The health-nutrition dimension: a methodological approach to assess the nutritional sustainability of typical agro-food products and the Mediterranean diet.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this paper is to provide a methodological approach to evaluate the nutritional sustainability of typical agro-food products, representing Mediterranean eating habits and included in the Mediterranean food pyramid. RESULTS: For each group of foods, suitable and easily measurable indicators were identified. Two macro-indicators were used to assess the nutritional sustainability of each product. The first macro-indicator, called 'business distinctiveness', takes into account the application of different regulations and standards regarding quality, safety and traceability as well as the origin of raw materials. The second macro-indicator, called 'nutritional quality', assesses product nutritional quality taking into account the contents of key compounds including micronutrients and bioactive phytochemicals. For each indicator a 0-10 scoring system was set up, with scores from 0 (unsustainable) to 10 (very sustainable), with 5 as a sustainability benchmark value. The benchmark value is the value from which a product can be considered sustainable. A simple formula was developed to produce a sustainability index. CONCLUSION: The proposed sustainability index could be considered a useful tool to describe both the qualitative and quantitative value of micronutrients and bioactive phytochemical present in foodstuffs. This methodological approach can also be applied beyond the Mediterranean, to food products in other world regions. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Mediterranean countries' food consumption and sourcing patterns:An Ecological Footprint viewpoint.

Securing food for growing populations while minimizing environmental externalities is becoming a key topic in the current sustainability debate. This is particularly true in the Mediterranean region, which is characterized by scarce natural resources and increasing climate-related impacts. This paper focuses on the pressure Mediterranean people place on the Earth ecosystems because of their food consumption and sourcing patterns and then explores ways in which such pressure can be reduced. To do so, it uses an Ecological-Footprint-Extended Multi-Regional Input-Output (EF-MRIO) approach applied to 15 Mediterranean countries. Results indicate that food consumption is a substantial driver of the region's ecological deficit, whereby demand for renewable resources and ecosystems services outpaces the capacity of its ecosystems to provide them. Portugal, Malta and Greece are found to have the highest per capita food Footprints (1.50, 1.25 and 1.22 global hectares (gha), respectively), while Slovenia, Egypt and Israel have the lowest (0.63, 0.64 and 0.79gha, respectively). With the exception of France, all Mediterranean countries rely on the biocapacity of foreign countries to satisfy their residents' demand for food. By analyzing the effect of shifting to a calorie-adequate diet or changing dietary patterns, we finally point out that the region's Ecological Footprint - and therefore its ecological deficit - could be reduced by 8% to 10%.

Natural resources - food nexus: food-related environmental footprints in the mediterranean countries.

Immediate action is required in the Mediterranean to address environmental degradation that is mainly driven by consumption patterns. Increasing stress on biological and social systems is put by unsustainable consumption patterns. Food consumption patterns are important drivers of environment degradation. The objective of this review paper is to explore natural resources-food nexus in the Mediterranean region by highlighting the environmental footprints of the current consumption and production patterns. Secondary data from different sources such as FAOSTAT, the World Bank, Water Footprint Network (WFN), and Global Footprint Network were used to analyze the situation in 21 Mediterranean countries. The region faces many environmental challenges, e.g., land degradation, water scarcity, environment pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change. The current consumption patterns imply high ecological, carbon, and water footprints of consumption and unfavorable national virtual-water balances. Food Balance Sheets data show that the contribution of vegetal and animal-based food product groups to food supply is variable among the Mediterranean countries. This has implications also in terms of the WF of food supply, which was calculated for Bosnia, Egypt, Italy, Morocco, and Turkey. The WF of the current diet resulted lower than that of the proposed Mediterranean one in the case of Italy. There is a strong scientific evidence supporting assumption that it is so also for other Mediterranean countries. The Mediterranean is characterized by a high resource use intensity that is further exacerbated by food losses and waste (FLW). In fact, FLW implies the loss of precious resources (water, land, energy) and inputs (fertilizers). Therefore, it is crucial to increase adherence to the traditional Mediterranean diet and to reduce FLW in order to foster transition to more sustainable food consumption patterns thus reducing pressure on the scarce resources of the Mediterranean region.