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Published in:
2015 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
The Globalisation of Food and Water: The Italian Case
“Water in Food” Group, Politecnico di Torino
Authors : Paola Allamano, Pierluigi Claps, Paolo D’Odorico, Francesco Laio, Luca Ridolfi, Stefania Tamea
Published in: The Water We Eat
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
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Abstract
Food security, intended as the agricultural production capacity to satisfy the nutritional needs of the world’s population, is closely tied to water availability, the latter being essential for the production of any type of food. The water volume required to produce an established quantity of food is called the “virtual water content” and is the amount of water virtually embedded in the good, though not physically present in it. Italy is an exemplary case of high virtual water consumption and dependence on food imports. It is among the leading countries in the world for net virtual water importation, with a high per capita consumption and a persistent reduction in land surface used for agricultural production. Local contradictions arising from the global food supply model are the issue dealt with in this contribution, with particular reference to Italy.