The new essay by economist Andrea Segrè and plant pathologist Ilaria Pertot is an in-depth study of the reality of food poverty in Italy. Giving voice to thirteen stories of food and existential survival, it aims to make concrete the human dimension behind the stark statistics. Indeed, poverty is not an abstract category, nor can it be traced only to numbers. From the investigations conducted by the authors, a varied and complex picture emerges that highlights a generalized food impoverishment. Although food occupies an important part of the collective narrative and economy in Italy, paradoxically food is progressively losing its value, so much so that it is wasted in large quantities. This essay not only invites us to reflect on an issue of primary importance, but above all calls for action. To counter this phenomenon, we must all mobilize - from national institutions to municipalities, from families to schools - guaranteeing the universal right to adequate, safe and sustainable food (ius cibi) and introducing serious nutrition education in all educational cycles.
“This book helps us to understand the question of what the poor eat and then to seek the answer ourselves, to make their hunger our own. And doing so helps us to understand the importance of food, to live better, because in sharing we are all satiated, not all hungry!” (from the preface by Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi)
As part of the review Le Voci dei Libri, in collaboration with Coop Alleanza 3.0
Ilaria Pertot teaches at the University of Trento. Thanks to her interdisciplinary approach combining innovative technologies, environmental sustainability and food safety, she is an international reference figure in advanced agrifood research.
Andrea Segrè teaches at the University of Bologna, is special adviser to the Mayor of Bologna for Urban and Metropolitan Food Policies and scientific director of the Waste Watcher International-Campaign Observatory “Spreco Zero”.