Monday (22nd April) is World Earth Day. Set up by UN cultural organisation UNESCO in 1969, the day celebrates efforts to protect and improve the natural environment. As part of the 43rd annual Earth Day celebrations, sustainable food and farming groups have highlighted efforts to change the current agricultural paradigm and develop sustainable food systems.

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In the United States, sustainable food policy group the Worldwatch Institute has called for a shift towards "production practices that will promote sustainable, healthy food," suggesting "Sustainable food and agriculture systems can play a big role in preserving the environment by helping to improve soil health, protecting biodiversity, and mitigating climate change."

In Europe, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, which is organising a celebration in Rome, has estimated that over a billion people worldwide will be taking part in Earth Day events. Celebrated as part of Earth Week in some places around the world, it is not centrally organised, though some UN and non-governmental organisations attempt to keep track of the manifold events arranged to mark the day.

This year's Earth Day theme is The Face of Climate Change. It aims to raise awareness of the devastating impacts of climate change, such as prolonged droughts, frequent flooding, cyclones, sea-level rises and others, on the lives and livelihoods of millions of people worldwide. As part of the Earth Day message, citizens around the world are being urged to demand their leaders take urgent action to protect our planet.

Italian farmers oppose 'wrong model of development'

The UN events in Rome are being supported by Italian farmers' association Coldiretti, which is a primary partner for Earth Day Italia's green-earth projects.

In the run up to Earth Day, Coldiretti called for greater government support for local and sustainable food initiatives. In keeping with the 2013 theme, the farmers' organisation revealed that Italy has lost 2.15 million hectares of cultivated land due to soil sealing (the covering of land with an impermeable material) and abandonment in the past twenty years. In a statement, the group said "a wrong-headed model of development has forced the closure of 1.2 million farms in the same span of time."

Coldiretti maintains that in Italy, home of the Slow Food movement, soil sealing and unsustainable development have led to 5 million people becoming vulnerable to landslides and flooding. Soil sealing is a major problem throughout the EU, where the latest report on the issue found that over 1,000 km² of land per year, or an area the size of Cyprus every ten years, is lost to soil sealing in the bloc.

As well as problems with sealing, erosion from unsustainable practices, which are damaging soil health, is also taking its toll. In the UK alone, the last major study of soil, conducted in 2009, showed 2 million tonnes of topsoil is being eroded every year in the country.

US policy group makes recommendations ahead of Earth Day

Providing a scathing analysis of the current 'productionist' agricultural paradigm, Worldwatch said on Friday, "Agriculture contributes to nearly 30 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. And the environmental damage brought on by the agricultural sector poses significant threats to the industry itself. The rise of processed foods and a push for high-yield, single-crop farms, is leading to not only soil degradation and water scarcity, but also unhealthy consumers."

Worldwatch urged people to become more involved with their food – transitioning from being consumers into becoming citizens. The research organisation made a wide-ranging series of recommendations ahead of Earth Day, including producing more Perennial crops, which tend to hold water in soil more effectively than annuals and help prevent erosion. Extensive roots also allow them to better access nutrients and water, reducing the need for artificial fertiliser. The Institute also advised for crop rotation, as a means to preserve soil nutrients, protect against pests and diseases and prevent soil erosion, as well as wider initiatives to improve and protect soil health.

Echoing recommendations made last week by the Transnational Institute and Via Campesina in Europe, Worldwatch advised citizens to reclaim unused land and buildings for food production. People have reconnected with their food where they live through a wide range of models, from the Plant in Chicago, a former meatpacking plant that has been converted into a wasteless vertical farm, where crops are grown using aquaponics, to SoLiLA in Vienna, where young people acting together have occupied and reclaimed urban spaces for community supported agriculture and city food gardening. 

In Italy, Coldiretti said "If the ruling class has neglected the cultural value of agriculture, land conservation and food – amongst the few levers for a return to growth – in recent years a deep awareness has developed amongst citizens at least." The farming association estimates that 21 million Italians shopped at farmers' markets in the past year, supporting local food and farming and upholding "a code of ethics and good environmental conduct."

Sustainable food is big business in Italy, where organic sales rose 7.3 percent in 2012, though farming unions have lamented a lack of government support.

"On Earth Day, Italian farmers are making a commitment to stop land-use conversion and land degradation, to prevent transgenic contamination and industrial pollution, to provide safe and healthy food and to create, and pass on to future generations, an effective and more sustainable development model," said David Granieri, President of Coldiretti.