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Each year, about one trillion USD worth of food sales is lost or wasted. In addition to its economic impacts, food wastage has significant societal costs that are born indirectly by taxpayers. Should damage costs associated with food wastage be accounted for, this global wastage appears much higher. In fact, the monetization of environmental costs such as the impact of greenhouse gases, land erosion, water use and pollinators loss amounts to another trillion USD. Furthermore, a valuation of social costs, such as health effects of pesticides, loss of livelihoods and conflicts over natural resources adds another trillion USD. Noteworthy is the fact that not all food wastage reduction strategies are equal in terms of environmental efficiency and reducing food wastage must be a priority over energy recovery from food wastage. As a case study, the Italian National Plan for Food Waste Prevention (PINPAS) aims at reducing food wastage upstream the food chain, will be considered. PINPAS also seeks to improve recovery measures of unsold food. As indicated in the Guidelines on the preparation of food waste prevention programmes by the European Commission, PINPAS engages all stakeholders of the agri-food chain, from policy makers to civil groups and producers. The first action will be the reintroduction of food education at school.

Sustainability encompasses the presence of three dimensions that must coexist simultaneously, namely the environmental, social, and economic ones. The economic and social dimensions are gaining the spotlight in recent years, especially within food systems. To assess social and economic impacts, indicators and tools play a fundamental role in contributing to the achievements of sustainability targets, although few of them have deepen the focus on social and economic impacts. Moreover, in a framework of citizen science and bottom-up approach for improving food systems, citizen play a key role in defying their priorities in terms of social and economic interventions. This research expands the knowledge of social and economic sustainability indicators within the food systems for robust policy insights and interventions. This work accomplishes the following objectives: 1) to define social and economic indicators within the supply chain with a stakeholder perspective, 2) to test social and economic sustainability indicators for future food systems engaging young generations. The first objective was accomplished through the development of a systematic literature review of 34 social sustainability tools, based on five food supply chain stages, namely production, processing, wholesale, retail, and consumer considering farmers, workers, consumers, and society as stakeholders. The second objective was achieved by defining and testing new food systems social and economic sustainability indicators through youth engagement for informed and robust policy insights, to provide policymakers suggestions that would incorporate young generations ones. Future food systems scenarios were evaluated by youth through focus groups, whose results were analyzed through NVivo and then through a survey with a wider platform. Conclusion addressed the main areas of policy interventions in terms of social and economic aspects of sustainable food systems youth pointed out as in need of interventions, spanning from food labelling reporting sustainable origins to better access to online food services.

Using an original survey conducted in eight countries in 2021 (Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Russia, Spain, the UK, and the USA), this study explored the relationship between household food waste and dietary habits through a cross-country comparative perspective. In total, 8000 questionnaires were recorded from samples representative of the adult population of each country through an online survey conducted between the 13th and the 24th of August. The questionnaires were developed from the Waste Watcher International Observatory on Food and Sustainability, an international study of the social, behavioral, and lifestyle dynamics behind household food waste. The relationships between the per capita self-reported amount of food waste (expressed in kilocalories) and self-declared dietary habits (traditional, healthy and sustainable, vegetarian, smart, and confused) were estimated using multiple linear regression models. The results showed that smart diets are associated with higher values of food waste in Canada, Spain, the UK, and the USA. Vegetarian diets are associated with lower food waste values in China, Germany, the UK, and the USA, but not in Italy, Russia, and Spain. The share of the population adopting a smart diet was, on average, 2.7% of the sample; therefore, interventions for food waste reduction should focus on these specific types of consumers, who are often associated with larger amounts of food waste.

About one third of all food produced for human consumption is wasted. Along with a lively debate on food loss and waste definition and quantification, growing attention is dedicated to the faceted dimensions of consumers&rsquo, food waste. Drivers, effects, and mitigating factors have been mainly studied in isolation, with limited attention paid to their interrelationships. This study aims to contribute to a better understanding of the underlying relationship between the causes of food waste and consumers&rsquo, perception of their role and of their concern on food waste effects and mitigating factors. The article draws on a survey submitted to 938 respondents while shopping at a supermarket in Italy in 2015. Data were processed by principal components to identify latent dimensions of consumer behavior, and a cluster analysis was performed to identify homogenous groups of consumers. Results emphasize the complexity of the relationship between consumers and food resources. They suggest that while consumers are aware about food waste as a global issue, they often fail to identify the individual contribution they might provide for its prevention and reduction. The article also detects three groups of consumers with different approaches to food waste management and a specific perception of the food waste phenomenon.

The COVID-19 outbreak forced national governments to the adoption of social distancing and movement limitation measures aimed to reduce the diffusion of the virus and to mitigate its highly disruptive impact on the healthcare systems. Reduced income, job insecurity, distribution system interruptions, product shortages, localized price hikes, and time availability resulted in changes in food-related behaviors of households, including food waste generation. Although the significant progress achieved in the understanding of the multidimensional determinants of food losses and waste, no study has been considering the role of uncertainty generated by exogenous generalized shocks on consumer behavior. Building on an original and nationally representative survey, this work aims to investigate the impact of the measures introduced to contain the outbreak of COVID-19 on the main behavioral factors underpinning household food waste generation. The study develops a theoretical model introducing uncertainty validated through a Structural Equations Modelling approach. Results showed that during the quarantine period declared household food waste decreased, with more than half of the respondents reporting to waste less. The model suggested that the amount of material and non-material resources that consumers can dedicate to food-related activities represents the most influential factor for the generation of household food waste and that uncertainty is significantly affecting the drivers and indirectly influencing the self-declared values of food waste. Results suggest several potential policy implications, of which the most relevant being related to the importance of stimulating improvements in food management opportunities at home.

