Meats and Cured Meats: The New Frontiers of Sustainability
Environment, Health, Safety, Culture, Economy and Ethics in Meat Supply Chains
Synopsis
Animal source foods taken as part of a balanced diet are considered by nutrition experts to be foods of high nutritional value that are important for human health. According to the FAO, the demand for animal proteins worldwide is expected to increase significantly in the coming years, due both to the increase in global population and the growth in demand for higher-quality food in developing countries.
At the same time, starting from the mid-80s, meat consumption in Italy and the Western world has stabilised, and in the face of now consolidated food security, there has been a shift in sensitivity towards ethical issues such as animal welfare and the environmental impacts of livestock farming.
The challenge for livestock production has therefore become to “produce more with fewer resources,” aiming for an increased offer but more “sustainable”, efficient, environmentally attentive and considerate of animal welfare, ensuring fair compensation for farmers and all those involved in the value of the supply chain. Analysing the sustainability of meat and cured meats means studying in the most objective way possible the various topics that concern both the consumer and livestock production.
This volume sparks from an initial interdisciplinary study published in 2018, to describe the “5 facets” of meat sustainability, represented by five chapters: nutrition, environmental impacts and the application of the circular economy to livestock and industry, food safety and animal welfare, the economic aspects of supply chains and the fight against food waste.
Five years later, a revision by the authors has permitted the publication of this new text, which delves deeper and elucidates the significant recent scientific and technological innovations most recently emerged: from more accurate methods of calculating environmental impacts and preserving biodiversity; from the role of livestock in ecological transition, to new opportunities in bio economics and the circular economy, as well as recent scientific developments in the fields of nutrition and health.
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