(ANSA) - Rome, December 5 - Italy's ANCC-Coop and Coop Italia, the two national organizations running a consortium of consumer cooperatives, have officially become supporters of the Milan Protocol designed to slash food waste by 50% within five years.
    The Protocol is promoted by the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition (BCFN) ahead of the food-themed Milan Expo 2015 trade fair running from May 1 through October 31 next year.
    Coop, which manages a major chain of Italian supermarkets, said in a statement released on Thursday that in full agreement with the Protocol, it has "always engaged in concrete initiatives in favor of food and environmental sustainability".
    Its work to promote awareness on nutrition "has involved, in over 30 years, thousands of schools, students, teachers and families", the Coop statement noted.
    Coop Italia President Marco Pedroni said "the sustainability of economic development - growth in which food production and the exploitation of the planet's resources are well-balanced - is one of the key criteria of Coop's strategies".
    The Milan Protocol, a significant point for Italy as it holds the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union, features an awareness campaign aimed at cutting by as much as half the estimated 1.3 billion tonnes of food wasted around the globe, promote sustainable agriculture and help the fight against hunger and obesity.
    The final draft of the Protocol was released Thursday at the sixth edition of the International Forum on Food and Nutrition at Milan's Bocconi University.
    First presented a year ago, the project spearheaded by the BCFN directs proposals toward three major objectives and vies to put them on the food-oriented agenda of Milan Expo 2015. The first objective is the strategy to reduce by 2020 the tons of wasted food and nutrition in the world through targeted campaigns and long-term agreements that involve the entire food chain. The second goal is agricultural reform and the fight against financial speculation to promote more sustainable farming, through limits on prices for raw materials for food-based biofuels. The third objective is to tackle obesity by promoting nutritional education and healthy habits for children as well as adults.
    The Protocol, to be presented to countries taking part in the Expo universal exposition, was originally drafted with the contribution of 500 international experts to tackle the global contradictions of nutrition.
    While 805 million people were chronically undernourished in the 2012-2014 period, according to the latest estimates by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), over 2.1 billion were reported to be obese or overweight.
    Meanwhile, one-third of agricultural production worldwide is currently used to feed livestock.
    Over 70 organizations and institutions, along with 5,000 private citizens have already adhered to the initiative, which is sponsored by Premier Matteo Renzi.
    Countries that will sign the Protocol will be pledging to implement policies along the lines of the Protocol's three proposals, within a year of the initial preparatory phase.
    The goals of the Protocol will be raised at the Milan Expo, which kicks off on May 1 under the theme 'Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life'.
    An unprecedented 53 countries will have pavilions at the trade fair and 6.5 million tickets have already been sold to tour operators worldwide.
    Organizers are hoping to sell 10 million tickets and attract 20 million visitors from around the world at the six-month event.
    BCFN president Guido Barilla said the Milan Expo trade fair "will bring to Italy leaders from around the world" in an "extraordinary occasion" to put food once again at the top of political agendas.
    "We mean to call on institutions, companies and civil society to address the great paradoxes of nutrition so that they will make the Milan Protocol theirs and stimulate countries taking part in the Expo to adopt it".
    And in expressing support for the Protocol, the mayor of Milan Giuliano Pisapia said his administration is promoting a "project, which is already at an advanced stage and works in parallel with the Protocol - a pact forged by big cities worldwide to counter food waste, fight hunger and promote healthy nutritional practices".
    The pact, first presented last year, has already seen the adhesion of 30 cities worldwide, including most recently New York and Moscow, Pisapia said.