Towards sustainable food systems – An analysis of EU policy measures setting environmental sustainability requirements
The current challenges affecting the EU food system call for an urgent shift towards more sustainability. As set out by the Commission Farm to Fork Strategy, the path to achieve such an ambitious goal should promote policy coherence at EU and national level, mainstream sustainability in food-related policies and strengthen the resilience of food systems. […]
Welfare and environmental impact of organic pig production, a collection of factsheets
There are common animal welfare challenges related to piglet mortality and health problems around weaning. Further, outdoor concrete runs in systems for growing-finishing pigs challenge the organic goals of and are associated with a high risk of ammonia emissions, while pasture systems do facilitate natural living, but are challenged by a high risk of nutrient […]
Benessere e impatto ambientale della produzione di suini biologici: una raccolta di schede informative
Esistono problemi comuni di benessere animale legati alla mortalità dei suinetti e ai problemi di salute durante lo svezzamento. Inoltre, i pascoli all’aperto in cemento nei sistemi di allevamento dei suini da carne mettono in discussione gli obiettivi biologici e sono associati a un elevato rischio di emissioni di ammoniaca, mentre i sistemi di pascolo […]
Presence of pesticides in the environment, transition into organic food, and implications for quality assurance along the European organic food chain – A review
The use of synthetic pesticides is not allowed in organic production, but traces of synthetic pesticides are regularly detected in organic food. To safeguard the integrity of organic production, organic certifiers are obliged to investigate the causes for pesticide residues on organic food, entailing high costs to the organic sector. Such residues can have various […]
Organic Food System Cases Around The World: A Documentation Project
In: Sustainable Food System, Vol. 1 Series of publications by Department of Organic Food Quality and Food Culture of the University of Kassel. The global food system continues to be threatened by climate change, environmental degradation, food insecurity, and hidden hunger. Consequently, both ecosystem- and human health issues will continue or worsen if no sustainable […]
Progetto Core Organic: “Benessere e impatto ambientale della produzione di suini biologici”
Il gruppo di istituti che partecipa al progetto Core Organic Cofund POWER , tra cui FIBL, CREA, INRAE, ha pubblicato un manuale che mira ad aumentare la salute e il benessere dei suini biologici, riducendo al contempo l’impronta ambientale dei sistemi di allevamento. Fornisce un quadro comune di strategie basate sulla conoscenza per la progettazione […]
Strategies for feeding the world more sustainably with organic agriculture
Article published in Nature Communications. Organic agriculture is proposed as a promising approach to achieving sustainable food systems, but its feasibility is also contested. We use a food systems model that addresses agronomic characteristics of organic agriculture to analyze the role that organic agriculture could play in sustainable food systems. Here we show that a […]
Does organic farming reduce environmental impacts? – A meta-analysis of European research
Article published in the Journal of Environmental Management. Organic farming practices have been promoted as, inter alia, reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture. This meta-analysis systematically analyses published studies that compare environmental impacts of organic and conventional farming in Europe. The results show that organic farming practices generally have positive impacts on the environment per […]
Organic production systems: sustainability assessment of rice in Italy
Even though organic practices are getting more and more widespread, there is scant of information on their environmental impacts. A comprehensive approach is needed in order to take into account, on the one hand, the lower amount of inputs normally used (e.g. pesticides) in organic systems and, on the other hand, the lower yield they […]
Optimization of organic and conventional olive agricultural practices from a Life Cycle Assessment and Life Cycle Costing perspectives
Olive growing is an important cultural and traditional system in the Mediterranean region that has considerable environmental impacts. Italy is ranked second in the world in terms of olive production and olive-cultivated area. Apulia is Italy’s largest olive growing region and accounts for 33% of the total Italian surface area planted to olive trees. Organic […]