The development of biogas production exacerbated the competition for land availability between crops dedicated to human consumption and those intended for energy production. Residual biomasses have been often proposed for their positive outcomes in terms of reduced pressure on land use. However, literature did not assess optimization options for existing biogas plants feeding. This paper developed a bio-economic model for the optimization of agricultural biogas supply chains using artichoke byproducts in existing plants. A multiple goal linear programming approach was adopted, using two objective functions, calculating respectively net present value and land use from energy crops, associated to a regional biogas network. Three scenarios were defined using primary and secondary data on the residues of a specific artichoke variety - globe - and an Italian region - Sardinia. In the Business As Usual scenario, net present value is about 7 million € with a land use of about 2720 ha. When using artichoke residues, the economic impact increases by 28% and land use is reduced by 83% if net present value is optimized. When land use is optimized, the economic impact still grows by 25% and land use is reduced by 100%. Results from this study confirm that, under certain conditions, locally available residual biomasses can replace energy crops in existing biogas networks, coupling viability and sustainability.

The increased relative poverty and migration crisis in Europe are determining a raise of food insecurity levels. Cities and regions are experiencing—and to some extent stimulating—a growth of food recovery initiatives. Food redistribution activities (FRAs) are acknowledged as a tool for addressing food insecurity and preventing food surplus wastage ensuring economic, environmental, and social benefits. This paper aimed to identify the characteristics of FRAs and their social impact in the context of the Emilia Romagna region (Italy). A literature review and two experts’ consultations were carried out to inventory and categorize relevant social impacts. A questionnaire was then drafted and submitted to a sample of FRAs operating in the region. Results provided a profile of the surveyed food redistribution activities in terms of type of food redistributed, service provided, and workforce. In addition, the qualitative investigation allowed the identification of hotspots in terms of social, economic, psychological, health, and political impacts as perceived by engaged stakeholders.

Scientific literature suggests that in developed countries food is predominantly wasted at the consumption stage of the food supply chain. This study aims to profile consumers' attitude to waste food in Italy investigating households' behaviours leading to food waste generation by addressing what is being wasted and why it is wasted. The work is based on a survey performed in Italy on a heterogeneous sample of 3,087 respondents. A cluster analysis was performed to detect consumers' profiles. Results, based on self-reporting, allow to sketch different 'waster' types, providing a picture of food waste related to eating, shopping, and storage behaviours and suggesting a number of differences existing in terms of perceived quantities and causes of generated food waste. Out of seven profiles identified, four are the most representative ones in terms of size: the conscious-fussy type, who wastes because food doesn't smell or look good; the conscious-forgetful type, who forgets what is in the fridge or on the shelves; the frugal consumer who tends not to consume fruits and vegetables and declares to waste nothing (or almost nothing); and the exaggerated cook, who overbuys and overcooks. Profiling specific waste types can help to better understand if groups with common characteristics exist, what their specific features are and what levers can be employed to stimulate a change in their behaviour.

In Bosnia Herzegovina the development of clear policy objectives and endorsement of a long-term, coherent and mutual agricultural and rural development policy have also been affected by structural problems: a lack of reliable information on population and other relevant issues, the absence of an adequate land registry system and cadastre. Moreover in BiH the agricultural and rural sectors are characterized by many factors that have typically affected transition countries such as land fragmentation, lack of agricultural mechanization and outdated production technologies, and rural aging, high unemployment and out-migration. In such a framework the condition and role of women in rural areas suffered for the lack of gender disaggregated data and a consequent poor information that lead to the exclusion of gender related questions in the agenda of public institutions and to the absence of targeted policy interventions. The aim of the research is to investigate the role and condition of women in the rural development process of Republic of Srpska and to analyze the capacity of extension services to stimulate their empowerment. Specific research questions include the status of women in the rural areas of Republic of Srpska, the role of government in fostering the empowerment of rural women, and the role of the extension service in supporting rural women. The methodology - inspired by the case study method developed by R. Yin - is designed along the three specific research questions that are used as building blocks. Each of the three research questions is investigated with a combination of methodological tools - including surveys, experts interviews and focus groups - aimed to overcome the lack of data and knowledge that characterize the research objectives.

Secondo il Report IFAD sulla povertà rurale, nel 2008, circa due terzi della popolazione africana viveva nelle aree rurali ed era in qualche modo coinvolta in attività agricole commerciali o di sussistenza (IFAD, 2011). L’agricoltura rappresenta il più importante settore economico per la popolazione africana e le donne risultano cruciali per la produzione agricola: rappresentano infatti il 62,8 per cento della forza lavoro (FAO, 2014). Dopo la crisi alimentare del 2007-2008 si è andato intensificando il fenomeno delle acquisizione di terre su larga scala in paesi del Sud del mondo, in particolare nel continente africano, da parte di multinazionali, governi, aziende nazionali e singoli soggetti privati. Questo processo è stato denominato anche land grabbing dalle principali organizzazioni internazionali e della società civile e ha avuto grande impatto mediatico a livello internazionale. L'intensificarsi del fenomeno ha portato a una progressiva perdita di controllo e accesso ad ampie porzioni di territorio da parte delle comunità locali, che non possono più disporre delle risorse naturali collegate alla terra. La cessione di ampi terreni avviene in molti casi senza trasparenza informativa, con violazione dei diritti umani e senza il consenso delle comunità che vi abitano e che coltivano tali aree, e a cui viene imposto un cambio radicale di vita. La terra è una risorsa centrale per l'identità, il sostentamento e la sicurezza alimentare di una comunità, dunque le conseguenze sono molteplici a livello sociale, culturale, economico e politico. Gli impatti sulle relazioni di genere e in particolare sulle donne delle comunità rurali risultano essere cruciali nel discorso sullo sviluppo. L’obiettivo di questo lavoro è indagare come le relazioni di genere, a seguito delle trasformazioni nella gestione della terra, si modificano amplificando squilibri già esistenti e creando conseguenze sulle logiche di potere delle comunità rurali e sulle vite delle persone che ne fanno parte., According to the IFAD Rural Poverty Report, in 2008 about two thirds of the African population lived in rural areas and were involved in agricultural activities in some form, either for commercial purposes or subsistence (IFAD, 2011). Agriculture is the most important economic sector for the African population and women are crucial within its production, representing 62,8 % of the workforce (FAO, 2014). After the food crisis of 2007-2008, the phenomenon of large-scale land acquisitions in developing countries by national and transnational companies, governments and individuals has been intensifying, particularly seen in Africa. This process, also referred to as land grabbing by the main international organisations and civil society has had a strong media impact at an international level. The intensification of the phenomenon has led to local communities progressively losing control and access to large pieces of land, no longer able to use the natural resources derived from it. As land is fundamental for the identity, the sustenance and the alimentary safety of a community, land grabbing therefore has had a variety of consequences at a social, cultural, economic and political level. The transfer of control often takes place without informative transparency or agreement from the local communities living and working in these areas, who are forced into a radical change of life, often accompanied by human rights violations. The impacts on gender relations are crucial to this narrative, in particular how women from rural communities are affected. The aim of this work is to investigate how these gender relations are changed as a consequence of the shifts in the management of land, where existing imbalances are amplified, with a strong impact on the distribution of power in rural communities and the lives of the people who belong to them.

It has been estimated that one third of edible food destined for human consumption is lost or wasted along the food supply chain globally. Much of the waste comes from Global North, where consumers are considered as the bigger contributors. Different studies tried to analyze and estimate the Household Food Waste (HFW), especially in UK and Northern Europe. The result is that accurate studies at national level exist only in UK, Finland and Norway while no such studies are available in Italy, except for survey- based researches. Though, there is a widespread awareness that such methods might be not able to estimate Food Waste. Results emerging from literature clearly suggest that survey estimate inferior amounts of Food Waste as a result, if compared to waste sorting and weighting analysis or to diary studies. The hypothesis that household food waste is under-estimated when gathered through questionnaires has been enquired into. First, a literature review of behavioral economics and heuristics has been proposed; then, a literature review of the sector listing the existing methodologies to gather national data on Household Food Waste has been illustrated. Finally, a pilot experiment to test a mixed methodology is proposed. While literature suggests that four specific cognitive biases might be able to affect the reliability of answers in questionnaires, results of the present experiment clearly indicate that there is a relevant difference between how much the individual thinks to waste and he/she actually does. The result is a mixed methodology based on questionnaire, diary and waste sorting, able to overcome the cons of each single method.

Ridurre gli sprechi alimentari è, oggi, un imperativo etico, sociale, ambientale ed economico. Non solo per il tempo di crisi che stiamo vivendo, ma anche perché la competizione per lo sfruttamento delle risorse naturali a livello globale si fa sempre più accesa e incrementa i conflitti, la violazione dei diritti umani, l’impoverimento biologico ed economico, le migrazioni. Miniere, foreste, corsi d’acqua, risorse energetiche ed alimentari, biodiversità: le risorse naturali sono alla base del (buon) funzionamento della società mondiale. Le modalità e la voracità con cui tali risorse sono state utilizzate fino ad oggi è chiaramente insostenibile. Continuare su questa strada non è, semplicemente, un’opzione praticabile. Lo spreco può essere dunque, paradossalmente, l’occasione per cambiare strada. L’approvazione della legge 166/2016 rappresenta una tappa importante nel contrasto allo spreco alimentare in Italia. Dopo un inquadramento internazionale ed europeo, il libro illustra il percorso che ha portato all’approvazione della normativa approfondendone i punti di forza e gli elementi da migliorare nella fase di attuazione.

Rural tourism is relatively new product in the process of diversification of the rural economy in Republic of Macedonia. This study used desk research and life story interviews of rural tourism entrepreneurs as qualitative research method to identify prevalent success influential factors. Further quantitative analysis was applied in order to measure the strength of influence of identified success factors. The primary data for the quantitative research was gathered using telephone questionnaire composed of 37 questions with 5-points Likert scale. The data was analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) by SmartPLS 3.1.6. Results indicated that human capital, social capital, entrepreneurial personality and external business environment are predominant influential success factors. However, human capital has non-significant direct effect on success (p 0.493) nonetheless the effect was indirect with high level of partial mediation through entrepreneurial personality as mediator (VAF 73%). Personality of the entrepreneur, social capital and business environment have direct positive affect on entrepreneurial success (p 0.001, 0.003 and 0.045 respectably). Personality also mediates the positive effect of social capital on entrepreneurial success (VAF 28%). Opposite to the theory the data showed no interaction between social and human capital on the entrepreneurial success. This research suggests that rural tourism accommodation entrepreneurs could be more successful if there is increased support in development of social capital in form of conservation of cultural heritage and natural attractions. Priority should be finding the form to encourage and support the establishment of formal and informal associations of entrepreneurs in order to improve the conditions for management and marketing of the sector. Special support of family businesses in the early stages of the operation would have a particularly positive impact on the success of rural tourism. Local infrastructure, access to financial instruments, destination marketing and entrepreneurial personality have positive effect on success.

