Dear participants, it is a great pleasure to open this webinar on sustainability and traditional Italian cuisine on the occasion of the sixth edition of the Week of Italian Cuisine in Japan.
First of all, I wish to thank all who contributed to the organization of this seminar, in particular Emanuela Orighi, President of the Accademia Italiana della Cucina in Japan.
During my previous experience as Ambassador of Italy to Israel, I had the pleasure to extensively cooperate with the Accademia, a Cultural Institution of the Italian Republic since 2003, and participate in many of the initiatives organized by this incredible group of Ambassadors of the Italian Cuisine.
It will be a privilege to continue this special relationship here in Japan in order to encourage and support the Accademia in its very important “mission” to protect the traditions of Italian cuisine and to promote initiatives intended to increase familiarity with the values of Italian cuisine.
I am particularly glad to open this panel because understanding and optimising food sustainability is the focus of this year’s “Week of the Italian Cuisine in the World”, a worldwide initiative launched six years ago by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs aimed at promoting Italian cuisine and the uniqueness of original Italian ingredients and products.
Food production sustainability and food waste have become in recent years topics of increasing interest in the international agenda and they pose tremendous challenges to all of us. In particular, Italy, with its extraordinary food culture, has a primary responsibility on this front.
Zero kilometers products, urban farming, sustainable fishing, and gastronomic lifestyle to avoid food waste are already part of the Italian traditional cuisine, but these and other best practices need to be promoted and expanded with a much wider scope if we really want to ensure food and nutrition security for all.
Thank you very much again to the Accademia Italiana della Cucina to address this important issues with the organization of today’s seminar: it’s the best way to contribute to the success of the Italian Cuisine Week in Japan.
Arigato gozaimasu.