How to set up an ecological diet ? Or a diet with a low or less impact on the environment?
In this article, we see how to consider foods according to their level of eco-sustainability, analyzing the waterfootprint index , i.e. how many water resources are lost per kilo of food, including not only the water used for the soil or the ‘watering / animal nutrition, but also that used on an industrial level for processed products.

We’ve all heard that consuming meat has an impact on the environment and on water resources , and in fact, it takes over 15,000 liters of water to get a kilo of beef … but did you know that a kilo of chocolate can make us consume over 17,000 liters of water? Those who are sensitive to this issue can consult the website Waterfootprint.org in English , but below I summarize the foods divided by category, to set up an ecological diet.

THE ECOLOGICAL DIET: HERE’S HOW TO REDUCE THE FOOD WATER IMPACT
What to eat every day:
vegetables (325 liters of water per kilo), potatoes (900), fruit, milk and yogurt (about 1000), wholemeal bread (about 1300), cereals and pasta (about 1650/1700 liters of water per kilo), and only occasionally rice (double that of other cereals).
That is, if we ate half a kilo of vegetables a day, 200 grams of potatoes, 300 grams of fruit and 300 ml of milk and yogurt plus 50 grams of bread and 50 grams of cereals or pasta, we would consume almost 1000 liters of water a day for our diet. .
Therefore a lacto-vegan diet (but without legumes) would be practically the most ecological choice.

To this, however, protein resources must be added.
The least impacting from an environmental point of view are:
– eggs (3300 liters per kilo), poultry meat (chicken, turkey, etc: 3900 liters per kilo), legumes (over 4 thousand liters per kilo), pork and cheese (approx. 4800-5000 liters per kilo of edible food).
Nuts and oil seeds, chocolate and red meats would result in a waste ranging from 10,000 to 17,000 liters of water per kilo of food. And the drinks? Beer and coffee are the most sustainable drinks.

An ecological diet would therefore be composed as follows:

Breakfast: 200 ml of skimmed milk, a 150 gram fruit, a 25 gram slice of bread with a teaspoon of fruit compote or as an alternative to bread 3 dry biscuits (25 grams), a coffee.

Snack: 150 grams of raw vegetables of your choice

Lunch: 50 grams of pasta or grains, 150 grams of vegetables, a teaspoon of oil, an egg or 100 grams of chicken / turkey or lean fish. A small fruit of 50 grams.

Snack: 100 grams of skimmed Greek yogurt, two dates.

Dinner: optionally a plate of legumes in soup (80 grams of dried legumes) with 200 grams of vegetables with a teaspoon of oil or as an alternative to legumes, 80 grams of primosale or robiola cheese. A teaspoon of oil. 200 grams of potatoes or 35 grams of wholemeal bread.

Snack: a small fruit of 50 grams.

Foods to eat occasionally (once a week or spread over the course of the week):
150 grams of red meat – 70 grams of dark chocolate or 100 grams of walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds or pistachios – 2 glasses of wine or 2 medium beers.