Negli ultimi anni lo spreco alimentare ha assunto un’importanza crescente nel dibattito internazionale, politico ed accademico, nel contesto delle tematiche sulla sostenibilità dei modelli di produzione e consumo, sull’uso efficiente delle risorse e la gestione dei rifiuti. Nei prossimi anni gli Stati Membri dell’Unione Europea saranno chiamati ad adottare specifiche strategie di prevenzione degli sprechi alimentari all’interno di una cornice di riferimento comune. Tale cornice è quella che si va delineando nel corso del progetto Europeo di ricerca “FUSIONS” (7FP) che, nel 2014, ha elaborato un framework di riferimento per la definizione di “food waste” allo scopo di armonizzare le diverse metodologie di quantificazione adottate dai paesi membri. In questo scenario, ai fini della predisposizione di un Piano Nazionale di Prevenzione degli Sprechi Alimentari per l’Italia, il presente lavoro applica per la prima volta il “definitional framework” FUSIONS per l’analisi dei dati e l’identificazione dei principali flussi nei diversi anelli della filiera e svolge un estesa consultazione degli stakeholder (e della letteratura) per identificare le possibili misure di prevenzione e le priorità di azione. I risultati ottenuti evedenziano (tra le altre cose) la necessità di predisporre e promuovere a livello nazionale l’adozione di misure uniformi di quantificazione e reporting; l’importanza del coinvolgimento degli stakeholder nel contesto di una campagna nazionale di prevenzione degli sprechi alimentari; l’esigenza di garantire una adeguata copertura economica per le attività di pianificazione e implementazione delle misure di prevenzione da parte degli enti locali e di un coordinamento a livello nazionale della programmazione regionale; la necessità di una armonizzazione/semplificazione del quadro di riferimento normativo (fiscale, igienico-sanitario, procedurale) che disciplina la donazione delle eccedenze alimentari; l’urgenza di approfondire il fenomeno degli sprechi alimentari attraverso la realizzazione di studi di settore negli stadi a valle della filiera., In recent years, food waste prevention is assuming a pivotal role within international, European and national strategies addressing waste prevention, resource efficiency and sustainability of production and consumption patterns. In the coming years the European Union Member States will be asked to adopt specific strategies to prevent food waste within a common reference framework. This framework is being developed within the “FUSIONS” research project (7FP) which, in 2014, released the “FUSIONS definitional framework for food waste”. The main aim of the FUSIONS’s framework is to provide Member States with a common definition to be used as a reference point in National strategies targeting food waste reduction. In this scenario, this study applies for the first time the "FUSIONS definitional framework" to identify and quantify the main streams generated along the food supply chain and to identify, with the support of an extensive stakeholder’s consultation, the priorities for action in the view of developing a National Plan for Food Waste Prevention in Italy. The results highlight (among others) the following priorities: to define and adopt at national level common quantification and reporting methodologies for food waste streams; to engage stakeholders within the framework of a national food waste prevention campaign; to set a national coordination for planning and financing regional intervention on food waste prevention; to harmonise and simplify the regulatory framework relating to food donation; to improve knowledge on food waste generated along the supply chain by strengthening the research activities.

Ogni anno in Europa milioni di tonnellate di cibo vengono gettate via. Una stima pubblicata dalla Commissione europea afferma che, nei 27 Stati membri, 89 milioni di tonnellate di cibo, o di 179 kg pro capite, vengono scartati. Lo spreco si verifica lungo tutta la catena di agro alimentare; la riduzione dei rifiuti alimentari è diventata una delle priorità dell'agenda europea. La ricerca si concentra su un caso studio, Last Minute Market, un progetto di recupero di sprechi alimentari. L'impatto di questo progetto dal punto di vista economico e ambientale è già stato calcolato. Quello che verrà analizzato è l'impatto di questa iniziativa sulla comunità e in particolare sul capitale sociale, definito come "l'insieme di norme e reti che consentono l'azione collettiva". Obiettivo del presente lavoro è, quindi, quello di eseguire, attraverso la somministrazione di un questionario a diversi stakeholder del progetto, un’analisi confrontabile con quella del 2009 e di verificare a distanza di cinque anni, se l'iniziativa Last Minute Market abbia prodotto una crescita di capitale sociale nella comunità interessata da questa iniziativa. Per riassumere l’influenza del progetto sul capitale sociale in un indice sintetico, viene calcolato quello che verrà chiamato indice di "affidabilità del progetto" (definito in statistica, la "capacità di un prodotto, un sistema o un servizio di fornire le prestazioni richieste, per un certo periodo di tempo in condizioni predeterminate")., Every year in Europe million tons of food are thrown away. An estimation published by the European Commission states that, in the 27 Member States, 89 million tons of food, or 179 kg per capita, are discarded. Waste occurs all along food supply chain; reducing food waste has thus become one of the priorities on the European agenda. The research focuses on a case study, Last Minute Market, a project of recovery of food waste. The impact of this project from an economical and environmental point of view has already been calculated. What is going to be analyzed is the impact of this initiative on the community and specifically on social capital, defined as "the set of norms and networks that enable collective action". The objective of the work is to carry out an analysis on social capital dimensions through interviews to the different stakeholders involved in Last Minute Market project. The results of the analysis will be compared to the results of an analysis made in 2009 on the same project in order to check if it has produced a growth on social capital dimensions. Than, in order to summarize the influence of the project on social capital in a synthetic index, is calculated what we can called the index of “reliability of the project” (defined in statistics, the “ability of a product, a system or a service to provide the performance required, for a certain period of time under predetermined conditions”).

