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ReACT Rome: For quality of life, it is basics that count most

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20140124PHT33703_originalRomans have always known how to enjoy life, in good times and bad. Τhis is also why the European Parliament decided to host in Rome its ReACT event on Quality of Life, one of five held throughout Europe on different themes ahead of the May 2014 European Elections. The conference was held in Cinecittà, the legendary cinema studios on January 23. Health, sustainability and food were on the menu of the day for the experts and citizens attending the event.

Sustainability: 'Resources are limited but needs are always growing'

"The biggest changes in the world happened in the last 50 years" but "we cannot live in a world pretending that resources are endless..." geologist and moderator of the event Mario Tozzi said at the beginning of the discussion. Pointing to an inescapable reality, climate expert Professor Riccardo Valentini said: "40% of the land in the world is used for agriculture", but in 2050, 8 people in 10 will live in cities: Who will work the land?"

Food: 'We are what we eat'

Health and sustainability go together for TV star and famous chef Carlo Cracco. "Out of every ten things we buy, we eat only seven. We have to learn how to buy our food!" And we also would need to start thinking what we eat, starting with food education at school. Cracco thinks that people should take great care about what they buy. But it is of course, easier said than done and that is where proper labelling comes in: shoppers "have the right to know what they eat: that's why labelling is such an important thing". After all, good wholesome food starts with the basics -  ingredients.

Health: 'No man is an island, we have to care of each other'

English poet John Donne first wrote it; Nick Hornby and Hugh Grant brought it to the screen and TV journalist and health expert Michele Mirabella, one of the three speakers of ReACT Rome event, repeated it, speaking about health in Europe today: "No man is an island, we have to care of each other." "Tobacco, counterfeit medicines, access to health...We need more European directives to protect all European citizens, and even more than that: we should protect all human beings," he added.

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