Materia, energia e conoscenza, in circolo

Franco Fassio and Nadia Tecco

The ways we have produced and consumed food over the past fifty years have had devastating impacts on ecosystems and human societies. The agro-industrial sector has contributed to exceeding 4 of the 9 thresholds that determine global limits – climate change, loss of biodiversity, changes in the nitrogen and phosphorus cycle, and changes in land use.

The consumption of unhealthy food is causing serious health problems, and while almost a billion people have no food, we throw away enough food to feed them without problems. It is clear that the current system, based on rigidly linear logic, does not work and that the transition to a circular economy would bring enormous benefits to the environment and consumers. A logic that can be partly traced back to the knowledge and traditions of rural civilization, where everything was reused, and that could promote awareness of the dynamics and cultural relationships underlying the act of eating, encouraging the food system to find a new balance.

Circular Economy for Food takes stock of the current transformation and, in addition to the contributions of some of the most prestigious Italian experts, presents forty case studies dedicated to companies in the food sector that have focused on circularity to pave the way for innovations that can reduce waste and improve the eco-efficiency and efficiency of products, services and processes in the food system.