This book pursues a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach in order to analyze the relationship between water and food security. It demonstrates that most of the world's economies lack sufficient water resources to secure their populations' food requirements and are thus virtual importers of water. One of the most inspiring cases, which this book is rooted in, is Italy: the third largest net virtual water importer on earth. The book also shows that the sustainability of water depends on the extent to which societies recognize and take into account its value and contribution to agricultural production. Due to the large volumes of water required for food production, water and food security are in fact inextricably linked. Contributions from leading international experts and scholars in the field use the concepts of virtual water and water footprints to explain this relationship, with an eye to the empirical examples of wine, tomato and pasta production in Italy. This book provides a valuable resource for all researchers, professionals, policymakers and everyone else interested in water and food security.

Un lessico dislessico del cibo, contro tempo e contro corrente. Contro quel mondo variegato di affabulatori, avvelenatori, blogger, commercianti, chef, consulenti, criminali, dietisti, guru, industriali, nutrizionisti, presentatori, professori, ricercatori, ristoratori, sofisticatori, truffatori - solo per elencare le categorie principali, rigorosamente in ordine alfabetico e non di apparizione. In tutta questa confusione la nostra cultura alimentare sembra essere diventata estranea a se stessa: l'uomo non è più ciò che mangia, non sa più cosa mangia e neppure perché.

Sprecare significa gettare il cibo nella spazzatura ma anche mangiare cibo spazzatura: il primo danneggia la salute della natura, il secondo nuoce alla salute dell'uomo. Entrambe sono legate fra loro, come al rapporto ambiente-uomo, risorse-consumi, ecologia-economia. Relazioni viziate, da cambiare. Non solo con la filosofia del cibo lento, della filiera corta, del chilometro zero. Onde corte, che increspano il mare in superficie. Senza però modificare le grandi correnti. Per nutrire il pianeta, l'unica strada è ridare valore al cibo. Ma quale cibo? Quello medio, né troppo basso né troppo alto. Un percorso che diventa un viaggio nei luoghi dove passa il cibo medio: dallo studio agricolo al mercato ortofrutticolo, dall'industria alimentare al supermercato, dal parco tematico all'esposizione universale. Per arrivare alla scuola: un (p)assaggio fondamentale. L'educazione alimentare serve a comprendere il valore del cibo, imparando a fruire invece che consumare, a evitare gli sprechi e i falsi miti degli spadellatori televisivi.

Per superare la crisi che sta strangolando la nostra società dobbiamo cambiare direzione, trasformare il negativo in positivo. Lo spreco – di cibo, di acqua, di energia, di suolo, di danaro, di tempo, di vite – rappresenta, paradossalmente, una straordinaria opportunità. Bisogna però fare presto, prima che le profonde e crescenti disuguaglianze economiche, sociali e ambientali di questo mondo diventino irreversibili. La formula è semplice, parte da una doppia rivoluzione: grammaticale e culturale. Dobbiamo scomporre la parola e aggiungere dei segni: lo spr è la parte negativa, l’eco quella positiva. Dobbiamo da un parte ridurre l’eccesso, il surplus, il troppo, dall’altra far crescere l’eco facendolo risuonare armonicamente come vuole la definizione di sostenibilità. Che significa durare nel tempo, ma anche recuperare, rinnovare, riqualificare, rigenerare, mantenere: non consumare – distruggere – inutilmente le risorse umane e naturali. La casa piccola (eco-nomia) deve rispettare i limiti della casa grande (eco-logia). L’Uomo deve stare dentro il perimetro della Natura. Natura che viene prima dell’uomo. Uomo che deve applicare la prevenzione come metodo e non la cura a posteriori. Invece, quando una società a un tempo bulimica e anoressica come la nostra supera tutti i limiti e gli eccessi permettendosi di sprecare il cibo – lo rottama ancora buono pensando di poterlo sostituire all’infinito – vuol dire che è arrivata letteralmente alla frutta. Ecco perché dobbiamo ridare valore al cibo, garantendo un bisogno essenziale che è anche un diritto universale, promuovendo un’economia equa e solidale, e rispettosa dei confini ecologici. Perché dobbiamo mangiare tutti e tutto, dobbiamo mangiare il meglio e il giusto.

Da tempo mi chiedo se ha un senso insistere tanto sullo spreco, di cibo e di altro. Una sorta di ossessione, un chiodo fisso da anni ormai. Almeno una quindicina, dalla prima tesi di laurea sulle eccedenze alimentari di Luca Falasconi. Che poi, con me e altri miei studenti, ha fondato Last Minute Market, spin off dell’Università di Bologna. Da allora si sono aggiunte tante tesi di laurea e dottorato, articoli scientifici, libri per una nicchia di interessati. Conferenze come quella da cui nasce questo saggio. Spettacoli come quelli messi in scena con Massimo Cirri (-Spr+Eco sul cibo) e Patrizio Roversi (Waterfront sullo spreco di acqua). Eventi come pranzi e cene preparati con cibo recuperato e cucinati da grandi chef del calibro di Moreno Cedroni e Francesco Lamantia. Libri come l’ultimo che ho scritto per la collana «gemme» di Rosenberg & Sellier: Spreco. Azioni concrete come il recupero del cibo a fini benefici e la riduzione di perdite e sprechi nelle aziende seguite da Last Minute Market. Campagne di comunicazione come Un anno contro lo spreco per sensibilizzare politica e opinione pubblica. E poi la costituzione di un Osservatorio nazionale sullo spreco domestico, Waste Watcher, per capire come e perché si spreca tanto nelle nostre case. E ancora il Piano Nazionale per la Prevenzione dello Spreco Alimentare, PINPAS, promosso dal ministero dell’Ambiente, e i progetti di ricerca europei per mettersi in rete con gli altri Stati membri e capire chi fa cosa in Europa e nel mondo.

