Ancient wheats can be understood as dynamic populations of historically cultivated wheat, which, unlike modern varieties, have not been developed through organised genetic improvement programmes, but rather through traditional farmer selection and local adaptation over centuries. Recently, ancient wheats have enjoyed renewed popularity, particularly in Italy, due to their wide genetic diversity and the significant role of wheat and its derivatives (e.g., bread, pasta, and baked goods) in the country’s culinary and cultural heritage. However, information on the characteristics of Italian ancient wheats remains limited and fragmented. Therefore, this review aims to collect, organise and compare the available evidence on the historical, agronomic, economic and sustainability parameters of ancient wheats, in order to provide an overall assessment of these varieties. The results showed that 34 Italian ancient wheats were studied, mainly from Tuscany and Sicily. With plant heights of up to 180 cm and yields of 1.4–4.8 t/ha, ancient wheats are characterised by greater height but lower productivity compared to modern wheats. They demonstrate good adaptability to poor soils and climatic stress, natural competitiveness with weeds and potential resistance to pathogens, rendering them suitable for sustainable, low-input agricultural systems. Furthermore, ancient wheat flours cost more than twice as much as commercial flours, with average prices of €3.00–5.10/kg, mainly due to artisanal production methods and belonging to short or niche supply chains. Finally, considerable variability in test weight (TW) and thousand kernel weight (TKW) could negatively affect flour or semolina yields. In conclusion, despite their low productivity, ancient wheats could offer significant opportunities in terms of environmental sustainability and biodiversity conservation, proving to be a strategic resource for more resilient and sustainable agriculture.

According to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), by 2050, food losses and waste (FLW) could reach 2.1 billion tons, up +40

The framework developed is based on the qualitative and quantitative analysis of recent developments in consumption habits induced by the exogenous shocks of supply and demand caused by the post-pandemic scenarios and the war in Ukraine. The key role of the new processes of globalization has led companies and consumers to change their purchase of food. An emerging market, i.e. food delivery, has become one of the most commonly used channels for food distribution. It is interesting to observe both from the economic and nutritional sides the consequences that these new consumption habits have brought to consumers. In this regard, the research aims to evaluate the correlation between the emerging market of food delivery and its implications on food quality standards by consumers’ willingness to pay.

Purpose The aim of this paper is to assess whether the current European target to increase the areas under organic farming to 25% by 2030 is attainable and whether the simple increase in areas under organic farming may be sufficient to improve the sustainability of European agriculture. Design/methodology/approach The analysis has been carried out through a simple data processing related to areas under organic farming, for the period 2012–2020 (Eurostat database), in order to highlight the trends of areas under organic farming and to verify whether the annual average change rates may be compatible with the stated target. Findings The analysis showed that organic farming has a productive weight not corresponding to the amount on the total of the areas under cultivation and a small impact on the total of food consumption. It is a plausible hypothesis, the one that shows the increase in areas under organic farming will engage forms of agriculture and farms that, already, are more sustainable, so the achievement of 25% target will not particularly impact the European potential productive and the less environmental sustainable forms of agriculture. Originality/value This paper contributes to the debate, involving scientific community, policy maker and civil society, about the real contribution of organic farming to sustainability, and it will be developed in future research.

