Dec. 22 – During the third World Congress of Nutrition in Public Health, which took place recently in Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands, the prestigious “Award Iacon-SENC 2014 – Excellence in Food Sustainability” went to two Italians, Roberto Capone, Administrator of CIHEAM – Bari, and Sandro Dernini, FAO expert. The award for excellence in sustainable supply represents the culmination of a collaboration process between CIHEAM Bari and FAO launched in 2011 with the joint organization of the international workshop “Guidelines for the sustainability of the Mediterranean diet” in Bari, and the international seminar on “Sustainability of food systems in the Mediterranean,” held in Malta in 2012. At the World Congress, the Italian experts presented the Mediterranean diet as a case study for the characterization and evaluation of sustainable diets in the world. The Mediterranean diet, scientifically characterized as a healthy dietary pattern, was valued for its low environmental impact and its high socio-cultural heritage value. In this context, Roberto Capone explained the experimental application of the “Guidelines for the sustainability of the Mediterranean diet” as a pilot experience within the Project “Agriculture & Food” of the Puglia region, aimed at enhancing typical food of the region, highlighting all the problems that arise from such an application in a well-defined context. The focus of Capone and Dernini’s interventions was to revitalize the Mediterranean diet not only for its health benefits, but also as a contemporary model of sustainable diet. They explored potential indications for improving the sustainability of the Mediterranean diet in all the countries of the Mediterranean within the Med Diet Expo 2015: Time for action, to be launched on May 14, 2015, at the Italian Pavilion at the Expo in Milan by Cosimo Lacirignola, Secretary General of CIHEAM. (Red)
