ASPA’S POSITION ON THE "HEALTHY DIET" PROPOSED BY THE EAT-LANCET COMMISSION AND OBESITY-LANCET COMMISSION

ASPA’S POSITION ON THE "HEALTHY DIET" PROPOSED BY THE EAT-LANCET COMMISSION AND OBESITY-
LANCET COMMISSION
The Animal Sciences and Production Association (ASPA), having read the documents published in The
Lancet journal as a result of the work of the commissions (Eat-Lancet Food in the Anthropocene: the
EAT-Lancet Commission on healthy diets from sustainable food systems) and Obesity-Lancet (The
Global Syndication of Obesity, Undernutrition and Climate Change: The Lancet Commission report),
made public in January 2019, expresses the following position:
a) ASPA expresses strong doubts about the method adopted by The Lancet to bring together a
limited panel of experts and present its work as a consequence of the international scientific
community. Science does not allow delegations and the aforementioned reports have not been
subjected to the debate that should have preceded their publication.
b) The international scientific societies competent in matters of quality and safety of products of
animal origin have been excluded from participating in the work of the two commissions.
c) ASPA finds that the media strategies used by The Lancet (embargo of papers, press releases
and press conferences, etc.) are not aligned with the norm of scientific communication that
puts doubts and dialogue before media hype and ideological clash.
d) ASPA reiterates that there cannot be a "healthy diet" and even less a "universal zero-impact diet".
ASPA is a supporter of the "Mediterranean Diet" model, as formulated by UNESCO, which
recognizes it as an intangible heritage of Humanity. In particular, ASPA is convinced that all the
foods historically deriving from agriculture, breeding and fishing must be a part of it according to
traditional recipes that vary from people to people. Likewise, ASPA respects the diets of other
peoples that are equally capable of feeding themselves in a balanced manner and with traditional
food products.
e) ASPA also considers unacceptable the appeal of the two The Lancet committees for a taxation of
foodstuffs deemed to be wrongly dangerous; the combination of consumption of food products
with the damage caused by smoking or drugs is even less acceptable: food education and
conscious consumption must be placed on a dialectic level that is totally different from that
relative to smoking and drugs.
f) ASPA does not deny the importance of the phenomena reported by The Lancet, or the
environmental impact of agricultural and livestock activities and the emergence of the problem
of obesity. However, they believe that there is no single universal solution to solve problems that

occur on a local scale and involve individual behaviors. In this sense, ASPA has been organizing
its own congresses for years on the issues of environmental and social sustainability of
agriculture, livestock farming, forestry, fishing and related industries, resulting in the production
of a substantial open access scientific literature.
g) ASPA believes that, as belonging to the Mediterranean, our agriculture, forestry, livestock and
food technologies must balance the needs of preserving traditions with those of scientific and
technological progress, the only one capable of sustainably feeding a planet that is ever more
crowded.
That said, ASPA asks the country's political, social, economic and cultural forces to look carefully
and critically at the messages that, although deriving from the scientific world, have not strictly
followed the correct method, especially when announced with a media hype.
ASPA is available to make all comparisons on these issues with public opinion and decision makers
to reaffirm the solidity and social value of the work carried out by the Italian researchers it
represents.
Viterbo, 1st June 2019
1 RONCHI BRUNO Full Professor of
Nutrition and animal
feeding and nutrition
President of ASPA
2 PULINA GIUSEPPE Full Professor of Animal
Technologies
Honorary President ASPA
3 MACCIOTTA NICOLÒ PIETRO Full Professor of Animals
PAOLO
genetics
ASPA Vice President
4 CAVANI CLAUDIO Full Professor of Animals
Technologies
Member of the ASPA Board
of Directors
5 AVONDO MARCELLA Full Professor of Animal
feeding and nutrition
University of Tuscia
University of Sassari
University of Sassari
University of Bologna
University of Catania
6 TRABALZA MARINUCCI
MASSIMO
Member of the ASPA Board
of Directors
Associate professor of
Animal feeding and
nutrition
University of Perugia

Member of the ASPA Board
of Directors
7 MELE MARCELLO Full Professor of Animal
Technologies
Chief Editor of Italian
Journal of Animal Science
8 SCHIAVON STEFANO Full Professor of Animal
feeding and nutrition
9 CULLERE MARCO Researcher of Small animals
and aquaculture
10 SCIPIONI ROSANNA Full Professor of Animal
Technologies
11 IAFFALDANO NICOLAIA Associate Professor of
Economy and Management
12 RAPETTI LUCA Full Professor of Animal
nutrition and feeding
13 DANIELI PIER PAOLO Researcher of Animal
Technologies
14 PACI GISELLA Associate Professor Small
animals and aquaculture
15 DALLE ZOTTE ANTONELLA Full Professor of Small
animals and aquaculture
16 SAVOINI GIOVANNI Full Professor of Animal
feeding and nutrition
17 CROVETTO G. MATTEO Full Professor of Animal
feeding and nutrition
18 ROSSI FILIPPO Researcher of Applied
human nutrition
19 TREVISI ERMINIO Associate Professor of
Animal Technologies
20 SEVI AGOSTINO Full Professor of Animal
Technologies
21 BERNABUCCI UMBERTO Full Professor of Animal
feeding and nutrition
22 POLIDORI PAOLO Full Professor of Animal
feeding and nutrition
23 CASTELLINI CESARE Associate Professor of Small
animals and aquaculture
24 CONTE GIUSEPPE Researcher of Animal
genetics
25 PIRLO GIACOMO Senior Research of Animal
science
26 BONANNO ADRIANA Associate Professor of
Animal Technologies
University of Pisa
University of Padua
University of Padua
University of Modena-
Reggio Emilia
University of Molise
University of Milano
University of Tuscia
University of Pisa
University of Padua
University of Milan
University of Milan
Catholic University of the
Sacred Heart Piacenza
Catholic University of the
Sacred Heart Piacenza
Foggia
University of Tuscia
Camerino
University of Perugia
University of Pisa
Agricultural Research
Council - Cremona
University of Palermo

