Impatto ambientale della dieta a base di carne. Valutazione di scenari alternativi di consumo.

This study was done to shed light on the environmental impacts derived from livestock sector. In particular, the aim of this study was to evaluate the greenhouse gas emissions from a meat-based diet and its water footprint. We take in exam three different scenarios. The first one represents the reference scenario in which we evaluate the actual, as-is consumption pattern. The second scenario has been constructed on a healthy diet based on the nutritional recommendations in Italy. The last one is a vegan model of diet and it represents the most sustainable scenario. Here, we want to suggest that dietary changes could not only create substantial benefits for human health, but can also play an important role in solving environmental crisis. This work is addressed to the consumer and it is aimed to enhance his awareness and his power of choice, in particular for what concerns food consumption. The results give an indication on how eating less meat could lead to a decisive reduction of GHG emissions and to a more sustainable management of water resources. The GHG emissions from the as-is consumption pattern amount to 61,47 kg CO2 pro capite and its water consumption is equal to 61824 liters, monthly. In a healthy scenario, we found that a consumer could save monthly 6,05 kgCO2 and 7758 liters of water. The veg scenario is the most desirable one, in fact a vegan consumer can save monthly 22,4 kgCO2 and 31389 liters of water (more than what he could consume) compared with the reference scenario.