Six Yes votes to change course: from SANA Food and Slow Wine Fair, the FederBio, Legambiente, and Slow Food Italia alliance for increasingly healthy, fair, and sustainable agriculture is strengthened.

As part of SANA Food and the Slow Wine Fair—leading events for organic products and the culture of good, clean, and fair food and wine—FederBio, Legambiente, and Slow Food Italy have relaunched their strategic alliance with a clear political message: agroecology as the cornerstone of the Italian and European agricultural transition.

In a historic moment marked by climate crisis, biodiversity loss, soil depletion, and social tensions, the three organizations presented their joint platform, consisting of six programmatic points outlining an alternative to intensive agriculture. This roadmap takes on even greater urgency today, especially in light of the recent European decisions contained in the Ninth Omnibus Package.

1. Yes to agroecology, no to intensive agriculture

The agroecological transition is no longer a theoretical horizon but a concrete necessity. Intensive agriculture has led to soil erosion, water pollution, a drastic reduction in biodiversity, and a structural dependence on synthetic chemicals. According to Legambiente's Pesticide Dossier 2025, 75% of fruit and 40% of vegetables are contaminated by pesticide residues. Agroecology—of which organic represents the most advanced expression—integrates scientific knowledge and traditional practices, reduces external inputs, strengthens climate resilience, and restores soil fertility. Coherent public policies, targeted incentives, and a review of subsidies are needed, which unfortunately continue to reward models with a high environmental impact.

2. Yes to organic farming and biocontrol, no to synthetic chemicals and GMOs old and new

Organic farming, which has now exceeded 20% of Italy's UAA (utilized agricultural area), is a concrete lever for reducing pesticides and chemical fertilizers, ensuring ecosystem services, and offering farmers profitability through transparent supply chains and fair prices. Market access for biocontrol products must be accelerated, with a regulatory framework appropriate to their nature, but without turning simplification into deregulation. Traceability and consumer protection must remain central, as must the defense of agricultural biodiversity against drifts that refocus on GMOs and technological solutions that fail to address the structural causes of the crisis. For this reason, we call for all NGT (new genomic techniques) to remain subject to GMO regulations, in compliance with the precautionary principle, ensuring the separation of supply chains for organic farmers and GMO-free farmers who wish to cultivate according to an agroecological approach.

3. Yes to animal and ecosystem-friendly farming, no to industrial livestock farming

Intensive industrial livestock farming is among the main pressures on climate, air quality, and water resources. Revitalization requires extensive and organic models, reduced stocking density and feed dependence, integration between livestock farming and the local environment, and the promotion of local breeds. Reducing excess meat production and consumption, supporting virtuous farms, and directing public resources toward low-impact systems is an environmental, economic, and health-related choice.

4. Yes to structural nutrition education, no to ultra-processed foods

Transforming the agri-food system also depends on culture. Introducing nutrition education into all schools means developing informed citizens, capable of reading labels, understanding the origins of food, and recognizing the value of biodiversity and seasonality. Countering the excess of ultra-processed foods and promoting healthy and sustainable diets is a strategy for preventing health problems and reducing environmental impact.

5. Yes to waste reduction and the circular economy, no to the linear model

Every year, tons of food are lost along the supply chain, while food insecurity is growing. It is necessary to address production, distribution, and consumption with fiscal measures, incentives for the recovery of surpluses, and circular models capable of transforming waste into a resource. The fight against waste is an integral part of environmental and social justice.

6. Yes to rights, no to gangmastering and agro-mafias

There can be no environmental sustainability without social justice. The fight against gangmastering, agro-mafias, and labor exploitation must be strengthened with effective controls, ethical supply chains, and protections for those who work the land. Ensuring dignity, safety, and a fair income is a prerequisite for a fair agricultural system.

The Omnibus Node: Simplification or Retreat?

The strengthening of the alliance between FederBio, Legambiente, and Slow Food Italy comes as both Italy and Europe are debating the ninth Omnibus package, which includes—among other measures—an indefinite extension of the authorizations for several plant protection products and an extension of the grace periods for banned pesticides to up to three years.

