5734_NHLS_Katarzyna_Dembska

BCFN Young Earth Solutions YES!

Sustainability in the School Foodservice Abstract: Italian's lifestyle is demanding more water then ever. Population has risen to 60 milion, and our dietary patterns have little to do with the widely publicised Mediterranean diet. As the consumption of animal protein rises, water basins are emptied, and the country is plagued by drought. New food practices must be carried out: not only individual changes, but in the community in order to create an "eco-genic" environment. School cafeterias are an ideal setting to promote sustainable living. First of all, numbers have their impact, as we are talking about hundreds, if not thousands of meals served every day. Secondarily, lunch at school has an educative value, ad the younger can learn why and how to act in a sustainable manner. The water Footprint Extensive Calculator determines the collective impact of a lunch prepared for 1364 customers by the Centralized Kitchen of Quarrata, a small town near Pistoia, Tuscany. The "water consuming" lunch results in a 995 m3 water footprint, with 70% of it due to meat products. The "water fiendly" alternative provides a 67% reduction of water footprint, while providing a balanced meal of our culinary tradition.

Author

Katarzyana Dembska

Two factors have mainly contributed to the increased demand of water in food production: population growth and changes in dietary habits. Today, 7 billion consumers’ needs are to be met , and Italy’s population has risen as well, from 48 million to 60 million in the past half century.

Italy, once famed for its Mediterranean diet, is living a reality that has little to do with what Ancel Keys described in his Seven Countries Study. It seems that Italians are forgetting the lesson they taught everyone else, and traditional foods are making room for ready to eat fast foods and calorie packed snacks.

The post-war years of the economic miracle directed dietary choices from legumes, cereals and fresh produce towards an increased consumption on animal protein (milk and dairy products, eggs and meat). Fifty years have passed, and the country is still following the same trail. The health concerns of contemporary dietary choices are widely discussed and known. But what are the ecological consequences of Italian’s food trends?

Intensive production of meat, eggs and milk is environmentally demanding. Livestock production contributes extensively to soil erosion, with one third of the world’s cereal harvest being consumed by animals. The amount of water used to grow feed and nurture the livestock make the current pattern of consumption an unsustainable one.

FAO estimates that agriculture worldwide has consumed on average 70% of all water withdrawals, and the world's water extractions for irrigation will increase by about 14% by 2030.

Italy is already living in a state of water scarcity, as the amount of water available is falling year after year. In Tuscany, the current state of extreme drought is plaguing the countryside, and agricultural associations call for the state of natural disaster.

It becomes necessary to foster changes in the food environments and practices in order to face the water crisis. It has already been proven how an individual can make sustainable food choices by reducing animal protein consumption; my project applies this principle to a community food service, where the environmental effect of food choices are more effective because of the large number of meals provided by community foodservice.

For this reason, school becomes is an ideal setting to advocate practices of sustainable living. School lunches are becoming more frequent: 2,8 million children attend primary school (ISTAT) and hundreds, if not thousands of meals prepared everyday by centralized kitchens. School lunch have an educative value, and are an opportunity for the little ones to learn why and how to think and act ecologically. It is with education in fact that we can assure their nutritional and environmental future.

The project intends to determine the stress on water resources of the two types of lunches: a “water consuming lunch” compared to an “ecological lunch”, that is also nutritionally complete and part of the traditional Mediterranean diet. The Water Footprint Extensive Calculator, developed by Hoekstra and Chapagain, is the device used to determine the water virtually consumed.

The water footprint of a product (a commodity, good or service) is defined by Hoekstra as "the total volume of freshwater that is used directly or indirectly in the manufacture of the product. Is calculated by taking into account the consumption of fresh water at all stages of the production chain.

In my project, I have directly calculated of the water footprint of a lunch prepared by the Centralized Kitchen of Quarrata, a small town near Pistoia, Tuscany, that serves eight schools in the surrounding area. On December 1, 2011, 1364 meals were served. Of these, 533 were prepared for children from kindergarten, 712 for elementary school students, 7 for middle school students, and 112 for adults.

On this specific day, the menu included: chickpeas cream with pasta; chicken stew; green beans; bread; seasonal fruit. The food served in schools is divided into specific categories (cereal products, meat products, fruit, vegetables) as requested by the Extensive Calculator.

The total amount of food has been calculated by multiplying the expected food portion ( as indicated in the “Linee di Indirizzo Regionali per la Ristorazione Scolastica”, the regional guidelines for the school foodservice) for the number of specific consumers.

The Water Footprint Extensive Calculator (available on http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=cal/WaterFootprintCalculator) expects an amount in kg/week. For this reason, the total amount of food has been multiplied by seven. The food served in schools is divided into specific categories (cereal products, meat products, fruit, vegetables). The resulting Water Footprint, as it is expressed in m³/year, is divided by 365 in order to have a “daily Water Footprint”.

The resulting water footprint is of 995 m³ of water (for the specific meal, provided to 1364 consumers). 70% of this Footprint is determined by the meat in the menu.

In order to reduce the impact on water resources, my project estimates the impact exclusively plant-based menu, that is nutritionally adequate. By introducing a single course of pasta and legumes instead of meat, while maintaining the other dishes (green beans, bread and fruit), the calculation results in 332 m³of water. This proves a 67% reduction in the consumption of the water resource. If this menu was to be introduced at least once a week, instead of a meat-based menu, with portions in accordance to the national guidelines, the ecological impact of the school community would be significantly reduced.

Lunchtime in school is an opportunity to taste foods that are not often eaten at home (fruits, vegetables and legumes) that are an important part of our culinary culture, but are disappearing from our dining tables, despite the ongoing recommendations of the scientific community. The ecological aspect of this dietary choice is an added value that proves the importance of reconsidering food consumption, and the importance of actions and education in managing our renewable, but scarce, resource.

Bibliography:

“The Water Footprint Assessment Manual- Setting the Global Standard” Hoekstra & Chapagain The Independent “Child obesity swells, as Italy forgets eating habits” Micheal Day, September 1 2011 “The Food Atlas” Eric Millstone FAOSTAT http://faostat.fao.org/