The reduction of food losses and waste is part of the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals (target 12.3) and, consequently, is one of the EU's political priority in the field of circular economy. In this framework, the target 12.3 of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development stated, by 2030, a not quantified reduction in post-harvest losses and a halving of food waste at the retail and consumers levels; while the EU Commission has recently set the target, by 2030, of reducing by 10% food losses occurred at the stage of processing and manufacturing and by 30% food waste occurred at the stage of retail and consumption. Food losses and waste should primarily be considered an expression of inefficiency of agricultural production processes determining several environmental, social and economic impacts. The quantification of food losses and waste is still an unsolved problem so much so that, in EU; currently available data are only related to the period 2020–2021 and, in many cases, are based on estimates and are not uniform in individual Member States. This makes reliable predictions of results achievable by the European Union particularly difficult. The aim of this paper is to analyze whether the plan of losses and waste reduction established by the EU Commission is able to both ensure the achievement of 2030 Agenda target 12.3 and to make a contribution to improving the sustainability of agri-food systems. In doing so, in addition to Eurostat data on losses and waste, the EU-Commission projections and the latest results of recent studies on environmental, social and economic impact of food losses and waste in EU were used, including indicators on hidden costs of agrifood systems developed by FAO. What observed shows that the EU-Commission reduction plan, if implemented, should result in a reduction of losses and waste inadequate for complying with the recommendation given by the target 12.3. Furthermore, the EU-Commission's decision not to provide for losses reduction at the agricultural stage should significantly limit environmental benefits, given that much of the negative environmental impacts (GHG, land and water use, etc.) are ascribable to this stage as are, according to FAO estimates, hidden environmental costs. Besides limiting environmental benefits, the EU-Commission reduction plan, focusing only on the food losses and waste reduction in the final stage of supply food chain, could lead to negative social and economic impacts caused by a decline in the demand, which will reduce supply, jobs losses and GDP reduction. The conclusion on this, is that the reduction of food losses and waste is an issue that cannot be addressed separated but needs to be included in a wider program of integrated and complementary measures as a whole clearly aimed at realizing forms of circular economy.

Quality assessment of cocoa-based food products (i.e., chocolate) reached increasing interest by scientific research, as it is rich in bioactive compounds (BCs) (i.e., catechins, methylxanthines, serotonin, etc.), which can have beneficial effects on human health (cardiovascular, immunomodulatory, mood regulator, etc.). Thus, the cocoa content may influence the quality of chocolate products. In this regard, the study aimed at a comprehensive evaluation of different BCs: biogenic amines (BAs), free fatty acids (FFAs), and antioxidant compounds (Total Polyphenols Content, TPC and Antioxidant Activity, AA), in chocolate samples with different cocoa contents (50%, 60%, 70%, 85%, 100%). By means of HPLC-UV/RF analysis, chocolates samples with higher cocoa content showed the highest concentration of serotonin, which represented the 25% of the total BAs concentration. Considering the total FFAs, unsaturated fatty acids (linoleic, linolenic and oleic) accounted for 30 to 50% in all chocolate samples analyzed. Antioxidant assays showed a great variability within samples, mainly highlighting a gradual increase of TPC and AC as a function of higher cocoa content. The findings of this study provide useful insights into cocoa-based products, showing that cocoa content influences the BCs concentration, thus improving the nutritional characteristics and the quality of the final product.

Purpose The study’s objective is to assess the environmental performance of rice production in Northern Italy, in particular in Piedmont, the first Italian and European district for the rice-growing area, and thus identify the most critical hotspots and agricultural processes. In particular, as a case study, a farm located in Vercelli (VC) has been chosen. Subsequently, the study results were compared with other different cultivation practices to evaluate the most sustainable choice. Methods The application of the LCA has been performed, highlighting the phases of rice production that have the most significant impact. Then, uncertainty and sensitivity analyses have been made to estimate the robustness of the results and assess the influence of changing some input variables on emission reduction. Finally, multivariate statistical, specifically a principal component analysis (PCA), was conducted to aid the interpretation of the output dataset of this case study. LCA, uncertainty analysis, and sensitivity analysis were performed with SimaPro 9.2.0, using ReCiPe 2016 Midpoint (H) methodology, and PCA with R software. Results and discussions The hotspot with the highest environmental load is irrigation, which compared to the other phases impacts more in 15 out of 18 categories, including 12 with impacts greater than + 75%. This is because irrigation causes direct impacts, related to the methanogenesis in rice fields, but also indirect impacts related mainly to the production of the energy mix required to move the large masses of irrigation water. Therefore, different water management systems were compared and results show that the irrigation systems based on intermittent paddy submergence (DSI) could result in − 40% lower impacts, resulting to be the preferable technique over the other irrigation systems analyzed, including the traditional one used in this study. Conclusions In order to reduce the environmental impacts related to the irrigation process, a water management system characterized by intermittent flooding of the paddy field (DSI) could be used as it reduces the environmental impacts the most (− 40%), while the least suitable system is one characterized by continuous flooding without drought periods, as it causes the highest impacts.

