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FrancoAngeli Journals

Articoli. Lo spazio del cibo: narrazioni, politiche e territori

No. 4 (2023)

Beyond meat? Unsustainability of food, (possible) protein transitions and future landscapes

  • Elena dell'Agnese
  • Marcella Schmidt di Friedberg
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3280/rgioa4-2023oa16849
Submitted
novembre 23, 2023
Published
2023-12-20

Abstract

Although food systems are responsible for a third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, food is often relegated to a marginal position in ecological transition policies. Even when food is mentioned, the focus seems to be on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in relation to energy consumption. However, what we eat, and in particular the meat diet, also has a very high ‘climate’ weight. This paper explores how food culture is articulated in relation to climate change. In particular, it asks whether meat substitutes and the introduction of ‘new’ foods (insects, algae) should become ‘normal’ in order to reduce the climate impact of conventional diets. The economic, employment and landscape consequences of this protein shift, and hence of livestock abandonment and crop change, remain to be explored. 

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