The Global Footprint Network published a study on the food footprint and sourcing profiles of Mediterranean countries. This is a continuation of GFN previous work on the footprint of Mediterranean diets, with interesting findings.
Besides just providing the food footprint of Mediterranean countries, the study also looks at the food dependencies of Mediterranean countries and proposes a couple of scenarios for reducing the footprint of food.
Dr. Alessandro Galli, senior scientist and director of GFN’s Mediterranean-MENA Program, explained that the research team assessed both a shift to a calories-adequate diet and a change of the diet composition towards less meat and more cereals and vegetables. They concluded that, should countries be able to implement these changes, the whole food footprint of Mediterranean countries could be reduced by about 30%, and the region’s ecological deficit could be reduced by 8% to 10%.
The study also found that, in terms of food sourcing and provision, France is the sole biocapacity self-sufficient country in the Mediterranean region.
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