Graphic tools and LCA to promote sustainable food consumption: the Double Food and

Environmental Pyramid of the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition

Luca Ruini Barilla G.e R. Fratelli S.p.A., Parma (Italy) luca.ruini@barilla.com
Roberto Ciati Barilla G.e R. Fratelli S.p.A., Parma (Italy) roberto.ciati@barilla.com
Carlo Alberto Pratesi Roma Tre University, Rome (Italy) pratesi@uniroma3.it
Eleonora Vannuzzi LCEngeneering, Turin (Italy) vannuzzi@studiolce.it
Ludovica Principato La Sapienza University, Rome (Italy) ludovica.principato@uniroma1.it

Abstract.
The Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition (BCFN) has produced an updated version of the
traditional Food Pyramid based on the Mediterranean Diet in order to assess the simultaneous
impact that food has on human health and the environment. The Double Pyramid model
demonstrates how the foods recommended to be consumed most frequently are also those
exerting less environmental impact, whereas the foods that should be consumed more
periodically are those characterized by a higher environmental impact. The environmental
impacts resulting from two different menus were compared. All menus were equally balanced
and comparable in terms of nutrition, but they differed in relation to the presence of absence of
animal flesh and animal products.. The results obtained suggest that a diet based on the
principles of the Mediterranean Diet, as suggested by the Double Pyramid, generates a lower
environmental impact compared to diets that are heavily based on daily meat consumption.

Proceedings of the International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technologies (ISSN

2329-9169) is published annually by the Sustainable Conoscente Network. Jun-Ki Choi and
Annick Anctil, co-editors 2015. ISSSTNetwork@gmail.com.

Graphic tools and LCA to promote sustainable food consumption: the Double Food and Environmental
Pyramid of the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition

Copyright 2015 by Ruini, Ciati, Pratesi et al. Licensed under CC-BY 3.0.
Cite as: Graphic tools and LCA to promote sustainable food consumption: the Double Food and
Environmental Pyramid of the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition. Proc. ISSST, Ruini, Ciati,
Pratesi, Vannuzzi, Principato. Doi information v3 (2015)

L. Ruini et al.

Introduction.
The nutritional value of the Mediterranean diet has been widely recognized. At the same time,
the Mediterranean Diet has been taken by FAO as an example of Sustainable Diet, for its
features of healthiness, affordability and low environmental impact.
As more and more studies document the interrelation between food choices, nutritional
adequacy and environmental impact, the Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition (BCFN) decided to
develop a graphic model to help people achieving a healthy and sustainable diet. Starting from
the Mediterranean Diet, in 2010 BCFN published the first edition of the Double Food and
Environmental Pyramid, a graphic tool that reproposes the traditional food pyramid model,
combining it with the environmental impacts of food.

Investigative Method.
The Double Pyramid is a graphic tool consisting in two frameworks. The Food Pyramid on the
left is based on the Mediterranean Diet pattern, and it classifies the food depending on the
frequency on which they should be consumed. It suggests that a balanced diet should be based
mainly on food of plant origin, while the consumption of food with increasing energy density, like
red meat or sweets, should be moderated or limited.
In the Environmental Pyramid, placed upside-down next to the first one, the same foods are
classified depending on their impact on the environment. The environmental impacts of foods
were calculated through the LCA methodology, using data for impact per kilo of product. The
indicators chosen to express the impacts are Carbon, Water and Ecological Footprint. Data on
the environmental impact were taken from scientific researches and available public data, and
collected by BCFN into a database that up to now contains more than 1,180 data and 350 public
sources.

Results.
Combining the two pyramids makes possible to show that two different, but equally important
objectives overlap in the same dietary pattern: health and environmental protection. The Double
Pyramid demonstrate that foods that should be consumed more frequently (fruit, vegetables,
grains) are also those with lower environmental impact, whereas foods whose consumption
should be moderate or limited are those with higher environmental impact. Indeed, our analysis
shows that plant foods have an environmental impact that is sensibly lower than products of
animal origin. For example, 1kg of bovine meat has a water footprint which is 61 times higher to
the one associated to the same amount of vegetables ((18,870lt vs 310lt), and 11 times higher
to pastas water footprint (1,770lt). Similarly the carbon footprint of fruit (475 gr CO2eq) and
vegetables (820 gr CO2eq) are up to 55 times lower that the one of red meat (26,170 gr
CO2eq).
Starting from the second edition of the Double Pyramid, BCFN decided to identify the most
efficient ways to spread the culture of sustainable diet. For this reason, it was created a tool that
calculates both nutritional values and environmental impacts of dishes and foods commonly
eaten. The calculation tool is not aimed at giving nutritional advices from a medical point of
view, rather than raising peoples awareness on the environmental impacts of different food

Graphic tools and LCA to promote sustainable food consumption: the Double Food and Environmental
Pyramid of the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition

choices. The database used for the calculation contains specific nutritional and environmental
values of more than 220 ingredients.
To estimate the extent to which the food choices of individuals affect the environment, two
different daily menus were analyzed. Both were balanced from a nutritional point of view, but the
first one relies mostly on proteins from plant origin (lacto-ovo-vegetarian menu), while the
second is made from animal origin (meat menu).
Results show that the Carbon Footprint of the meat menu is 2.6 times higher than the
vegetarian one in terms of Carbon (6,497.1g Co2eq compared to 2,483.9g CO2eq), and nearly
the same proportion exist between the Water Footprint of the two menus.

Conclusion.
Our analysis demonstrate that even little changes in the dietary pattern can result in significant
changes in terms of environmental impact. For example, limiting the consumption of meat to just
twice a week, it could be possible to save up to 2,868 grams of carbon dioxide and 2.021 liters
of water per person per day.
The results from this analysis can be useful to elaborate educational campaign aimed at
modifying peoples eating habits. Indeed, we demonstrated that it is possible to adopt a healthy,
sustainable diet without overturning culinary traditions and personal preferences.

L. Ruini et al.

Supplementary Information

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Graphic tools and LCA to promote sustainable food consumption: the Double Food and Environmental
Pyramid of the Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition