THE 44TH US PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, FORMER MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD, EXPLAINED HIS POSITION ON GMOS, THE FAST CHANGING WORLD (CLIMATIC AND NOT) AND THE ROLE OF POLITICS, AT THE "SEEDS & CHIPS" CONFERENCE

Barack Obama participated in the conference in Milan titled, "Seeds & Chips". He explained, in the form of an interview with his food policy consultant and White House chef Sam Kass, his position on climate change as the central point and core of the many challenges facing man and his relationship with Earth; the pervasive and ever-accelerating technological innovation which we need to discuss intelligently, and not let politics take a back seat; the shameful tension between the first world that throws away good food and those 800 million people who do not have it, and the need for a global and multi-sector effort to change the face of food production.

The first African American President of the United States discussed the real theme of our times, namely climate change - a phenomenon about which “the only real controversy among scientists is not whether temperatures are rising or not, but how much. Even if we stop emitting greenhouse gases at this time, the oceans are expected to rise about a meter, and according to the highest estimates, even more”.
This is a gigantic phenomenon, if not potentially a real cataclysm, which imposes a realistic and concrete approach. And, global food production has a prominent role, as the food industry emits the second highest amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, after energy production. “If rainfall quantities change”, the former President warned, “hundreds of millions of people could be deprived of food resources, causing mass migrations”. Migrations to a certain extent are happening now and Italy is well aware of this situation. In addition to asylum seeking migration and refugees, migration flows are already destabilizing Europe, also due to the need for food and livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people.
Therefore the former Pennsylvania Avenue tenant’s priority is to “keep climate change in the lower end of the estimates, in order to enable humanity to adapt”, and the role of technological advances, which is not slowing down is positive. However, unlike the energy industry, global food-driven emissions continue to grow above average, which is also due to the consumption of meat stimulated by the emerging middle classes in countries that were previously developing. This issue, according to Obama, is due to the fact that “food has not been a topic in the debate on climate change due to lack of exposure concerning greenhouse gas emissions”. It is still pollution – perhaps less immediate than a "smokestack" - but the results are equally evident.

Of course, the task of this policy is to accompany and stimulate positive changes. In food production, though, this dynamic “is difficult, especially where there is abundance of food”, Obama commented citing the example of the Agriculture Commission of the US Parliament, where members often act more in their own interests rather than for the common good.
Resistance to change, therefore, and consequently, the need for “a change that takes into account the needs of farmers, especially small farms”, because unlike the big agribusiness groups “theirs is a tough job, as they are often on the brink of having to close down the farm. But if we make the innovations worthwhile, they will be the first to adopt them”. One of the most disruptive has been and still is genetically modified organisms in agriculture – an issue on which the views on either side of the Atlantic are to say the least, very distant.
“The approach I chose as a President is the same as I've taken for climate change, that is to say, science. Since people are very sensitive to the issue of food and what they feed their families, it is right to be cautious about new technologies, but we cannot be prejudiced about them.
“Humanity”, noted Obama, “has always altered its crops genetically. The rice and corn we eat today is certainly not like those of a thousand years ago. We have learned from our experiences, and now scientific methods are unstoppable. Obviously, we need to protect ourselves in approaching these technologies, but politics must work with science. The debate on GMOS”, he noted, “worries me because it seems to me there is too much prejudice. Technological innovations will come about whether we want them or not, so it’s much better to have an intelligent discussion on the subject”.

The future of global food depends mainly on technology but cannot ignore the human factor, which is represented by the young people, according to Obama. “Food is not just counting calories, it is the glue that holds society together, and the young generations can change the collective approach to food”, especially through daily activities in their local communities, just like Obama did in his youth in Chicago. And then, “in the long run, to feed as many people as possible we must follow the motto “do not give a fish to someone who is hungry, but teach them how to fish”.
We have taught African farmers how to think like entrepreneurs and move up in the value chain; this is the long-term approach that will generate more returns. Apart from acute crises, like in Somalia and Ethiopia, the approach to take is “to work on communities of farmers and breeders, by first of all involving them, then ensuring positive, and not negative, support. And please", Obama concluded before saying good-bye to Milan, “let’s try not to burn down our planet”.