WHY BARILLA?

“While we cannot stop the continuing evolution of the planet, we have the moral duty to suggest orientations and make proposals so that we can interact in a responsible manner  with it”.


The idea of infinite development, unlimited growth, the self-regulating ability of the market, has definitively been eclipsed. Now, more than ever, the factor having the greatest impact on building our future is the unforeseeable.
 
Scenarios for the future are characterized by dramatic demographic dynamics, culture is seen as a mere extension of markets and there are uncertainties about our petroleum reserves, dwindling water supplies, global warming…

However, crises accelerate change and the resulting discontinuities can create opportunity. The concept of “sustainability”, once an elitist idea being the province of dreamers or prophets of doom, has now become an obligatory approach in all fields, seeing growth as being primarily guided by what is good for people. While we cannot stop the continuing evolution of the planet, we have the moral duty to suggest orientations and make proposals so that we can interact in a responsible manner with it.

As entrepreneurs and leading companies, our sense of responsibility, along with our values, competencies and will, prompts us to take action. This is levelheaded yet imbued with a sense of urgency—to mobilize resources in order to respond to this broad range of pressing issues.

As a food products company, we are keenly aware of the key role that food and nutrition play now, and that this role will be even more determining for future generations. This is what underlies our conviction of the need for the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition, a think tank and engine of change with the objective of assembling the best available global knowledge on themes of food and nutrition and how they relate to people, the environment, science and economics.

We analyze these themes and propose solutions to meet the challenges regarding food and nutrition in the upcoming future, reflecting on the aspirations, needs and demands of people, seeking to know the future so that we can live better lives in the present.

Guido Barilla