27 BORGHESE ANTONIO
General Secretary
International Buffalo
Federation
Agricultural Research
Council - Roma
28 BUCCIONI ARIANNA Associate Professor of
Animal feeding and
nutrition
29 MINIERI SARA Researcher of Animal
genetics
30 BOVOLENTA STEFANO Associate Professor of
Animal Technologies
31 PUGLIESE CAROLINA Associate Professor of
Animal Technologies
32 ZOCCARATO IVO Full Professor of Small
animals and aquaculture
33 SUMMER ANDREA Full Professor of Animal
Technologies
34 DALL’OLIO STEFANIA Full Professor of Animal
genetics
35 NANNI COSTA LEONARDO Full Professor of Animal
Technologies
36 SABBIONI ALBERTO Full Professor of Animal
genetics
37 MINOZZI GIULIETTA Researcher of Animal
genetics
38 MANTOVANI ROBERTO Full Professor of Animal
genetics
University of Pisa
University of Pisa
University of Udine
University of Florence
University of Turin
University of Parma
University of Bologna
University of Bologna
University of Parma
University of Milan
University of Padua
39
BAILONI LUCIA
Full Professor of Animal
feeding and nutrition
University of Padua
40
DI STASIO LILIANA
Full Professor of Animal
genetics
University of Turin
41 BAVA LUCIANA Associate Professor of
Animal Technologies
42 STEFANON BRUNO Full Professor of Animal
Technologies
43
Associate Professor of
PRANDINI ALDO
Animal Technologies
44 ZICARELLI LUIGI Full Professor of Animal
genetics
45 BIONDI LUISA Associate Professor of
Animal Technologies
University of Milan
University of Udine
University of Piacenza
University of Naples
University of Catania

46
ACUTI GABRIELE
Full Professor of Animal
feeding and nutrition
University of Perugia
47 DI FRANCIA ANTONIO Full Professor of Animal
feeding and nutrition
48 ROSSI LUCIANA Researcher of Animal
genetics
49 GALLO LUIGI Full Professor of Animal
Technologies
50 MUSSA PIER PAOLO Full Professor of Animal
Technologies
51 NEGLIA GIANLUCA Associate Professor of
Animal Technologies
52 ROSATI ANDREA Secretary General
EAAP - the European
Federation of Animal
Science
53 ZECCONI ALFONSO Full Professor of Infectious
Diseases of Domestic
Animals
54 SAROGLIA MARCO Full Professor of Small
animals and aquaculture
55
Full Professor of Small
NIZZA ANTONINO
animals and aquaculture
56 MORBIDINI LUCIANO Associate Professor of
Animal Technologies
57 GIULIOTTI LORELLA Associate Professor of
Animal Technologies
58 PONZETTA MARIA PAOLA Researcher of Animal
genetics
59 FRANCI ORESTE Full Professor of Animal
Technologies
60 SANDRUCCI ANNA Associate Professor of
Special Animal Husbandry
61 CAMPANILE GIUSEPPE Full Professor of Animal
Technologies
62 BERTONI GIUSEPPE Full Professor of Animal
Technologies
63 MARINO ROSARIA Full Professor of Animal
Technologies
64 BIAGI GIACOMO Associate Professor of
Animal feeding and
nutrition
University of Naples
University of Milan
University of Padua
University of Turin
University of Naples
FAO - Rome
University of Milan
University of Insubria
University of Naples
University of Perugia
University of Pisa
University of Florence
University of Florence
University of Milan
University of Naples
Catholic University of the
Sacred Heart - Piacenza
University of Foggia
University of Bologna

65 FORMIGONI ANDREA Full Professor of Animal
feeding and nutrition
66 PENASA MAURO Associate Professor of
Animal genetics
67 BARONE CARMELA M.A. Full Professor of Animal
Technologies
68 MARTUZZI FRANCESCA Full Professor of Animal
Technologies
69 RUSSO VINCENZO Full Professor of Animal
Technologies
70 CHESSA STEFANIA Researcher of Animal
genetics
71 CASTIGLIONI BIANCA Adjunct Professor of Animal
genetics
72 XICCATO GEROLAMO Full Professor of Small
animals and aquaculture
73 MARTINO GIUSEPPE Associate Professor of
Animal Technologies
74 ENNE GIUSEPPE Full Professor of Animal
Technologies
75 OLIVIERI OLIVIERO Full Professor of Animal
feeding and nutrition
University of Bologna
University of Legnaro
University of Naples
University of Parma
University of Bologna
University of Torino
University of Lodi
University of Padua
University of Teramo
University of Sassari
University of Perugia