoting social, economic and political inclusion of all is fundamental to avoid restrictions of access to healthy food.
Conflicts, food insecurity, and access to natural resources are deeply interconnected: natural resources play a pivotal role in the production of food, while access to natural resources may represent self-sustaining reasons for conflicts. Developing responsible and transparent institutions at all levels are as important as ensuring inclusive, participatory, and representative decision making at all levels.
Innovation is a collaborative effort, therefore regenerating the whole agri-food system cannot be achieved without a conscious and collective collaborations among private and public sectors, but also coherent steps in this direction among states.
