This page has only limited features, please log in for full access.
Dr. Marta Antonelli serves as Head of Research at the Barilla Foundation and as Senior Research Associate at the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change (CMCC). Her research currently focuses on food sustainability, sustainable diets, food and agricultural policy. She brings 12 years of experience as researcher, lecturer, consultant and journalist in the fields of sustainable food production and consumption, water management and policy, sustainable diets. Her experience includes positions, among others, at the University of Roma Tre, University IUAV of Venice, the University of Siena, Venice International University, the Swiss Federal Institute for Aquatic Science and Technology. She has also consulted for business, NGOs and start-ups. She is the Research Manager of the Su-Eatable Life project, aiming at reducing carbon and water footprints through the promotion of a sustainable and healthy diets in universities and companies' canteens across the United Kingdom and Italy. With a M.Sc. in International Economics (La Sapienza University of Rome), M. SC.Development Studies (SOAS, University of London), she holds a Ph.D. in Environment, Politics and Development (King's College London). Her research interests include: water management and policy, water foot printing, water governance and politics.
Project Goal: Double Food and Environmental Pyramid
Current Stage: Data collection and analysis
Project Goal: Reducing carbon emissions and water use through the promotion of sustainable diets in the EU
Current Stage: Experimental phase, data collection and analysis, replication
Understanding individual food choices is critical for transforming the current food system to ensure healthiness of people and sustainability of the planet. Throughout the years, researchers from different fields have proposed conceptual models addressing factors influencing the food choice, recognized as a key leverage to improve planetary and human health. However, a multidisciplinary approach is needed to better understand how different factors are involved and interact with each other in the decision-making process. The present paper reviews and analyzes existing models, providing an intact point-of-view by integrating key elements into a bigger framework. Key determinants of general food choice are identified and categorized, including food-internal factor (sensory and perceptual features), food-external factors (information, social environment, physical environment), personal-state factors (biological features and physiological needs, psychological components, habits and experiences), cognitive factors (knowledge and skills, attitude, liking and preference, anticipated consequences, and personal identity), as well as sociocultural factors (culture, economic variables, political elements). Moreover, possible directions of influence among the factors towards final food choice were discussed. The need of multidisciplinary impulses across research field with the support of empirical data are crucial for understanding factors influencing food choice as well as for enriching existing conceptual models. The framework proposed here would serve as a roadmap for facilitating communications and collaborations between research fields in a structural and systematic way.
Pin-Jane Chen; Marta Antonelli. Conceptual Models of Food Choice: Influential Factors Related to Foods, Individual Differences, and Society. Foods 2020, 9, 1898 .
AMA StylePin-Jane Chen, Marta Antonelli. Conceptual Models of Food Choice: Influential Factors Related to Foods, Individual Differences, and Society. Foods. 2020; 9 (12):1898.
Chicago/Turabian StylePin-Jane Chen; Marta Antonelli. 2020. "Conceptual Models of Food Choice: Influential Factors Related to Foods, Individual Differences, and Society." Foods 9, no. 12: 1898.
Food waste policy analysis has traditionally concentrated on supranational or national policies and paid little attention to the role of cities in tackling this phenomenon. Nevertheless, cities have proved to be crucial actors in tackling food waste, launching effective policies and initiatives to address it. By looking at 40 cities across 16 European countries, this study aims to present a new framework for assessing urban food waste policies and initiatives. The framework proposed identifies and sheds light on the links between the different types of policies launched, the main areas of interventions addressed, as well as the different actors intervening in urban food waste management. Finally, it identifies direct and indirect links with the Sustainable Development Goals, showing the role that cities can play in achieving the targets of the UN 2030 Agenda.
Daniele Fattibene; Francesca Recanati; Katarzyna Dembska; Marta Antonelli. Urban Food Waste: A Framework to Analyse Policies and Initiatives. Resources 2020, 9, 99 .
AMA StyleDaniele Fattibene, Francesca Recanati, Katarzyna Dembska, Marta Antonelli. Urban Food Waste: A Framework to Analyse Policies and Initiatives. Resources. 2020; 9 (9):99.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDaniele Fattibene; Francesca Recanati; Katarzyna Dembska; Marta Antonelli. 2020. "Urban Food Waste: A Framework to Analyse Policies and Initiatives." Resources 9, no. 9: 99.
