The conference “Responsible Production and Consumption of Food from Farm to Fork: Tech, Policy, Behavior, Education” will be held at the University of Pavia on November 24 th and 25 th , 2025. The conference will be the occasion to present some of the research results and synergies developed by the University of Pavia and its affiliated partners within two PNRR projects funded by the European Union (NextGenerationEU): the extended partnership PE 10, called ONFOODS - Research and innovation network on food and nutrition sustainability, safety and security working ON FOODS, spoke 7 (Policy, behaviour and education), and the Innovation Ecosystem NODES - Nord Ovest Digitale e Sostenibile, spoke 6 (primary agroindustry, VINO project).
The event is organized and coordinated by Professor Carola Ricci (University of Pavia and the Scuola Universitaria Superiore IUSS Pavia), together with her research group (Anna Facchinetti, Aldo Piccone, Andrea Iurato, and Domiziana Carloni – the latter PhD SDC, University of Pavia–IUSS), with the contribution of Giulia Mattavelli (IUSS), Principal Investigator of the project SoS-4-SoUPS – Software Solutions for Sustainable Food Urban Policies in Schools, funded through the OnFoods Cascade Grant – Spoke 7.
The initiative addresses issues related to food, agriculture, and landscape protection from the perspective of international law, with interdisciplinary insights and contributions from representatives of international organizations, the third sector, and industry.
The event has also been formally included among the initiatives of the Sustainability Education Week, promoted by the National Committee for Sustainability Education – Agenda 2030, under the high patronage of UNESCO.
The conference is divided into four thematic modules and will take place over two consecutive days.
The working language of the first day will be English, while of the second day, Italian. The morning of November 24 th will be devoted to presenting the results of the research within the OnFoods project, spoke7, in dialogue with colleagues from other universities, representatives of the third sector and businesses. The morning is divided into two sessions, one dedicated to the right to food from the perspective of human rights and its various components, and one to reducing food waste. The first panel, entitled “We are what we eat: culture, religion, identity”, will address the legal protection of the right to food in international law and its effective application in practice, particularly through the study of domestic and international case law. It will consider the cultural and religious value of food, including through a practical case study in Tunisia from the perspective of international cooperation, as well as access to nutritious and adequate food for vulnerable individuals such as persons with disabilities and minors, from a multidisciplinary perspective.
The second panel, “Food waste prevention and reduction: the surplus of food in a reversed pyramid”,
offers an analysis of European and national regulations on the prevention of food waste, including the
very recent European directive on the subject, highlighting their limitations and opportunities. The legal
analysis will be complemented by the presentation of best practices developed in the third sector, useful
for redesigning local food policies, aimed primarily at promoting the redistribution of food surplus to
those most in need, and thus further reducing the environmental impact by sustainably valorising food
waste.
On the following day, November 25 th , the conference will be held in Italian, focusing primarily on the
themes of the NODES project, spoke 6 (VINO project). It will address the protection and valorization of
tangible and intangible heritage in the wine sector of the Oltrepò Pavese, as well as strategies for mitigating the effects of climate change. The panels will assess not only the impact of regulatory changes, but also, and above all, the technical possibilities offered for identifying new vineyard management methods. The aim is to open a late-morning discussion with industry experts.
The proceedings will open with the third panel, “Protection and promotion of the tangible and intangible heritage of the Oltrepò Pavese wine sector”. Through the perspective of the territory and communities, the panel will explore the connections the wine sector forges with its surrounding environment, with a view to mutual influence that fosters and reinforces the vocation of the region for a specific agricultural production, currently challenged by phenomena such as climate change.
The fourth panel, “Climate change adaptation strategies for the Oltrepò Pavese wine sector”, will
address pressing issues for wine production. Among the various strategies that can be implemented,
researchers involved in the VINO project will present, from a transdisciplinary perspective, vineyard
management techniques for preventing and reducing hydrogeological instability. Moreover, the panel
will introduce suggestions regarding the ability of legal regulations to absorb—where possible—exogenous changes and to reorient production rules, as well as the challenges posed by European regulations on labels concerning the harmfulness of alcohol. A focus will also be placed on the possibilities that technical knowledge can offer for the development of a circular economy in the vineyard, through the valorization of pruned branches. Finally, technical tools will be offered for evaluating the introduction of alternative crops in the areas most affected by the effects of climate change.
The conference will conclude with a discussion with stakeholders, opened by some scheduled presentations.