This week began by celebrating the fifty-third Earth Day, when from every corner of our planet – from coral reefs to glaciers, from forests to deserts – the same urgency emerges: time is up. We have said too many words and now all we have to do is act and react. In this critical moment, never reached before, this anniversary is not and cannot be just an anniversary, a carousel on social media, an event: it must be a warning that calls us to reflect deeply on the need to take concrete actions.
It’s true, over the last fifty-three years we have made progress and witnessed important changes in global climate policies, but not yet radical ones and it is clear that it has not been enough. Because, day after day, it becomes increasingly clear that the wounds inflicted on our planet over time are causing devastating consequences. And wounds, if left untreated, can be fatal. The news released by Copernicus that March 2024 is the tenth consecutive warmest month on record is just one of the countless warning signs that we cannot ignore. But – and this is the point – we can’t even “just” comment anymore. If fifty-three years ago this Day represented a cry for awareness, today it must transform itself into a driving force for action. Because today that awareness, alone, is no longer sufficient. While being aware of a problem is certainly the first step towards its solution, however, in itself, awareness is not the solution. Only through concrete and measurable actions can we hope to change the course of events and try to safeguard the future of our planet.
In a world where climate warning signs are commonplace, the cry for mobilization and concrete initiatives are essential. By founding the Future Food Institute ten years ago, I wanted to give our active response to the signs of suffering on our planet, starting from food and water, our essential needs. Food is life, nourishment, it is a vehicle of values, culture and identity, food is sociality. The great challenge of our era is to be able to preserve the planet, feeding man in a healthy way and taking care of the ecosystem that welcomes him. Humanity will only be able to adapt to the great changes we are experiencing by re-learning to understand the value of nutrition and by reconnecting with food, with those who produce it, distribute it, transform it and share it. Eating is an essential act for human life, but it requires consciousness and awareness. We have done it with numerous innovation projects, in our living labs and above all by training tens of thousands of people, making them become real “climate shapers” and finally the world is starting to understand that everything is connected. Food security and climate change are interconnected. My recent appointment to the Commission on Food Safety in Geneva “Food Security: Re-imagining Global Governance” by the Kofi Annan Foundation, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, I believe fully represents this awareness.
Together with the other members of the Commission – Elhadj As Sy, president of the Kofi Annan Foundation and former secretary general of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC); Amir Abdulla, former Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Program (WFP) and former UN Coordinator for the Black Sea Grains Initiative; HE Hailemariam Dessalegn Boshe, former Executive Prime Minister of Ethiopia and former Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs; Dr. Agnes Kalibata, president of the Alliance for the Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA); the doctor David Nabarro, former co-head of the United Nations Global Crisis Response Group on Food-Energy-Finance and strategic director of the 4SD Foundation; the doctor Soumya Swaminathan, President of the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) and former Chief Scientist of the World Health Organization (WHO); And Mariana Vasconcelos, co-founder and CEO of Agrosmart – we will work to develop policy recommendations based on scientific evidence, breaking down silos, studying some cases that have been able to generate a concrete impact measured over the years, involving stakeholders who until now have not been held accountable and therefore they have never even been considered part of the possible solution, to create together a new system of global governance of food security, and therefore of the security of the planet.
Earth Day is not just a time of celebration but a powerful reminder of our collective responsibility to the planet. Today more than ever, it is essential to recognize that every daily choice, every action for sustainability, contributes significantly to the health of the Earth and of all humanity. Talking about it will continue to raise awareness and push each of us to become an active player in building the future. Celebrating this day unites us in mantra “Eat Well, Stay Well, Save the Planet!”, reminding us that the health of our planet is essential to the health of humanity.