Human migration, referring to people choosing to move not just because of a direct danger of persecution or death but also to improve their lives, is expected to grow rapidly in the near future. In this context, the recent Trans-Mediterranean region raised particular interest for the variety of migration routes and of institutional, social, cultural and economic issues. Further, the region is affected by many threats due to the interactions of climate change vulnerability, water scarcity and land degradation with the needs of increasingly urbanized populations and environmentally-intensive food production. The aim of this study is contributing to deepen the knowledge about the potential nexus among climate, geopolitics and migration across the Trans-Mediterranean region, through a comprehensive analysis, based on well consolidated and scientifically sound methods and data, about the climate-related hazards and their consequences on water and food availability. The findings suggest that the study region is increasingly facing a general warming and a decrease of water availability. The climate regime and hydrological cycle influence the agriculture, so that yields of the key energy and protein crops considered (wheat, maize, rice, soybean) seem highly endangered leading to an increase in irrigation needs posing additional pressures on the water sector. Building resilience for water resources and food production systems to climate change becomes thus crucial for the whole Trans-Mediterranean region. But while climate adaptation measures have to be implemented rapidly through agricultural practices, climate change mitigation cannot be neglected: in this context, the SDG agenda can provide robust foundations.
Luca Caporaso; Monia Santini; Sergio Noce; Alberto De Sanctis; Lucio Caracciolo; Marta Antonelli. Drivers of Migration in the Trans-Mediterranean Region: The Likely Role of Climate Change and Resource Security in the Geopolitical Context. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Through Sustainable Food Systems 2019, 35 -61.
AMA StyleLuca Caporaso, Monia Santini, Sergio Noce, Alberto De Sanctis, Lucio Caracciolo, Marta Antonelli. Drivers of Migration in the Trans-Mediterranean Region: The Likely Role of Climate Change and Resource Security in the Geopolitical Context. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Through Sustainable Food Systems. 2019; ():35-61.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLuca Caporaso; Monia Santini; Sergio Noce; Alberto De Sanctis; Lucio Caracciolo; Marta Antonelli. 2019. "Drivers of Migration in the Trans-Mediterranean Region: The Likely Role of Climate Change and Resource Security in the Geopolitical Context." Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Through Sustainable Food Systems , no. : 35-61.
Current food systems are in need of profound changes. The number of hungry people recently rose to over 820 million due to climate-related conflicts and displacement. Two billion people in the world are overweight or obese and are at risk of the diseases related to over-consumption of food, an issue that affects both the developed and developing world. The food sector operates—and depends on—a natural environment profoundly under stress and faces increasing competition for its resources between different sectors. Food is the largest freshwater user, accounts for one third of GhG emissions and is responsible for land degradation, biodiversity loss and pollution. Sustainable food systems are at the core of the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations, signed by 193 countries in 2015, as food is directly or indirectly connected to all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Against this context, the present chapter outlines the main challenges that the global food system currently faces in terms of nutrition challenges, environmental impacts and food loss and waste, with each of these dimensions put into relation with the relevant SDGs, underlining the importance of sustainable food systems for implementing the 2030 Agenda.
Francesca Allievi; Marta Antonelli; Katarzyna Dembska; Ludovica Principato. Understanding the Global Food System. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Through Sustainable Food Systems 2019, 3 -23.
AMA StyleFrancesca Allievi, Marta Antonelli, Katarzyna Dembska, Ludovica Principato. Understanding the Global Food System. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Through Sustainable Food Systems. 2019; ():3-23.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFrancesca Allievi; Marta Antonelli; Katarzyna Dembska; Ludovica Principato. 2019. "Understanding the Global Food System." Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals Through Sustainable Food Systems , no. : 3-23.
Marta Antonelli; J. A. (Tony) Allan. MENA Water and Food Security Since 1950:. Environmental Challenges in the MENA Region 2019, 95 -107.
AMA StyleMarta Antonelli, J. A. (Tony) Allan. MENA Water and Food Security Since 1950:. Environmental Challenges in the MENA Region. 2019; ():95-107.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMarta Antonelli; J. A. (Tony) Allan. 2019. "MENA Water and Food Security Since 1950:." Environmental Challenges in the MENA Region , no. : 95-107.
