This afternoon’s screening was organized by the regional councilor Candia (Lista Sansa), by the municipal councilor of Genoa Ghio (“Rossoverdi”) and by various local associations
From journalistic investigation to political battle. The documentary Food for Profit was screened in the Liguria Region, which sheds light on the distortions of the intensive farming system, largely financed by European funds.
The screening, this afternoon in the Colombo room in via Fieschi, was organized by the regional councilor Selena Candia (Lista Sansa) in collaboration with the municipal councilor of Genoa Francesca Ghio (Lista Rossoverde) and various associations: Rete Ricibo, Sustainable Citizens, Fridays for Future Genoa, Generazione P, GenovaGreentosa – Studiolambiente, GreenPeace – Local group Genoa, Gruppo Yoga Solidale Genoa, ISDE- Liguria Regional Section, La Bottega Solidale – Altromercato, LAV, Legambiente Liguria, Terra! Aps, T-Recycling-Children’s low impact, Unigeco, VeGenova, WWF Genoa.
Present were the director Giulia Innocenzi; Roberta Massa, coordinator of the RICIBO Network; Silvia Cama di Terra! Co-director Pablo D’Ambrosi connected via video from London.
On the political side, the regional councilors of the Sansa List Ferruccio Sansa and Roberto Centi, the regional councilor of the M5S Fabio Tosi and the candidates for the European elections for the North West Constituency Simona Cosso (AVS, Sinistra Italiana) and Benedetta Scuderi ( AVS, Green Europe).
“Food policies do not concern us as individuals, but are a collective and therefore political issue”, explains councilor Candia. “Eating sustainably must not just be a virtuous behavior that we decide to adopt individually. The institutions must put us in a position to be able to do this. As networks of associations, citizens, we must apply pressure. And that’s exactly what’s happening, thanks to Food Profit.”
“There are millions of euros that the Regions give to intensive farming,” adds director Giulia Innocenzi. “It is essential to show this film to those who make these decisions, as is happening now in Liguria and has already happened in Sicily, Veneto, Lombardy and Emilia Romagna. The livestock sector is one of the sectors that receives the most subsidies because it is considered a large constituency”.
The network of associations, led by Ricibo, had organized a first screening of Food for Profit at the beginning of April, in Genoa. Given the great success not only among the public but also in terms of interest, it was decided to bring it to the headquarters of the Regional Council.
«The intensive farming system is not sustainable from an environmental point of view, from a health point of view and from a social point of view», continues councilor Candia, who has filed a motion in the regional council to ask the Liguria Region to act as spokesperson with the State-Regions Conference, the Government and the European Union of three requests.
“We want to eliminate public subsidies for intensive farming, to redistribute resources towards sustainable agricultural companies; a stop to the opening of new intensive farms, to encourage a different model of food production and consumption oriented towards sustainability; promote public discussions on the issues of food and nutrition policies, in the form of civic assemblies”.
The motion also includes a reference to the bill “Beyond intensive farming” presented to the Chamber in February, thanks to the work of Terra! WWF, Greenpeace, LIPU and ISDE. This bill aims at a plan for the ecological conversion of existing intensive farms, calling for an immediate moratorium on the opening of new farms and on the increase in the number of animals raised.
The document asks the Region to take action at a local level by promoting public discussions among citizens on food policies to raise awareness and create sustainable supply chains, as is already happening in Bologna, Turin and Rome.