According to the three organizations, the need to streamline and improve procedures for biocontrol products cannot translate into an indiscriminate shortcut that ultimately favors synthetic chemicals. The indefinite extension of authorizations for synthetic pesticides and the reduction in the weight of the most up-to-date scientific evidence risk compromising the protection of health, biodiversity, and the quality of European agri-food production. The competitiveness of agriculture is not built on permanent exemptions, but on ecological innovation, independent research, a genuine reduction in synthetic chemicals, and consistency with the objectives of the Green Deal and the European Strategies. At stake is not only a regulatory framework, but the agricultural development model that Europe intends to pursue in the coming decades.

The Bologna meeting therefore marks a significant political transition: the alliance between FederBio, Legambiente, and Slow Food Italy aims to provide a cultural and technical platform to guide public decisions toward a regenerative agri-food system, capable of addressing the climate crisis, social justice, and the right to healthy food. This is not a mere sum of issues, but a shared platform aimed at having a concrete impact on national and European policies.

"We are here today to reiterate the centrality of environmental and social issues in the path toward ecological transition. The new CAP has been under discussion in recent months, and the perspective with which European policy is approached is important. This policy shapes our food, and with it our territories, the environment, and the social and health conditions of all of us citizens. Because we are convinced that discussing competitiveness and economic sustainability without addressing the protection of biodiversity and soil fertility, without considering the management of inland areas, especially in Italy, represents a short-sighted vision that focuses on a competitiveness that is incapable of guaranteeing a future of peace and prosperity, and the good, clean, and fair food that nourishes it, for everyone," said Barbara Nappini, President of Slow Food Italy .

" This alliance aims to accelerate the agroecological transition, supporting farmers with concrete proposals to consolidate the ecological transformation of the agri-food sector," emphasized Maria Grazia Mammuccini, President of FederBio . "The future of the planet requires immediate and coordinated action. Organic farming offers a concrete response to the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and food security. It is a resilient and sustainable model that protects soils, ecosystems, and agricultural income, strengthening the connection between producers, citizens, and local communities. The risks to health, the environment, and food quality associated with pesticides are now evident. For this reason, we welcomed the European Parliament's resolution aimed at innovating the regulation for biocontrol products, which will provide alternatives to synthetic chemicals for all agriculture. We are, however, extremely concerned by the Commission's decision to simultaneously introduce measures that weaken the regulatory framework for synthetic pesticides, thus marking a further step backwards from the objectives of the Green Deal. The amendments that provide for unlimited approvals are deeply concerning: especially in the renewals New toxic effects emerge periodically. Simplification cannot become a green light for high-impact products.

The alliance relaunched in Bologna between FederBio, Legambiente, and Slow Food Italy is not a symbolic gesture, but a clear choice. Italian and European agriculture is at a crossroads: continue to pursue an intensive, energy-intensive, and chemical-dependent model, or invest decisively in an agroecological system capable of regenerating soils, protecting biodiversity, and guaranteeing farmers' incomes. For us, the direction is clear.

At Legambiente, we believe that the competitiveness of the primary sector is not built on permanent exemptions, but on independent research, support for organic farming, transparent supply chains, a structural reduction in chemical inputs, and consistency with European climate objectives. We need a Common Agricultural Policy that rewards those who regenerate the land, protect inland areas, reduce emissions, and create decent jobs, combating gang-mastering and agro-mafias. The six "Yes" votes we have updated together represent a concrete platform for guiding public policy: yes to agroecology, yes to organic farming and biocontrol, yes to animal and ecosystem-friendly farming, yes to structural food education, yes to waste reduction, yes to rights along the entire supply chain. This is where the ecological transition of the agri-food sector depends. Not on regulatory shortcuts, but on a political project capable of reconciling the environment, social justice, and the right to healthy food for all," said Stefano Ciafani, President of Legambiente.