Friday 22 / November / 2024
As I joined the sea of people descending the ramps of the Universal Exposition in Milan, I couldn’t help but wonder, in the age of the internet, is the Expo still relevant? In this globalized world, do tens of millions really need to visit trade fairs to learn about the planet? It was a concept that began in the 1850s.
In an age far less connected than today, the Expo was an opportunity for countries to showcase their very best, influencing the development of commerce, art and architecture, education, technology and tourism. Inventions such as the telephone, aluminium and steel were first presented at such exhibitions.
Thinkers like Charles Darwin would introduce their research. Culture was exchanged, knowledge shared. Much like the Old Silk Road.
Today Universal Expos held every five years continue to facilitate cultural exchange and nation branding. Spread over one million square meters, some fifty-four self-built pavilions were laid out country by country. A hundred and forty nations participated. By the end of it, more than 20 million people visited the Milan expo.
For Milan, playing host for the second time, this was an opportunity to boost optimism. As the General Director of the Expo 2015 Piero Galli explained, Italy has gone through a rough economic patch of late. The Expo presents a shift and signifies a resurgence. For local Italians, it is a way to provide a sense of optimism and pride, and for outsiders, a means of showing what Italy is about.
The theme when I visited was Feeding the Planet, and who better than the Italians for that?
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Whether it was giant food statues inspired by Italian Mannerist painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo, or installations representing China’s wheat fields, or algae panacotta, the goal was to provide an opportunity for audiences to engage with themes of agriculture, environment and the future of food. As people enjoyed the voyage through the planet’s many cultures, they were encouraged to think about the contradictions of our world.
While 870 million are undernourished, 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted every year. How can we make better use to of the food we have? How can we use the best technology to create a balance between availability and consumption of resources? When conventional means of protein run out or become too expensive, what will we be eating?
We filmed an algae canopy, which was set up to raise awareness about what could be the most viable future food source. As environmental architect Marco Poletto explained, algae is everywhere, in every city, pond and river, but humans are not using or exploiting it.
A few pieces of algae has the same amount of protein as one steak. If entire buildings are clad with algae, they can provide cities with oxygen and feed the planet.
In the Expo’s supermarket of the future, experts explored how changing presentation and providing greater transparency can affect the way people interact with food. Food was displayed in low stalls reminiscent of an open square bazaar.
From one end of the giant hall you could see right through to the other, and all the people and goods within it. The idea is to once again make the supermarket a meeting point not just for food but for people. A place that facilitates trade and talk.
Vital information about the product is displayed in digital mirrors, from the origins of the food, to calories, to the carbon dioxide it produced to the tree or plant it grew on.
In many ways, the Milan Expo is the perfect way to end my nine month journey along the Silk Road for this CNN series. Centuries ago, traders met in marketplaces like Baku and Samarkand.
Today they meet at Expos, the ultimate manifestation of the cultural and commercial exchange of ideas. Bringing tens of millions together, sharing ideas, pushing innovation, facilitating trade and perhaps most importantly planning out the basis for future development.
The purpose is to unite and ignite curiosity. Unlike the internet, at the Universal Expo you can have real conversations with people from all over the world and real life experiences.
You may be able to google what a crocodile or zebra burger from Zimbabwe looks like, but here you can taste it.
Sumnima Udas is the presenter of CNN’s Silk Road: Past, Present, Future
