Mediterranean diet and different food models: measurement and comparison of environmental costs using the ecological footprint method

The Mediterranean diet can represent a healthy food model for the prevention of chronic degenerative diseases. When compared with the US and Czech diets using the ecological footprint method, it emerges that the Mediterranean diet entails lower costs for the environment and a larger sustainability. The present study shows that dietary choices based on the Mediterranean diet require a significantly lower use of agricultural land compared to the other two models. Furthermore, because the diet typically promotes consumption of local products, the Mediterranean diet requires fewer hectares for atmospheric CO2 absorption due to the decreased use of fuel for transportation. However, in terms of efficient use of land, this guarantees only a small gain. Overall, on average, an individual who follows the Mediterranean diet generates an ecological footprint that is 1.33 times smaller than the one corresponding to the US model and 1.28 times smaller with respect to the Czech model.