Consumed food type, composition and quantity affects water resources demand (cf. water footprint). Since blue water resources availability is limited in the Mediterranean area diets shifting and food losses and waste reduction are key strategies. The paper aims at analyzing the water footprint of food consumption and implications of food waste in terms of water demand. The paper is based on secondary data mainly from the FAO Food Balance Sheets and the Water Footprint Network. Approximately 91% of the water footprint (WF) in the Mediterranean is due to the consumption of agricultural products. Dietary energy ranges between 2,130 (Palestine) and 3,666 kcal/day/person (Turkey). The share of vegetal-based energy in the diet ranges from 66.5% in France to 88.9% in Palestine. Total WF of food supply in Italy (1848.3) is higher than in Finland (1116.7) but lower than in the USA (2198.7 m3/capita/year). The highest water footprint is the green one, followed by the grey then the blue one. Meat and dairy products represent about a half of the WF of food supply. The contribution of cereals is significant in Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries. The high Mediterranean consumptive water use is exacerbated by food losses and waste. In Egypt, losses in the rice supply chain are about 25%. Food loss and wastage account for more than one quarter of the total consumptive freshwater use. A 50% decrease in food losses and waste at the global level would save 1,350 km3 a year. Adoption of more sustainable food consumption patterns and production systems and the reduction of food losses and waste can help reducing pressure on the scarce water resources in the Mediterranean. Food waste reduction interventions will have significant impact on freshwater resource availability as other water use efficiency measures in agriculture and food production.
| Published in | International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences (Volume 3, Issue 2) |
| DOI | 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.13 |
| Page(s) | 26-36 |
| Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Water Footprint, Food Consumption Patterns, Mediterranean Region
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APA Style
Roberto Capone, Philipp Debs, Hamid El Bilali, Gianluigi Cardone, Nicola Lamaddalena. (2014). Water Footprint in the Mediterranean Food Chain: Implications of Food Consumption Patterns and Food Wastage. International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences, 3(2), 26-36. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.13
ACS Style
Roberto Capone; Philipp Debs; Hamid El Bilali; Gianluigi Cardone; Nicola Lamaddalena. Water Footprint in the Mediterranean Food Chain: Implications of Food Consumption Patterns and Food Wastage. Int. J. Nutr. Food Sci. 2014, 3(2), 26-36. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.13
AMA Style
Roberto Capone, Philipp Debs, Hamid El Bilali, Gianluigi Cardone, Nicola Lamaddalena. Water Footprint in the Mediterranean Food Chain: Implications of Food Consumption Patterns and Food Wastage. Int J Nutr Food Sci. 2014;3(2):26-36. doi: 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.13
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Download@article{10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.13,
author = {Roberto Capone and Philipp Debs and Hamid El Bilali and Gianluigi Cardone and Nicola Lamaddalena},
title = {Water Footprint in the Mediterranean Food Chain: Implications of Food Consumption Patterns and Food Wastage},
journal = {International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences},
volume = {3},
number = {2},
pages = {26-36},
doi = {10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.13},
url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.13},
eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijnfs.20140302.13},
abstract = {Consumed food type, composition and quantity affects water resources demand (cf. water footprint). Since blue water resources availability is limited in the Mediterranean area diets shifting and food losses and waste reduction are key strategies. The paper aims at analyzing the water footprint of food consumption and implications of food waste in terms of water demand. The paper is based on secondary data mainly from the FAO Food Balance Sheets and the Water Footprint Network. Approximately 91% of the water footprint (WF) in the Mediterranean is due to the consumption of agricultural products. Dietary energy ranges between 2,130 (Palestine) and 3,666 kcal/day/person (Turkey). The share of vegetal-based energy in the diet ranges from 66.5% in France to 88.9% in Palestine. Total WF of food supply in Italy (1848.3) is higher than in Finland (1116.7) but lower than in the USA (2198.7 m3/capita/year). The highest water footprint is the green one, followed by the grey then the blue one. Meat and dairy products represent about a half of the WF of food supply. The contribution of cereals is significant in Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries. The high Mediterranean consumptive water use is exacerbated by food losses and waste. In Egypt, losses in the rice supply chain are about 25%. Food loss and wastage account for more than one quarter of the total consumptive freshwater use. A 50% decrease in food losses and waste at the global level would save 1,350 km3 a year. Adoption of more sustainable food consumption patterns and production systems and the reduction of food losses and waste can help reducing pressure on the scarce water resources in the Mediterranean. Food waste reduction interventions will have significant impact on freshwater resource availability as other water use efficiency measures in agriculture and food production.},
year = {2014}
}
TY - JOUR T1 - Water Footprint in the Mediterranean Food Chain: Implications of Food Consumption Patterns and Food Wastage AU - Roberto Capone AU - Philipp Debs AU - Hamid El Bilali AU - Gianluigi Cardone AU - Nicola Lamaddalena Y1 - 2014/01/30 PY - 2014 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.13 DO - 10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.13 T2 - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences JF - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences JO - International Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences SP - 26 EP - 36 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2327-2716 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijnfs.20140302.13 AB - Consumed food type, composition and quantity affects water resources demand (cf. water footprint). Since blue water resources availability is limited in the Mediterranean area diets shifting and food losses and waste reduction are key strategies. The paper aims at analyzing the water footprint of food consumption and implications of food waste in terms of water demand. The paper is based on secondary data mainly from the FAO Food Balance Sheets and the Water Footprint Network. Approximately 91% of the water footprint (WF) in the Mediterranean is due to the consumption of agricultural products. Dietary energy ranges between 2,130 (Palestine) and 3,666 kcal/day/person (Turkey). The share of vegetal-based energy in the diet ranges from 66.5% in France to 88.9% in Palestine. Total WF of food supply in Italy (1848.3) is higher than in Finland (1116.7) but lower than in the USA (2198.7 m3/capita/year). The highest water footprint is the green one, followed by the grey then the blue one. Meat and dairy products represent about a half of the WF of food supply. The contribution of cereals is significant in Southern and Eastern Mediterranean countries. The high Mediterranean consumptive water use is exacerbated by food losses and waste. In Egypt, losses in the rice supply chain are about 25%. Food loss and wastage account for more than one quarter of the total consumptive freshwater use. A 50% decrease in food losses and waste at the global level would save 1,350 km3 a year. Adoption of more sustainable food consumption patterns and production systems and the reduction of food losses and waste can help reducing pressure on the scarce water resources in the Mediterranean. Food waste reduction interventions will have significant impact on freshwater resource availability as other water use efficiency measures in agriculture and food production. VL - 3 IS - 2 ER -
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