278
in particular, the consumption of food. [...]. How-
ever, the Mediterranean diet (from the Greek diaita,
or lifestyle) is more than just a set of foods. It pro-
motes social interaction, because the common meal
is the basis of social customs and festivities shared
by a given community, and resulted in a consider-
able body of knowledge, songs, maxims, tales and
legends. The Diet is grounded in respect for the en-
vironment and biodiversity, and ensures the preser-
vation and development of traditional activities and
crafts related to the fishing and farming communi-
ties of the Mediterranean ". For these reasons, re-
lated to both nutritional and social, cultural and
environmental aspects, on 17 November 2010 in
Kenya, the Mediterranean diet was declared part of
the intangible heritage of humanity by the Intergov-
ernmental Committee of the Convention on intan-
gible heritage of humanity of UNESCO. The
characteristics of the diet can be graphically repre-
sented by the food pyramid, whose first version was
drawn in 1992 by the United States Department of
Agriculture. The food pyramid shows in a concise
and effective way how to adopt a healthy and bal-
anced type of diet. As part of Expo 2015, having the
theme "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life", among
the project proposals is a proposal on the Mediter-
ranean diet. The Expo will be an extraordinary in-
ternational context in which to recognize and
promote the Mediterranean diet as a key resource
for sustainable development around the Mediter-
ranean Basin and worldwide. The ability to inspire
through food a sense of continuity and identity for
local people may represent, now and even more in
the future, a factor of sustainable growth.Conclusions
The current production of food in our society is ex-
tremely complex. This complexity has led to a grad-
ual loss of knowledge and awareness on how the
food that every day we put on our tables is produced
and prepared. The question of food production im-
plies social, ethical, economic and environmentalaspects that in recent times have become increas-
ingly important and relevant. Food, especially in a
country like Italy, must regain its importance not
only nutritionally but also socially. Significantly in
this context is the consumer behaviour and the vir-
tuous changes that it can promote in the food sys-
tem. The inclusion of the Mediterranean diet into
the intangible heritage of humankind by UNESCO
and the project application on the Mediterranean
diet as part of Expo 2015 are clear indications of a
different way of looking at food production and nu-
trition. All of the above must be linked to the need to
feed an increasing world population. The global gov-
ernance could achieve the necessary objectives: 1.
increase international trade in order to balance the
surplus production in OECD, former Soviet and
South American countries with Asian and African
deficits; 2. increase agricultural production, adopt-
ing technological and organizational progresses
that promote sustainability; 3. change consumption
patterns, starting from developed countries, aim-
ing at a consumption of about 2 000 kilocalories per
day (of which only 500 kilocalories derived from an-
imals) and reducing waste (presently, 800 kilocalo-
ries per day go in the garbage); 4. reduce the
bioaccumulation of toxic substances within food
matrices, through a mapping of the major sources
of pollution. If international policies to promote bet-
ter nutrition are successful, rich countries will ex-
perience reduced diseases from overweight and a
diet that is more environmentally sustainable. If
governments manage to agree on a stable trading
system to compensate the deficit and the surplus
food production in the different parts of the world,
a structural problem of social injustices on the
planet will be healed, reducing now evident social
tensions. If science and technology once again do
their job, the quantity and quality of food produc-
tion will make a leap forward. Everyone should do
his part and then the world of tomorrow will be
fairer and more virtuous than that of today in terms
of food security.