Circular Economy For Food: The Podcast

Thecircular economy belongs to us; it is an evolutionary dynamic that is a child of the ecological fabric that sustains life on the planet. Episode by episode, you can discover its application in the food system, thanks to focused insights and contributions from experts who will share stories, experiences and significant testimonies.

Listen to the first episode:

In a global context based on public debt, credit mechanisms and secondary needs, in which the inequality gap is widening, and we are rapidly exceeding all planetary limits, it is clear that the linear economic model is now inadequate. We can no longer afford to overexploit the planet without allowing ecosystems time to regenerate, borrowing raw materials from future generations without then thinking about how to give them back. The circular economy does just that, all the more so in the food sector: it turns waste into resources, giving them new value, for the environment, for consumers, but also for producers. In this episode we start with some basic definitions, tell what the Circulareconomyforfood.eu platform and theExecutive Master created at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo are doing, and talk about one of the most virtuous cases in Italy of companies that have put a value on all production waste through an ad hoc created company from which one third of the parent company’s turnover is derived.

They intervene in the first episode:

• Carlo Annese | Journalist founder of Piano P
• Franco Fassio | Professor,University of Gastronomic Sciences, Pollenzo, Italy
• Emanuele Bompan | Journalist and editor of Renewable Matter | Renewable Matter
• Paolo Marcesini | Journalist and director of Italia Circolare
• Maira Campanella | Project Manager of Circulareconomyforfood.eu

Listen to the second episode:

The circular economy applied to wine is a crucial operational context for our country. With 545 varieties of wine grapevines and 182 varieties of table grapevines, Italian productions reflect a natural biodiversity that becomes cultural and economic capital, a capital to be managed with common sense, in a regenerative key, as the circular economy applied to food teaches us.

“Drink responsibly,” we are asked, but was that wine produced responsibly? And will those who produced it then manage waste and discards responsibly? Four significant experiences, chosen to represent the ten actions beginning with “R” by which the circular economy for wine can be defined (from Reject to Recover), show that it is possible. But there is also another aspect to keep in mind, that of the social sustainability of wine production, to prevent and counter forms of distortion in the labor market. For all this, the UNI/TS 11820 certification dedicated to companies in the agri-food sector has been revised, the aim of which is to give credibility to what is proclaimed and guide consumers in their choices.

Intervening in the episode:

• Franco Fassio | Professor of Systemic Design,University of Pollenzo
• Roberta Destefanis | Project Manager ofcirculareconomyforwine.com.
• Gabriele Proglio | Associate Professor of Contemporary History,University of Pollenzo
• Lorenzo Bairati | Associate Professor of Comparative Private Law,University of Pollenzo

Listen to the third episode:

Coffee is the second most traded commodity on international markets, after crude oil: millions of tons of this seed are moved each year and then processed in places of origin and sale. Yet only between 1 and 1.5 percent of this plant is used; everything else is waste. And this is precisely where the circular economy comes in, thanks to which this huge amount of waste stops being waste and becomes a new resource, a fertilizer or even a very expensive drink. To understand what the opportunities are, explored and more importantly to be explored, in this episode we talked to some experts in the field.

Intervening in the episode:

• Dario Toso | Circular Economy Manager at Lavazza and coordinator of the Center for Circular Economy in Coffee (C4CEC)
• Gerardo Patacconi |International Coffee Organization (ICO) head of operations.
• Chiara Scaraggi |United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Value Chain Expert.
• Emanuele Dughera | Coordinator of the Slow Food Coffee Coalition

Listen to the fourth episode:

“Of the pig, nothing is thrown away”: who knows how many times you would have heard that. It is one of the most effective formulas to explain what the circular economy applied to food. After all, a country like ours has always lived with the concept of recovery and recycling, just think of some traditional recipes, such as pappa al pomodoro, meatballs, tripe in broth or ravioli del plin. Yet even a country like ours has to think of ever more advanced solutions to limit waste.

Intervening in the episode:

• Nahuel Buracco | Coordinator of the Pollenzo Food Lab at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo.
• Nadia Tecco | Adjunct lecturer at theUniversity of Pollenzo and project manager of the European project “Horizon 2020 School Food 4 Change“
• Alessandra Bazzocchi and Roberto Casamenti | Osti de La Campanara di Pianetto di Galeata
• Franco Fassio | Principal architect of the Circular Economy for Food platform at theUniversity of Pollenzo

To make sure you don’t miss next month’s episode, follow the podcast on the platform you use most.