International food trade entails virtual water flows across trading partners. It has been proposed to attenuate regional water scarcity by importing water‐intensive commodities from water‐abundant regions. In addition to alleviating water scarcity in virtual water importing countries, existing studies have reported that food trade also generates global water savings. However, little is known how these global water savings may alleviate water scarcity, which is more relevant to the sustainable use of water resources than only assessing the savings. In this paper, we conducted a comprehensive review on studies of water savings and losses associated with food trade on different spatial scales. We found that the concept of global water savings is built on the disparities in water productivity across countries, whereas the regional water savings measure the inflows of virtual water trade. The significance of water savings is dimmed by the fact that the savings are often not driven by water scarcity. Meanwhile, lacking policy relevance impairs the usefulness of water saving accounting. Future studies should link water savings to alleviating water scarcity at various levels. The water saving accounting needs to go to finer scale, for example, to subnational and river basin scales, to support real water resource management. In the meantime, interdisciplinary efforts are necessary to enhance the water savings as a holistic measure for addressing water scarcity on regional and global scales. This article is categorized under: Engineering Water > Planning Water Human Water > Value of Water Science of Water > Water Quality
Wenfeng Liu; Marta Antonelli; Matti Kummu; Xu Zhao; Pute Wu; Junguo Liu; La Zhuo; Hong Yang. Savings and losses of global water resources in food‐related virtual water trade. WIREs Water 2018, 6, 1 .
AMA StyleWenfeng Liu, Marta Antonelli, Matti Kummu, Xu Zhao, Pute Wu, Junguo Liu, La Zhuo, Hong Yang. Savings and losses of global water resources in food‐related virtual water trade. WIREs Water. 2018; 6 (1):1.
Chicago/Turabian StyleWenfeng Liu; Marta Antonelli; Matti Kummu; Xu Zhao; Pute Wu; Junguo Liu; La Zhuo; Hong Yang. 2018. "Savings and losses of global water resources in food‐related virtual water trade." WIREs Water 6, no. 1: 1.
Youth plays an important role in the multifaceted challenges that global food systems face. Most of the education currently offered has little room for interdisciplinarity and soft skills, and focuses on knowledge-based single disciplines. We recommend that education is increasingly complemented with non-formal approaches as experiential-based teaching and learning can be key to give youth the necessary skills to handle the complexity of the food system. Youth organizing practices such as non-formal education and cross-sectoral collaboration greatly enhance in students the sense of global citizenship, a feeling of belonging to a broader community and to act in ways that increase awareness of food security and sustainability in society.
Francesca Allievi; Domenico Dentoni; Marta Antonelli. The Role of Youth in Increasing Awareness of Food Security and Sustainability. Encyclopedia of Food Security and Sustainability 2018, 39 -44.
AMA StyleFrancesca Allievi, Domenico Dentoni, Marta Antonelli. The Role of Youth in Increasing Awareness of Food Security and Sustainability. Encyclopedia of Food Security and Sustainability. 2018; ():39-44.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFrancesca Allievi; Domenico Dentoni; Marta Antonelli. 2018. "The Role of Youth in Increasing Awareness of Food Security and Sustainability." Encyclopedia of Food Security and Sustainability , no. : 39-44.
Wenfeng Liu; Marta Antonelli; Xingcai Liu; Hong Yang. Towards improvement of grey water footprint assessment: With an illustration for global maize cultivation. Journal of Cleaner Production 2017, 147, 1 -9.
AMA StyleWenfeng Liu, Marta Antonelli, Xingcai Liu, Hong Yang. Towards improvement of grey water footprint assessment: With an illustration for global maize cultivation. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2017; 147 ():1-9.
Chicago/Turabian StyleWenfeng Liu; Marta Antonelli; Xingcai Liu; Hong Yang. 2017. "Towards improvement of grey water footprint assessment: With an illustration for global maize cultivation." Journal of Cleaner Production 147, no. : 1-9.
Food security, and in particular food availability, depends on environmental resources, climatic conditions and agricultural practices, having water resources as a common denominator. There is major concern about food security in countries having limited water resources, due to the large volumes of water that are required to produce food commodities. Water-deficit countries tend to rely on international trade to close the gap between water (and thus food) demand and supply. Against this backdrop, the purpose of this study is twofold. First, to analyse water resources in the Middle East and North African region also considering the political economy trends and dynamics, which drive the region’s demand for water. Secondly, the study aims to increase understanding on the role that trade of agricultural commodities has played in meeting the requirements of the MENA populations, in terms of food and associated water ‘embedded’ as a factor of production. The study argues that virtual water trade, that is, the virtual transfer of the water used for agricultural production from producing to consuming countries, has provided the region’s economies with water and food security over the past 25 years. The study shows that virtual water imports have more than doubled and the increase has been more than proportional to population growth in the area. Food products account by far for the largest share of virtual water flows, while crops and high value foods are the main categories of agricultural products associated with virtual water imports. The largest share of the MENA imports originate from outside the region, thus determining a marked dependency on water resources available elsewhere, but not always from water-secure countries.
Marta Antonelli; Francesco Laio; Stefania Tamea. Water Resources, Food Security and the Role of Virtual Water Trade in the MENA Region. Environmental Change and Human Security in Africa and the Middle East 2017, 199 -217.
AMA StyleMarta Antonelli, Francesco Laio, Stefania Tamea. Water Resources, Food Security and the Role of Virtual Water Trade in the MENA Region. Environmental Change and Human Security in Africa and the Middle East. 2017; ():199-217.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMarta Antonelli; Francesco Laio; Stefania Tamea. 2017. "Water Resources, Food Security and the Role of Virtual Water Trade in the MENA Region." Environmental Change and Human Security in Africa and the Middle East , no. : 199-217.
Marta Antonelli; Giuseppina Siciliano; Margherita Emma Turvani; Maria Cristina Rulli. Global investments in agricultural land and the role of the EU: Drivers, scope and potential impacts. Land Use Policy 2015, 47, 98 -111.
AMA StyleMarta Antonelli, Giuseppina Siciliano, Margherita Emma Turvani, Maria Cristina Rulli. Global investments in agricultural land and the role of the EU: Drivers, scope and potential impacts. Land Use Policy. 2015; 47 ():98-111.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMarta Antonelli; Giuseppina Siciliano; Margherita Emma Turvani; Maria Cristina Rulli. 2015. "Global investments in agricultural land and the role of the EU: Drivers, scope and potential impacts." Land Use Policy 47, no. : 98-111.
Marta Antonelli; Martina Sartori. Unfolding the potential of the virtual water concept. What is still under debate? Environmental Science & Policy 2015, 50, 240 -251.
AMA StyleMarta Antonelli, Martina Sartori. Unfolding the potential of the virtual water concept. What is still under debate? Environmental Science & Policy. 2015; 50 ():240-251.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMarta Antonelli; Martina Sartori. 2015. "Unfolding the potential of the virtual water concept. What is still under debate?" Environmental Science & Policy 50, no. : 240-251.
This study investigates business engagement in sustainable water management, focusing on water footprint accounting as a tool to account for water use in food supply chains. An explorative analysis is conducted on the Barilla Company. The study explores two corporate strategies aimed at achieving more sustainable water use: the adoption of environmental products declarations (EPDs), a reporting system that accounts for the environmental footprints of Barilla’s pasta and other products; and the implementation of the Aureo Wheat Programme. The study deployed both primary and secondary data. The study shows that the largest share of the water footprint of pasta relates to the cultivation phase (over 90%), which is almost fully rainfed. EPDs show that the water footprint of the other phases of the supply chain is negligible. It is argued that the use of water footprinting in EPDs can raise awareness about water use in agricultural supply chains to reach a broad spectrum of stakeholders, including consumers. The study also shows that the implementation of the Aureo Wheat Programme, consisting of a shift in cultivation site and in the type of wheat, enabled a reduction in the blue water footprint of pasta, with water savings amounting to 35 million m3 of blue water since 2011.
Marta Antonelli; Luca Fernando Ruini. Business Engagement with Sustainable Water Resource Management through Water Footprint Accounting: The Case of the Barilla Company. Sustainability 2015, 7, 6742 -6758.
AMA StyleMarta Antonelli, Luca Fernando Ruini. Business Engagement with Sustainable Water Resource Management through Water Footprint Accounting: The Case of the Barilla Company. Sustainability. 2015; 7 (6):6742-6758.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMarta Antonelli; Luca Fernando Ruini. 2015. "Business Engagement with Sustainable Water Resource Management through Water Footprint Accounting: The Case of the Barilla Company." Sustainability 7, no. 6: 6742-6758.
Food represents 90 % of the water consumption of an individual and the agricultural sector uses on average 70 % of the freshwater withdrawn from surface and aquifers for irrigation purposes globally. From the perspective of a sustainable growth, oriented towards optimizing the use of green water and reducing that of blue water, i.e. irrigation waste and inefficiencies, it is essential to raise citizens’ awareness and promote more sustainable consumption. For this purpose, this contribution will discuss the possibility of guiding the commercial choices we, the citizens, make by means of a method for labelling water sustainability. This hypothesis of labelling provides “qualitative” information on the typology and origin of the water used to produce any type of food we consume.
Francesca Greco; Marta Antonelli. Aware Eaters of Water: An Idea for Water Labelling. The Water We Eat 2015, 91 -102.
AMA StyleFrancesca Greco, Marta Antonelli. Aware Eaters of Water: An Idea for Water Labelling. The Water We Eat. 2015; ():91-102.
Chicago/Turabian StyleFrancesca Greco; Marta Antonelli. 2015. "Aware Eaters of Water: An Idea for Water Labelling." The Water We Eat , no. : 91-102.