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Open AccessArticle

Insight into the Sustainability of the Mediterranean Diet: The Water Footprint of the Recommended Italian Diet

by

1,2

1

Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL), University of Bologna, Piazza Goidanich 60, 47521 Cesena, FC, Italy

2

Interdepartmental Centre for Industrial Agri-Food Research (CIRI), University of Bologna, Via Quinto Bucci 336, 47521 Cesena, FC, Italy

Nutrients 2023, 15(9), 2204; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15092204 (registering DOI)

Received: 24 March 2023
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Revised: 24 April 2023
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Accepted: 3 May 2023
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Published: 5 May 2023

Abstract

At present, as we face climate change and natural resource scarcity, one of the major challenges linking humans and the environment is to ensure sufficient, nutritious, safe, and affordable food for a rapidly growing world population. In a nutshell, “feed the world without destroying it”. The water footprint (WF), i.e., the withdrawals of fresh water necessary to produce one kilogram of food product, is one of the key indicators of the environmental impact of diets. In this work, the WF of the food patterns suggested by the Italian Food Based Dietary Guidelines, considered a model of the Mediterranean Diet, was evaluated for the first time. The data reported here clearly demonstrate that the suggested Italian dietary patterns have a low WF, the reduction of which by replacing animal foods with plant foods is limited because the suggested consumption of meat is already low. Consumer choice in the consumption of specific products within a food group could further reduce the WF of the diet, underlining the need to provide correct information not only to consumers but also to farmers and producers to encourage them to make water-saving choices.

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MDPI and ACS Style

Bordoni, A. Insight into the Sustainability of the Mediterranean Diet: The Water Footprint of the Recommended Italian Diet. Nutrients 2023, 15, 2204.
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15092204

AMA Style

Bordoni A. Insight into the Sustainability of the Mediterranean Diet: The Water Footprint of the Recommended Italian Diet. Nutrients. 2023; 15(9):2204.
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15092204

Chicago/Turabian Style

Bordoni, Alessandra. 2023. “Insight into the Sustainability of the Mediterranean Diet: The Water Footprint of the Recommended Italian Diet” Nutrients 15, no. 9: 2204.
https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15092204

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Alessandra Bordoni

?  Read More  Sustainability & LEED  ?…also to farmers and producers to encourage them to make water-saving choices. Share and Cite MDPI and ACS Style Bordoni, A. Insight into the Sustainability of the Mediterranean Diet: The Water Footprint of the Recommended Italian Diet. Nutrients 2023 , 15 , 2204. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15092204 AMA… Style Bordoni A. Insight into the Sustainability of the Mediterranean Diet: The Water Footprint of the Recommended Italian Diet. Nutrients . 2023; 15(9):2204. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15092204 Chicago/Turabian Style Bordoni, Alessandra. 2023. “Insight into the Sustainability of the Mediterranean Diet: The… mdpi.com Total Engagement: 0