Our food choices have a significant impact on the environment, health and the local economy. From production to distribution to consumption, food is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, consumption of natural resources and waste generation. Promoting a sustainable diet, based on local, seasonal and environmentally friendly products, not only reduces the individual ecological footprint, but also supports local communities and preserves biodiversity. Consciously choosing what to eat is a crucial step towards a more sustainable future.
General Suggestions
Here are some general suggestions you can implement in your weekly routine:
- Consider adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet. Switching to a vegetarian or vegan diet significantly reduces your environmental impact, as plant-based foods require less land, water, and energy to produce compared to meat and dairy. This shift helps lower greenhouse gas emissions, conserve natural resources, and reduce deforestation, making it a more sustainable choice for the planet. You can start by gradually reducing your meat consumption, limiting it to a couple of times a week, before eliminating it permanently from your diet
- Pay more attention to what you eat: prefer local, seasonal and organic food. Choose local shops and markets over supermarkets. This reduces your carbon footprint by minimizing transportation and energy use. In addition it supports local farmers, preserves biodiversity, and avoids harmful pesticides. This approach promotes fresher, more nutritious food while encouraging sustainable farming practices that protect the environment and local ecosystems.
- Cook more at home, bring your home-cooked meals with you to work or university, and avoid food delivery and eating out in restaurants when possible. First, it reduces the reliance on single-use packaging often associated with take-away and convenience foods, which minimizes plastic waste and lowers your overall environmental impact. Second, cooking at home allows you to choose locally-sourced, seasonal, and organic ingredients, which typically have a lower carbon footprint compared to processed or restaurant-prepared foods. Finally, home-cooked meals often use less energy in preparation and transport compared to commercial food production and delivery, further reducing your energy consumption and environmental footprint.
- Reduce food waste: be aware of the quantities of food you consume and purchase accordingly. Avoid being fooled by offers on maxi-packs of fresh food if you are unable to consume them before they perish. But if you find out that you’ve bought too much, remember that you can cut up and freeze most fruits and vegetables.
- Plan your meals and cook with a weekly perspective, and reuse leftover food for new dishes. You should avoid using plastic to store food in the fridge because condensation will form on it, which favours the development of mold and bacterial colonies. Food waste contributes to unnecessary energy, water, and resources being used in production, transportation, and disposal.
- Reduce plastic packaging: Use tote bags, drink tap water, buy bulk products, limit the use of single-serving, reuse the plastic packaging you already have, materials creatively, self-produce, reduce food waste (Make shopping list, watch expiration dates and end perishable products)
https://www.iobevo.com/online/7-consigli-per-ridurre-i-rifiuti-da-imballaggio/ https://www.menorifiuti.org/2016/09/05/waste-packaging-7-consigli-per-ridurre-i-rifiuti-da-imballaggio/
Opportunities in Bologna
Bulk stores
La Bottega di Silvia – alimentari sfusi e biocosmesi
in Via Vittorio Veneto, 16/d, 40131 Bologna BO
Il bio sfuso
in Via S. Felice, 101b, 40122 Bologna BO
Camilla, emporio di comunità
in Via Vincenzo Casciarolo, 8d, 40127 Bologna BO
Organic and fair trade shops
Altromercato Bottega
Via Altabella, 7/b, 40125 Bologna BO
La Saponaria
Biostorie Bologna, Str. Maggiore, 35/C, 40125 Bologna BO
Sustainable purchase groups
(in italiano GAS=gruppo di acquisto solidale)
The goal is to purchase goods and services of common use according to the criteria of the solidarity economy. Respect for the environment, fair trade, natural products, the quality of the product and of the production process are only some of the values of this good opportunity.
Some purchasing groups in Bologna and its surroundings are:
for the purchase of excellent citrus fruits and many other products. It has distribution points in Ozzano Dell’Emilia and many others in Bologna.
it’s a consumer cooperative. Camilla was born within GAS Alchemilla, a solidarity purchasing group in Bologna, from the desire to extend the management of product purchasing to a greater number of people.
(Zola predosa)
(Castelfranco emilia)
(Casalecchio di Reno)
Local Markets
almost every day in a different location in Bologna. Campi Aperti is an association of producers and citizens that supports organic peasant agriculture and the right of communities to decide on their own food production, nutrition and land management. Their production is strictly organic and local, linked to territoriality, seasonality of the product and controlled through a participatory guarantee system.
Monday in Via Piave (di fronte al parco del velodromo, in Piazza VIII Agosto e in Piazza Verdi); Tuesday (in Cirenaica); Thursday (in Piazza Lucio Dalla); Friday (in quartiere Savena e a Casalecchio); Saturday (in Pratello)
in Via Azzo Gardino 65, BO, on wednesday ad on saturday. It is a farmers’ market managed by an association of over 50 producers, with values and rules shared in a strict disciplinary approach. Only local and seasonal products, presented only by those who produce, for zero km shopping and street food.
– Via Galliera, 60c, Bologna BO. Campagna Amica by Coldiretti connects cities with the countryside through markets where farmers sell directly, ensuring fair prices and transparency. Consumers can buy fresh, seasonal products with guaranteed origin and clear labeling. Campagna Amica also organizes markets in other spaces in the city.
Other
Request a Community Garden Plot
Adults residing in Bologna can apply for a community garden plot, provided they don’t own or use any arable land. This initiative, started in the 1980s, promotes social interaction and community engagement, particularly for seniors.
Home Delivery by La Boutique del Biologico
La Boutique del Biologico delivers certified organic products across Bologna with temperature-controlled transport and a pre-delivery call. Custom orders for special diets are also available.
it is a restaurant that cooks vegetarian, vegan and organic dishes. You can eat on site or order takeaway. It also organizes shared cooking workshops and offers a vegetarian catering service for events. The “Pasto Nomade” cuisine is based on solid principles: no to waste, no to plastic, seasonality and short supply chain for its raw materials.
It’s a great option if you want to order takeout. even if you are not vegetarian their dishes will amaze you!
Download the app to connect with local restaurants, supermarkets, and more to buy unsold food at low prices, preventing waste. Simply log in, get geolocated, and find nearby markets to pick up a surprise bag at the set time.
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