PR2 Food sustainability VET Teachers' Training (Leader: IDG)

WATER AND ENERGY MANAGEMENT FOOD

AND FOOD’S FOOTPRINTS - UNIT 3
LIST OF CONTENTS

• Topic 1. The relationship between our food

systems and emerging global environmental
risks
• Topic 2. Quantification of the different
environmental impact of food groups
• Topic 3. Hints and tips for improving resource
efficiency in terms of water and energy
management
 Brief introduction about the Unit and its objectives and competences

• This learning unit focuses on our food systems and emerging global environmental
risks. In particular, the module highlights the different environmental impacts of
food, water and energy.
• Starting with a few concepts, we will understand how responsible food choices and
the intelligent use of water and energy resources are important in reducing human
damage to the environment.
 Topic 1. The relationship between our food systems and emerging global
environmental risks
• Climate change, poses a serious threat to humanity's food security causing huge global
environmental risks.
• The food sector contributes gas emissions, for 34% of carbon dioxide emissions.
• Most of the greenhouse gas emissions are methane, pollution caused mainly by intensive
livestock farming to meet the demand for meat, particularly beef.
• Reducing the ecological footprint of the food system requires a diet based on plant-
based, free-range and sustainable products.
Topic 1. The relationship between our food systems and emerging global
environmental risks

Un Food Systems Summit, held on 23 September 2021 in New York, had the aim to take
stocks of the achievement on 17 SDGs Goals of Agenda 2030, and Guterres (UN Secretary-
General) affirmed that the pandemic has highlighted the links between inequality,
poverty, food, disease and our planet.
That is why we need to change production and consumption patterns through five actions:

1. adopt nutrition-focused food policies such as school feeding programmes;

2. supporting local markets and food supply chains;

3. increase agricultural funding to 20 per cent of expenditure;

4. encourage farmer cooperatives and ensure women's access to productive inputs; and

5. expand social safety net programmes and invest in climate early warning systems
 Topic 1. The relationship between our food systems and emerging global
environmental risks

https://youtu.be/VcL3BQeteCc

https://youtu.be/H37grur6HaU

unfoundation.org/blog/post/climate-change-and-the-future-of-food/
 Topic 1. The relationship between our food systems and emerging global
environmental risks

T F
1. Meat production is a considerable source of greenhouse gas
emissions
T F
2.The European Green Deal is the EU’s commitment to be the
first climate-neutral continent by 2030.
T F
3.Agroforestry can cut emissions by creating additional “carbon
sinks” on farms
 Topic 2. Quantification of the different environmental impact of food
groups
• Environmental impact is the footprint left by every object, food and/or human
behaviour on nature that can be traced back to the emission of CO ₂.
• However, along with the amount of CO₂ emitted as a result of a certain practice, the
consumption of natural resources such as water and energy consumption must also be
taken into account.

BASIC INDICATORS OF FOOD ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Three basic indicators are used to determine the environmental impact of food:
• the water footprint, to quantify consumption and use of water resources;
• the ecological footprint, for the amount of land needed to provide resources;
• the carbon footprint, to measure greenhouse gas emissions.
Topic 2. Quantification of the different environmental impact of food
groups
APPROPRIATE DIET REQUIREMENTS

An appropriate dietary choice requires:

• reduce meat consumption
• limit consumption of energy-rich foods,
• limit food waste: do your shopping by buying only what you need and prepare
fair portions of food;
• being informed of the climate emergency and taking action to protect the
environment and our health.
 Topic 2. Quantification of the different environmental impact of food groups
POSSIBLE SUSTAINABLE CHOICES

So, at the table we can make sustainable choices and follow an eco-friendly diet based on sustainable food with low
environmental impact in terms of land use, water resources used such as:
• Local 0 km products;
• Fresh, seasonal fruit and vegetables and plant-based foods;
• Olive oil as a source of fat;
• Cheese and/or yoghurt with daily consumption;
• Sustainable food products;
• Organic eggs;
• Dairy products and cheeses from small-scale producers;
• Organic food, grown without GMOs and pesticides;
• Meat from sustainable, non-intensive livestock farms, respecting animal welfare;
• Local fish and products from sustainable fisheries;
• Products in bulk or with recyclable packaging that preserves the food over time.
Topic 2. Quantification of the different environmental impact of food groups
Quantification of the different environmental impact of food groups –
“GOOD, CLEAN AND FAIR”

These sustainable choices are the thread running through Slow food's slogan: 'Good, clean and fair'
and encapsulates the whole concept of sustainable food because it respects the environment, animal
and human health and the criteria of naturalness.
However, good information is always needed, so it is important to read the labels and ask the retailer
what you are buying.
To choose sustainable food one must:
• buy locally sourced products
• sourcing directly from producers;
• choose bulk products that do not use packaging;
• choose seasonal fruit and vegetables.
 Topic 2. Quantification of the different environmental impact of food groups
SOME NON-SUSTAINABLE FOODS