The global food system represents the set of the most important activities aimed at both the continuation of human life on Earth and the safeguard of natural resources.There is no doubt, in fact, that human beings cannot live without food and, at the same time, for their food supply they are dependent on global food system.In addition, agricultural activities involve 37% of all the emerged land and they require the use of natural resources (soil, water) and living organisms (cultivated plants and raised animals) to be done.It follows that, for the sustainability, no human activity is more relevant than those aimed at food production.At present, all the agro-industrial activities covered by the food global system, are experiencing serious efficiency problems, which effects are evident in environmental, social and economic criticalities, whose costs tend to be higher than the total value of the production.The future of mankind appears to be more and more tied not so much to a further increase in the agricultural productivity, but rather to the possibility to redirect the agro-industrial activities towards a more efficient behaviour able to achieve the best possible compromise between the different human needs and the necessity to preserve natural resources useful for their development.The purpose of this paper is to analyse if the current productive systems are able to achieve their economic objective while taking into account the human needs and the characteristics of the nature, that is if their development can be achieved through a cost benefit ratio acceptable as regards the objective of sustainability.To do this, a comparative analysis of studies about the sustainability of global food system was conducted.The analysis highlighted the unsustainability of the current global food system and the need to re-orientate in a more efficient way agro-industrial business so that the top quality of product and process sustainability and efficiency can be ensured.This study might serve as a starting point for further research on the subject.

The social component has become a more and more important variable in business management and has taken on the new mood of considering the concept of sustainability. Quality, environment and ethic have become the pillars of business management and they are strategically used by firms in almost every sector of the economic.Considering the multimodal relationship between tourism and environment and its numerous related directs and indirect environmental impacts, terms such as environment, ethics and social responsibility have become familiar in the tourism management. In the tourism sector, where there are several stakeholders and where the link with the territorial context is very strict, the adoption of socially responsible behaviour can be an opportunity to give a significant boost to the sector and, at the same time, to provide a long-term productivity. In the last years, tourism sector has experienced some series of voluntary instruments able to better communicate externally environmental and social performances. Among this, the interest of this paper has been focused on the certification systems EMAS and EU-Ecolabel. In particular, the focus of the paper is to evaluate their use as Corporate Social Responsibility instruments in the context of Italian tourism.

The fight against hunger and poverty has long been at the heart of international policies in favour of Less Developed Countries. The first two Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of 2030 Agenda strategy are just "No poverty" and "Zero Hunger". Notwithstanding the results achieved in the recent past, in the poorest and low-income Countries, especially Sub-Saharan Africa, lots of people continue to suffer from hunger and poverty. In these Countries, the perspective for economic growth and development of agricultural productivity, as currently measured, is not able to assure the elimination of poverty and hunger. These problems will probably tend to focus right in this area, where the maximum demographic increase is also forecast. Despite of the increase of agricultural productivity is paramount for food security, in the Poorest Countries it is, up to now, strictly linked to farm new lands. In the last years, in the Sub-Saharan Africa low income Countries, investments in new lands have been affected by Land Grabbing. The aim of this paper is to verify whether and to what extent the Land Grabbing operations have affected both the variation of agricultural land and the development of agricultural activities for food security in the Countries concerned.

Migration is one of the main economic, social, and political problem of the 21st century. For this reason, the 2030 Agenda considers the question of migration within some Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). All Countries have to adapt their activities to the new general framework of 2030 Agenda, that is to integrate the SDGs under the internal policies. It follows that all Countries will have to consider the relationship between migration and development in all their policies. In this context, EU shall set up its own integrated project, providing for: a serious reconsideration of the current cooperation policies; a not emergency management of migrant reception; a planned integration of migrants. In this framework, agriculture can play an important role both, as basis for a development process in the Countries of origin, and as an opportunity for socio-economic integration in host Countries. In this regard, it is important that the 2030 Agenda strategy is correctly integrated into agricultural policies, so it can drive agricultural development towards sustainability. The reform of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), currently underway, need to take into consideration some aspects that are of prime importance for the purpose of adapting to the new set 2030 Agenda goals of environmental, social and economic sustainability. The aim of this paper is to verify if the process of integration of the Agenda 2030 into European policies and, in particular, in the PAC, could be able to improve the capacity of agriculture to cope with the new challenges poses by the SDGs.

The Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) has been, for a long time, the main Community policy and, at present, it constitutes one of the main expenditure items (36.7%) of EU budget. In 2015, the United Nations adopted a new global development policy based on 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030, in accordance with the views of 2030 Agenda. As consequences of this, all Countries have to adapt their activities to the new general framework of 2030 Agenda, that is to integrate the SDGs under the internal policies. European Union and their policies, CAP first, must move in this direction. In the last 25 years, CAP was subjected to numerous reforms. According to these reforms, the nature of CAP has been changed, but, most of the problems of the past, have not been removed. CAP remains problematical, especially as regards the distribution of financial supports, social inclusion, sustainability and food security. All these aspects are of prime importance for the purpose of adapting to the new set 2030 Agenda goals of environmental, social and economic sustainability. A new revision of CAP is currently underway and should be concluded by 2020, so that, it could be implemented from the beginning of the new financial perspective period (2021-2028). The aim of this paper is to verify if the PAC review process, currently underway, could be able to achieve the new global development targets.

Thanks to its important naturalistic, historical, cultural and artistic heritage, Italy is one of the countries with the greatest tourist vocation in the world. Consequently, tourism is the most important productive sector in the Italian economy, with an impact just below 12% on GDP. During the long period of economic crisis that affected the major world economies, between 2008 and 2014, some parts of the Italian tourism, including seaside for example, declined. This decline, at an aggregate level, has been however balanced by the development of cultural tourism. About 37% of external demand is attributed to expenditures for holidays in art heritage cities, representing the most dynamic part of Italian tourism. Although with more modest absolute values, agritourism and food and wine tourism are dynamic parts of the Italian tourism too and, sometimes, they are linked with cultural tourism. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the development of cultural tourism, agritourism and food and wine tourism can be a single goal of economic policy aimed at creating new growth strategies in order to overcome the effects of the economic crisis. Organizing as a single economic system the different parts of Italian tourism can be the most coherent action in order to cope with the different development needs and potentialities of Italy, whose economic system is traditionally linked to the territorial values

The growth and economic development forecast prefigures an increase in food demand, especially for animal origin products. In this perspective, the current patterns of agricultural development, ever more agro-industrial, have shown inefficiencies and unbalances which wouldn't make them proposed again in the future. In fact, on one hand, agro-industrial patterns have enabled us to achieve important results in terms of agricultural productivity and access to food, on the other side, they are responsible for the main critical issues of the current agrofood systems: the malnutrition that, in its different manifestations involves about 40% of the world's populations; food wastes and losses so that about one third of world production has been wasted; an oligopoly controlling the market of the main agricultural productive factors leading to serious distortion of free competition; environmental issues mainly arising from industrialised agriculture, especially zootechnical productions. The aim of this paper is to underline how, in order to meet the growing food needs, the necessary corrective actions to rectify the critical issue of current systems must be put in place, such as a better management of available resources and a change in food consumption patterns.

Cotton crops are largely made of genetically modified plants. As a consequence, it is difficult to find areas for organic farming. Despite this, thanks to economic values and important development potential, organic cotton has managed to occupy wide market areas. The aim of this paper is to highlight the relationship between market potentialities of organic cotton both with the income expectations of producers and the growing interest of consumers on topics such as social and environmental sustainability. In particular, the strong image of environmental and social sustainability, related to organic cotton, make it particularly suitable to occupy market niches characterized by the demand of consumers with a high willingness to pay for products with these characteristics. Much sectors whose products have been involved with market niches of organic cotton provide an important base for significant future evolution. The solidity of this perspective is therefore linked to the ability of the sectors concerned to provide for adequate organisational and combined measures. In the absence thereof, the agricultural phase can scarcely realize profitable prices. As consequence, the quantity of product needed to sustain the potential of development cannot be available.