Agriculture is still important for socio-economic development in rural areas of Bosnia, Montenegro and Serbia (BMS). However, for sustainable rural development rural economies should be diversified so attention should be paid also to off-farm and non-farm income-generating activities. Agricultural and rural development (ARD) processes and farm activity diversification initiatives should be well governed. The ultimate objective of this work is to explore linkages between ARD governance and rural livelihoods diversification in BMS. The thesis is based on an extended secondary data analysis and surveys. Questionnaires for ARD governance and coordination were sent via email to public, civil society and international organizations. Concerning rural livelihood diversification, the field questionnaire surveys were carried out in three rural regions of BMS. Results show that local rural livelihoods are increasingly diversified but a significant share of households are still engaged in agriculture. Diversification strategies have a chance to succeed taking into consideration the three rural regions’ assets. However, rural households have to tackle many problems for developing new income-generating activities such as the lack of financial resources. Weak business skills are also a limiting factor. Fully exploiting rural economy diversification potential in BMS requires many interventions including improving rural governance, enhancing service delivery in rural areas, upgrading rural people’s human capital, strengthening rural social capital and improving physical capital, access of the rural population to finance as well as creating a favourable and enabling legal and legislative environment fostering diversification. Governance and coordination of ARD policy design, implementation and evaluation is still challenging in the three Balkan countries and this has repercussions also on the pace of rural livelihoods diversification. Therefore, there is a strong and urgent need for mobilization of all rural stakeholders and actors through appropriate governance arrangements in order to foster rural livelihoods diversification and quality of life improvement.

Non esiste una definizione standard di spreco alimentare, così come non esistono metodologie uniformi per calcolarlo. Gli studi finora realizzati sullo spreco sono carenti, i dati raccolti spesso insufficienti. Il cibo viene sprecato ad ogni stadio della filiera alimentare, dal campo alla tavola. Nei Paesi Membri dell’Unione Europea, le famiglie – secondo dati elaborati da Eurostat- sono le principali responsabili dello spreco. Secondo la FAO, ogni europeo spreca ogni anno 179 chili di alimenti. Last Minute Market, spin off accademico che si occupa di ridurre e recuperare lo spreco, ha stimato che a livello domestico in Italia si sprecano mediamente il 17% dei prodotti ortofrutticoli acquistati, il 15% di pesce, il 28% di pasta e pane, il 29% di uova, il 30% di carne e il 32% di latticini. Da un punto di vista economico, lo sperpero alimentare significa una perdita di 1.693 euro l’anno per famiglia. Per inquadrare lo spreco alimentare domestico in Italia e gettare luce su dati contrastanti emersi da diversi studi finora realizzati, la tesi – dopo aver presentato stime a livello globale, europeo e italiano – si concentra sull’analisi dei dati emersi da un questionario sullo spreco domestico, compilato da 3.087 italiani tra il mese di novembre e quello di dicembre 2012. L’indagine socio-economica è stata realizzata in collaborazione con la Commissione Europea (DG JCR, Istituto per la Tutela della Salute dei Consumatori) e il Karlsruhe Institut für Technologie. Il questionario è stato posto sulla piattaforma online surveymonkey. La tesi ha avuto come obiettivi l’identificazione di dati quantitativi circa “quanto si spreca” , “cosa si spreca”, l’individuazione delle cause sociali, valoriali, comportamentali e di stile di vita, dello spreco alimentare delle famiglie italiane, l’impatto economico dello spreco sul budget domestico e l’elaborazione di profili di consumatori attraverso la cluster analysis., There is no standard definition of food waste, as there are no uniform methods for calculating it. Studies carried out to date on food waste are lacking and the data collected are often insufficient. Food is wasted at every stage of the food chain, from farm to table. In the European Union families - according to Eurostat -are the main responsible for food waste generation. According to FAO, Europeans waste 179 kg of food every year. Last Minute Market, academic spin-off whose aim is to reduce and recover waste, estimates that in Italy on average 17% of fruit and vegetables purchased, 15% of fish, 28% of pasta and bread, 29% of eggs, 30% meat and 32% of dairy products are wasted at the domestic level. From an economic point of view, food waste means a loss of 1,693 euros per year per family. In order to analyze and quantify household food waste in Italy and shed light on dissimilar data which have so far emerged from various studies, the thesis focuses on the examination of data derived from a questionnaire that was completed by 3,087 Italians between November and December 2012. The socio-economic survey was realized in collaboration with the European Commission (DG JCR, Institute for Health and Consumers Protection) and the Karlsruhe Institut für Technologie. The questionnaire was uploaded on SurveyMonkey, an online platform that is particularly useful when it comes to examining self-selected samples. The main aims of the thesis are the identification of quantitative data about "how much is wasted " and " what is wasted ", the identification of social causes, values, behavior and lifestyle that lead to food waste, the economic impact of food waste on families’ budget and the development of consumer profiles through the cluster analysis.

Modern food systems are characterized by a high energy intensity as well as by the production of large amounts of waste, residuals and food losses. This inefficiency presents major consequences, in terms of GHG emissions, waste disposal, and natural resource depletion. The research hypothesis is that residual biomass material could contribute to the energetic needs of food systems, if recovered as an integrated renewable energy source (RES), leading to a sensitive reduction of the impacts of food systems, primarily in terms of fossil fuel consumption and GHG emissions. In order to assess these effects, a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) has been conducted to compare two different food systems: a fossil fuel-based system and an integrated system with the use of residual as RES for self-consumption. The food product under analysis has been the peach nectar, from cultivation to end-of-life. The aim of this LCA is twofold. On one hand, it allows an evaluation of the energy inefficiencies related to agro-food waste. On the other hand, it illustrates how the integration of bioenergy into food systems could effectively contribute to reduce this inefficiency. Data about inputs and waste generated has been collected mainly through literature review and databases. Energy balance, GHG emissions (Global Warming Potential) and waste generation have been analyzed in order to identify the relative requirements and contribution of the different segments. An evaluation of the energy “loss” through the different categories of waste allowed to provide details about the consequences associated with its management and/or disposal. Results should provide an insight of the impacts associated with inefficiencies within food systems. The comparison provides a measure of the potential reuse of wasted biomass and the amount of energy recoverable, that could represent a first step for the formulation of specific policies on the integration of bioenergies for self-consumption.

