"EXPO OF IDEAS": PETRINI (SLOW FOOD) SAID, " IF THERE ARE NO FARMERS, IT’S AN EVENT BUILT ON SAND", ADDING, "WE MUST NOT FOCUS ONLY ON MILLIONS OF TOURISTS VISITING THE SHOW, BUT ON FARMERS AND RANCHERS WHO ARE SUFFERING"

“Where are the fishermen, farmers, cheese makers and processors; i.e. those words that together are the largest economy in the world? If these people are not the star players, then the Expo 2015 is built on sand”, stated the president of Slow Food International, Carlo Petrini, during the "Made in Italy" round table discussion organized by the Italian farmers association, Coldiretti at "The Expo of Ideas". The president of Coldiretti Roberto Moncalvo replied, "We will bring the farmers who have made “Made in Italy” unique in the world, their stories, their faces and their experiences”. Petrini, insisted and added, "the sore spot that today is putting millions of farmers on their knees has a well-known name, and it’s called the free market, which when applied to food, creates chaos of biblical proportions. And, that’s in Italy as well as the rest of the world”. 500 experts divided into 42 thematic groups attended "The ideas of Expo 2015 to the Charter of Milan" held at Hangar Bicocca, which aims to give a soul to the International Expo, and for the first time, the citizens, institutions, companies, associations, academies and the entire system of international organizations will be the main actors.
Carlo Petrini continued, targeting also the CEO of FAO, De Silva: "What is the spirit of Expo? We cannot focus only on the millions of tourists who will come to Milan, but we must deal with those farmers and ranchers who live in suffering, like land grabbing in Africa that destroys the lives of thousands of farmers ousting them from their land, with the help of corrupt governments. Made in Italy is of course, sacrosanct, but we have to open our eyes to the world, because there are excellent products in every corner of the planet. This is the vision that Expo has to make its own”.

Carlo Petrini, founder of the world renowned movement Slow Food, continues, with a wish: "I wish for a more sober Expo, less attentive to large pavilions, to the big event, but that has the courage to tell it like it is and open out to the farmers. That welcomes even the humble, the poor, with open arms because they more than others have the right to come to the Expo. So I hope that the people here at these tables will realize this and use the next few days for comparing and reasoning. It’s time to stop separating official science and traditional knowledge. We can overcome divergences with dialogue and build a shared perspective that will get us out of this situation. If we do not change the system, we will not be able to leave a worthy life to future generations. Let’s, then, make the Charter of Milan not a mere document, but a true beginning”.