Title: Carbon footprint of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO integrated with carbon fixation

Biography:

Roberto De Vivo: graduated at the age of 25 at the University of Naples "Federico II" in Science and Technology of Animal Production, and then obtained post-graduate specialization at the University of Milan in Nutrition and Nutrition of Ruminants. Chemistry and microbiology teacher in a secondary school and zootechnical consultant. He made two scientific publications and presented studies on the theme of the environmental impact of farms, five conferences, European and global

Abstract

Introduction: the environmental impact in terms of emissions appears to be increasingly important for food, in particular for those of animal origin. The LCA (Life-Cycle Assessment) method, an internationally standardized method used to calculate the environmental impact of goods or services, in the carbon footprint, does not take into account the carbon set and consequently the subtraction of carbon dioxide by the plant biomass whether or not aimed at the production of food of animal origin. This methodology could overestimate the carbon dioxide that is generated to obtain plant products and for animal products that require their use. Methods: for the production of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO, in this specific case, the masses of the various forage and cereal species used were quantified starting from the food rations of the different categories divided by age and production phase (dry, lactation, recovery). The population taken into consideration includes all the animals reared in the areas covered by the PDO specification and with a milk production orientation. The fixed carbon and consequently the carbon dioxide subtracted from the atmosphere was calculated from the food mass, through the various collection indices and percentages of dry matter. For all the other production phases, from transformation to packaging and transport of the finished product, the LCA methodology was used. The carbon dioxide equivalent from the different production phases was balanced with the subtracted carbon dioxide. Results and conclusion: the amount of greenhouse gases converted into equivalent carbon dioxide emitted during the production process is lower than the carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. For every kg of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana PDO, a total of about 65 kg of CO2eq are subtracted. Therefore, probably, for agricultural and animal products, if this factor were taken into account, the environmental impacts in terms of emissions would be reduced.