Nonostante il fatto che una gran parte del mondo viva ancora oggi a livelli di sussistenza, i dati in nostro possesso ci indicano che le attività umane stanno esaurendo le risorse ambientali del pianeta. La causa di questo eccessivo sfruttamento delle risorse è da ricercare nei pattern non sostenibili di produzione e consumo dei paesi sviluppati. La preoccupazione per le conseguenze sull'ambiente e la lotta al cambiamento climatico hanno posto le politiche ambientali al centro dell'attenzione internazionale. Il Protocollo di Kyoto e la Commissione Europea hanno stabilito degli obiettivi di riduzione delle emissioni di gas serra, rispettivamente del 12% entro il 2012 e del 20% entro il 2020. All'interno del Protocollo di Kyoto l'obiettivo per l'Italia è ridurre del 6,5% le emissioni di gas serra nazionali rispetto al 1990. Le politiche mirate alla riduzione delle emissioni di gas serra hanno in genere come obiettivo gli impianti energetici e i trasporti. Poca attenzione viene data alla filiera agroalimentare pur sapendo che l'agricoltura ha un forte impatto sull'ambiente e recenti studi stimano che circa il 50% del cibo prodotto viene perso o buttato via dalla produzione al consumo. Alla luce di questi dati, il mio lavoro di tesi ha avuto come obiettivo quello di quantificare i rifiuti e gli sprechi agroalimentari in Europa e in Italia e stimare l'impatto ambientale associato. I dati raccolti in questa tesi mettono in evidenza l'importanza di migliorare l'efficienza della filiera agroalimentare per ridurre l'impatto ambientale nazionale e rispettare gli accordi internazionali sulla lotta ai cambiamenti climatici., Despite the fact that a substantial part of the world's population still lives at subsistence levels of consumption, there are indications that human activities are already overstretching the globe's limited resources and environmental services. The cause of this overstretch is the high per capita use of resources and environmental services from unsustainable consumption and production patterns in developed countries. The Kyoto Protocol and The European Commission have set a target of a 12% reduction in GHG emissions by 2012 and a 20% reduction by 2020. Italy's emissions reduction target under the Kyoto Protocol is to reduce by 2012 greenhouse gas emissions by 6.5 per cent below base-year levels. There is an increased concern about our environmental impacts and how we can reduce GHG emissions. The efforts to reduce the environmental impacts are generally targeted to energy plants and transports. There is much less awareness about the environmental impacts of the food supply chain. This lack of awareness is even more striking if we consider that it is widely acknowledged that agriculture has a great impact on the environment and that about 50% of food produced worldwide is lost from farm to fork. In light of this analysis, in this research I have quantified food waste produced along the food supply chain in Europe and in Italy and I have evaluated its environmental impacts. With this research I show the importance of diminishing food chain's inefficiencies to minimize our environmental impact and to reduce climate change.

In the frame of EU rural policy, always more oriented towards environmental concerns and green livelihoods, Romania stands out for the predominance of rural areas and high nature value farming. The country has to face the challenge of joining the modernization process of rural farming systems with the valorization of local assets. Tourism has emerged as one of the main drivers of change and contributors for a sustainable exploitation of local resources. Rural tourism (RT) can foster the enhancement of the territorial capital (TC), the preservation of public goods (PGs) and the promotion of a more environmental oriented livelihood. The research focuses on a case study area, two valleys from Maramureş, where environmental approaches as diversification strategies are partially explored. The work investigates the role of tourism initiatives for the promotion of green oriented practices. The first part of the work is based on a literature review and interdisciplinary analysis of secondary data to identify the key issues: from rural development policy, to the concept of TC, of PGs and RT. The Romanian development programmes and related strategies are investigated; afterwards the characteristics of the County and the role of RT as diversification and valorisation policies is considered. The second part is based on the collection of primary data through interviews to different local stakeholders (farmers owners of rural guesthouses, local administrators, networks and artisans). The main frequencies are analyzed, a cluster analysis is computed to evaluate the similarities within the most representative groups and a comparative analysis is carried out between the two Valleys. The frame of the analysis is based on a set of indicators following the dimensions of the TC, to assess the characteristics of the local stakeholders and to outline the perception about the local PGs and on the adopted strategies to manage the territory. Final considerations are elaborated and few scenarios are outlined, giving relevance to the importance of improving awareness and creating embeddedness among public-private local stakeholders and resources as a tool for a socio-economic and environmental development of the area.