The most significant and beneficial health properties of wine consumption are related to compounds with high antioxidant capacity like polyphenols, including trans-resveratrol. Red wines are also a source of biogenic amines and sulphites that are detrimental to health. The main aim of this study was to assess whether a direct relationship between potential differences in the health-promoting and health-harmful properties can be found reflected in the commercial value of Italian red wines. Sixty Italian red wines, representative of three retail price categories, were analyzed by chromatographic and spectrophotometric techniques and the results evaluated by Principal Component Analysis. Wines in the category with a higher commercial value were clearly separated from those in the lower price category. In particular, the higher-priced wines showed higher values for trans-resveratrol (3.31 mg/L) and antioxidant capacity (p < 0.05), but also of total biogenic amines content, in particular putrescine (10.71 mg/L) and cadaverine (3.23 mg/L) (p < 0.05). The lower-priced wines showed a lower polyphenol content (135 g/L GAE) and a higher histamine content (1.02 mg/L) (p < 0.05). The oenological procedures that lead to wines of higher antioxidant quality cause the natural formation of only putrescine and cadaverine, which are not harmful to human health. (C) 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc.

Any human activity needs to realize conditions purposeful to the economic objectives to be pursued and to do this, needs to modify the original environmental equilibrium. These situations are clearly observable in agricultural activities, whose development has often determined an "artificialisation" so intense to change the original appearance of entire areas.The evolution of the territorial role of agriculture has implicated the coexistence among various economic activities, some of which have gained benefits from the "artificialisation" realized by farmers. It is the case of touristic activities and food services which take advantages from the beauty and from the attractiveness of landscapes shaped by agricultural activities.The purpose of this paper is to verify how, for territorial realities where tourist offer found its main basis on contexts realized by agriculture, the set of economic activities can take advantages from the sustainable use of the same resource and, therefore, it can contribute to its development. To this aim, we'll take as an example the recent development of food and wine tourism, in Italy, as an important expression of tangible socio-economic systems based on the enhancement of local resources.

In Developed Countries, the problem of malnutrition is mainly connected to excessive food-intake whose direct consequences can be overweight and obesity. In the last decades, these problems increased significantly and they are expected to rise in the next future. Consumers education towards healthier food models is the main tool to prevent overweight and obesity. The European Union has approached the issue through regulatory actions that, from 2006, have completed the existing general framework of labelling requirements, by providing for specific provisions aimed at protecting the consumer's right to correct information on nutritional and health properties of food. In this framework, the aim of this paper is to verify if after ten years of the introduction of the European Regulation 1924/2006, the declared objectives have been reached. In particular, an analysis in depth, regarding the evolution of lifestyle, health conditions and food production in Italy in the period 2005-2014 has been carried out.

Soil is a complex resource very important for the maintenance of natural balances; at the same time it supports all human activities. All the modifications to the natural soil equilibrium, put in place in order to make it more functional to the economic objectives are extremely delicate, as due to the length of the regeneration time, soil can be considered essentially as a non-renewable resource and, as such, it must be used in a responsible way, also respect to the financial investments involving it. In recent years, political and economic circumstances have created a particularly favourable context for investments in land. Predictions which have drawn up long term perspectives based on the scarcity of resources and the guidelines which have given centrality to private investments seem to be questionable. The issue of agriculture resource scarcity might be less relevant if the current conditions of access and use were improved. Similar consideration can be done considering the role of private investments that as such will never pursue public interest objectives. As a consequence of such climate, land grabbing phenomena have been easily developed. In this paper, both the land grabbing phenomenon and its implication from the social and environmental point of view, such as land defrauding to local community and its destination to no food cultivation and the exploitation of the resource, are analyzed. In fact, it is hard to think that this kind of investments can lead to a sustainable and responsible soil use.