The right to food and the Constitution, Maria Bottiglieri at the Festival of Food Journalism
Will take part in the meeting 'Case study - If the city discusses food: the experience of metropolitan diaries', scheduled for the opening of Festival of Food Journalism, Thursday 25 February, from 14.00 to 15.00.
Maria Bottiglieri is responsible for the international cooperation and peace activities of the City of Turin. Degree in Law, has a PhD in 'Local autonomies, public services, citizenship rights' (DRASD) at the University of Eastern Piedmont, also taken to deepen, in the Italian Constitution and in the law of local authorities, a theme that has become central in his professional experience in recent years: that of the right to food.
The advanced training course in fact, it has a close connection with the international relations that it has woven over the years of 'ordinary' work, in contact with Third Countries. "The European Union has established the EuropeAid Co-operation Office to enable local authorities such as NGOs and other organizations to implement the instruments intended for external assistance by the European Commission "- declared Bottiglieri -" The first of the millennium and post millennium objectives is the fight against hunger and poverty. I happened to start projects with Africa and South America to promote access to food ".After discussing the PhD thesis, returned to the institutional functions of the City, Bottiglieri dedicated himself to the European project Food Smart Cities for Development that - leader the Municipality of Milan - sees Turin next to Barcelona, Bilbao, Bruges, Gent, Utrecht, Marseille, the department of Antioch-Medellin, but also London, Dakar and Thessaloniki as associated cities. The international project, funded by the European Commission's Development Education and Awareness Raising (DEAR) program, includes 12 urban areas on three continents, which will undertake to coordinate their respective food policies and international cooperation activities.
"Food policies in Europe are linked to the concept of sustainable consumption" - adds Bottiglieri - "Unlike what happened since the 80 years in the United States, where a way had to be found to fight against obesity and bad eating habits. In both cases, although the starting conditions and objectives are different, the food is seen as one of the strategic elements for city development. To build real Local Food Policies ”.
Compared to other countries in the world, in Italy the right to food is not a principle enshrined in the Constitution. “Preparing the thesis I was able to consider what is contained in 100 Constitutions of the world"- specifies the head of the international cooperation and peace activities of the City of Turin -"Only 23 recognize the right to food. None of them is a European or Western Constitution. But, to give some examples, South Africa, Brazil, Ecuador, Bolivia and India establish this as a cornerstone".
"The starting point is different, therefore also the sense of the whole discourse" - adds Bottiglieri - "In the Italian case we recognize the food law and, therefore, we return to the field of legislation that regulates the production, distribution and consumption of food. In the rest of the world - for example in Brazil of the Fame Zero project - we start from the principle ofaccess to food, in particular for specific categories of people, more fragile and disadvantaged. In South Africa, the Constitution, which bears the signature of Mandela, establishes the right to water and adequate food also for prisoners, as well as the right to sufficient space and reading materials ". To say that the areas of the world considered to be "B series" do not always have the serious demerit of being recognized as such.
In this European and Italian framework still to be built, Turin could become the first Italian city to establish the right to food in its own Statute. The topic is scheduled for discussion in the City Council next Monday. All that remains is to wait to see if what has already happened with water will happen.