At global level, the population is increasingly concentrating in the cities. In Europe, around 75% of the population lives in urban areas and, according to the European Environmental Agency (2010), urban population is foreseen to increase up to 80 % by 2020. At the same time, the quality of life in the cities is declining and urban pollution keeps increasing in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, waste, noise, and lack of greenery. Many of European cities struggle to cope with social, economic and environmental problems resulting from pressures such as overcrowding or decline, social inequity, health problems related to food security and pollution. Nowadays local authorities try to solve these problems related to the environmental sustainability through various urban logistics measures, which directly and indirectly affect the urban food supply system, thus an integrated approach including freight transport and food provisioning policies issues is needed. This research centres on the urban food transport system and its impact on the city environmental sustainability. The main question that drives the research analysis is "How the urban food distribution system affects the ecological sustainability in modern cities?" The research analyses the city logistics project for food transport implemented in Parma, Italy, by the wholesale produce market. The case study investigates the renewed role of the wholesale market in the urban food supply chain as commercial and logistic operator, referring to the concept of food hub. Then, a preliminary analysis on the urban food transport for the city of Bologna is presented. The research aims at suggesting a methodological framework to estimate the urban food demand, the urban food supply and to assess the urban food transport performance, in order to identify external costs indicators that help policymakers in evaluating the environmental sustainability of different logistics measures

Fra il 2006 e il 2008, molte commodity hanno fatto registrare rapidi e intensi aumenti di prezzo sui mercati internazionali. Fra queste, anche alcuni prodotti agricoli alla base dell’alimentazione umana. Il presente lavoro concentra l’attenzione su alcune commodity - frumento, riso, mais e semi di soia - riportando le loro quotazioni mensili a partire dal 2002, quindi con un largo anticipo rispetto al manifestarsi del fenomeno. L’obiettivo principale del lavoro è offrire una valida interpretazione dell’instabilità de prezzo di questi prodotti, individuando i fattori che sono alla base della volatilità e sottolineandone le implicazioni economiche e politiche a livello globale. La metodologia usata è duplice e composta da un’attenta analisi descrittiva dei fattori che hanno agito sulla domanda e sull’offerta dei prodotti in questione e un’analisi quantitativa, facendo ricorso alle tecniche statistiche proprie delle serie storiche.

The focus of this research is to develop and apply an analytical framework for evaluating the effectiveness and practicability of sustainability certification schemes for biofuels, especially in a developing country’s perspective. The main question that drives the research analysis is “Which are the main elements of and how to develop sustainability certification schemes that would be effective and practicable in certifying the contribution of biofuels in meeting the goals Governments and other stakeholders have set up?”. Biofuels have been identified as a promising tool to reach a variety of goals: climate change protection, energy security, agriculture development, and, especially in developing countries, economic development. Once the goals have been identified, and ambitious mandatory targets for biofuels use agreed at national level, concerns have been raised by the scientific community on the negative externalities that biofuels production and use can have at environment, social and economic level. Therefore certification schemes have been recognized as necessary processes to measure these externalities, and examples of such schemes are in effect, or are in a negotiating phase, both at mandatory and voluntary levels. The research focus has emerged by the concern that the ongoing examples are very demanding in terms of compliance, both for those that are subject to certification and those that have to certify, on the quantity and quality of information to be reported. A certification system, for reasons linked to costs, lack of expertise, inadequate infrastructure, absence of an administrative and legislative support, can represent an intensive burden and can act as a serious impediment for the industrial and agriculture development of developing countries, going against the principle of equity and level playing field. While this research recognizes the importance of comprehensiveness and ambition in designing an important tool for the measurement of sustainability effects of biofuels production and use, it stresses the need to focus on the effectiveness and practicability of this tool in measuring the compliance with the goal. This research that falls under the rationale of the Sustainability Science Program housed at Harvard Kennedy School, has as main objective to close the gap between the research and policy makers worlds in the field of sustainability certification schemes for biofuels.

Loaded with 16% of the world’s population, India is a challenged country. More than a third of its citizens live below the poverty line - on less than a dollar a day. These people have no proper electricity, no proper drinking water supply, no proper sanitary facilities and well over 40% are illiterates. More than 65% live in rural areas and 60% earn their livelihood from agriculture. Only a meagre 3.63% have access to telephone and less than 1% have access to a computer. Therefore, providing access to timely information on agriculture, weather, social, health care, employment, fishing, is of utmost importance to improve the conditions of rural poor. After some introductive chapters, whose function is to provide a comprehensive framework – both theoretical and practical – of the current rural development policies and of the media situation in India and Uttar Pradesh, my dissertation presents the findings of the pilot project entitled “Enhancing development support to rural masses through community media activity”, launched in 2005 by the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lucknow (U.P.) and by the local NGO Bharosa. The project scope was to involve rural people and farmers from two villages of the district of Lucknow (namely Kumhrava and Barhi Gaghi) in a three-year participatory community media project, based on the creation, implementation and use of a rural community newspaper and a rural community internet centre. Community media projects like this one have been rarely carried out in India because the country has no proper community media tradition: therefore the development of the project has been a challenge for the all stakeholders involved.

Honey bees are pollinators that play a key-role in plant biodiversity conservation and crop production. This unique insect species has been managed in hives by beekeepers for millennia, even though such a peculiar animal production system never resulted in the domestication of the western honey bee. The western honey bee was originally distributed throughout most of Europe, Africa, the Middle East, part of the Arabian Peninsula and some parts of Central Asia. From Europe, the honey bee was introduced to America, Asia and Oceania. This adaptation to a range of environmental conditions, together with geological and climatic changes in past eras, has resulted in grouping of Apis mellifera into 31 subspecies. In the last 150 years, technological advances in beekeeping and globalisation have heavily endangered conservation of the native subspecies of A. mellifera in Europe, with an impact on honey bee production and health status. Evaluation of the impact of this phenomenon on the ecological equilibrium is still ongoing, but there is already scientific evidence of negative effects that this problem is having on beekeeping. This document sets forth the scientific arguments in support of the conservation of native subspecies, and lists the existing Italian legislation in terms of subspecies protection initiatives. It also lists the main factors that are contributing to loss of genetic diversity and of local adaptations. This document does not intend to oppose the actions of the beekeeping industry, but rather to contribute to a more global vision of the very serious problem of honey bee decline.