In practice, they are unsustainable foods:

1. Meat and dairy products because of the land, water and energy consumption involved in its production;
2. Fish because it is the result of overexploitation leading to imbalances in marine ecosystems and intensive
and illegal fishing;
3. Quinoa as more and more land is being exploited to cultivate it;
4. Soya, produced mainly in Brazil and Argentina, countries with many problems of deforestation;
5. Palm oil, increasingly present on food labels, is mainly produced in Indonesia and Malaysia, and is also the
cause of massive deforestation;
6. Bananas whose negative environmental impact is due to their export from Ecuador, the Philippines, Costa
Rica, Colombia and Guatemala to the rest of the world.
7. Chocolate which comes from a plant that only grows in certain areas around the equatorial forests and, due
to increased demand, small producers are planting cocoa deforesting and destroying local biodiversity.
 Topic 2. The relationship between our food systems and
emerging global environmental risks

https://youtu.be/LamL6j351Es
 Topic 2. The relationship between our food systems and
emerging global environmental risks

T F
1. 30 % of greenhouse gas emissions come from the food
system.
T F
2. Beef and lamb tend to have the smallest impact on climate
change.
T F
3. Eat less meet diary, and more protein-rich plants could be a
good solution.
 Topic 3. Hints and tips for improving resource efficiency
in terms of water and energy management
• The environmental crisis linked to climate change and the recent Covid-19 pandemic have made
the strong interrelationships between our health, ecosystems, supply chains, consumption patterns
and planetary limits even more evident. This is why a robust and resilient agri-food system that
functions under all circumstances and ensures sufficient supplies of affordable, sustainable and
healthy food for citizens is crucial.
• Many companies in the IV Gamma sector - fresh and washed fruit and vegetables - contribute to
the objectives of the strategy towards a sustainable, healthy and fair agri-food system. These
products - packaged and ready to eat - not only contribute to our health by encouraging the
consumption of fruit and vegetables in our daily diet, but also represent a highly sustainable
choice from an environmental point of view in line with the European Green New Deal
commitments and the Farm to Fork strategy.
• IV range companies have the objective of certifying and guaranteeing food safety with
continuous checks on the production chain in order to have a safe product. In Europe, Italy
represents one of the excellences on the international market, recognised by the quantity of
products sold in Italy and exported.
Topic 3. Hints and tips for improving resource efficiency in terms of water and energy management
Topic 3. Hints and tips for improving resource efficiency in
terms of water and energy management
• The IV Gamma focuses on the sustainability of production processes: reduced food waste and
energy consumption, being already peeled, washed and portioned is zero waste, as the contents
of the package are available for consumption in their entirety.
• Production waste is then 100 per cent re-used, mainly for animal feed, in a perfectly circular
way.
• A conspicuous reduction in water and energy requirements from the consumption point of
view, thanks to technological innovations,. Furthermore the company's process is considerably
more efficient as the washing process consumes around 90 % less water than the domestic
process for the same product.
• Since 40% of the plastic disposed of in Europe is related to packaging and only 9% is
recycled, the European Union is looking for innovative solutions to limit the use of plastic
in packaging.
Topic 3. Hints and tips for improving resource efficiency in
terms of water and energy management
In summary, it can be said that the IV Gamma is an extremely dynamic and
growing sector, despite the temporary drop in sales induced by the pandemic.

However, the sector is facing some major challenges. This is a far from simple
challenge, given the disparities in the social, health and economic spheres;
moreover, political actors at local, national and international level are not always in
agreement.

To meet this challenge, it is necessary to identify and promote innovative

solutions that offer the right tools to tackle it by transforming what is currently
experienced as a threat into an opportunity.
Topic 3. Hints and tips for improving resource efficiency in
terms of water and energy management

• https://youtu.be/CKW_ux2Xo_w

• https://youtu.be/9fRaA_JCVTM

• https://www.worldbank.org/content/dam/Worldbank/Feature%20Story/SDN/Water/infographic-water-use-
en-900x4324.jpg
 Topic 3. The relationship between our food systems and emerging global
environmental risks

T F
1. It took over 3,000 liters of water to make the steak
T F
2. Adnams uses rainwater to feed shower flushes, toilets and vehicle
wash.

T F
3. In South Africa industries reduce their costs by purchising
reclaimed water at a lower price.
T F
4. Treated waste water can replace freshwater for some industrial
uses. Including energy generation.
 Thank you!

“The content of this document represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility. The European
Commission does not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.”