Barilla

Barilla - Parma, is one of the major Italian food groups, and a leader in continental Europe. In Italy,baked goods, and in Scandinavia, in the crispbreads sector. Barilla owns 36 production plants and 9 mills. The products are exported to over 100 countries, and the plants supply approximately 2.5 million tons of food products, which are consumed on tables all over the world under different brand names (www.barillagroup.com).

The Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition is a think tank that was founded in 2009 to analyze issues related to diet and nutrition. In 2011, the BCFN launched an in-depth study of the Double Pyramid. Starting with the food pyramid of the Mediterranean Diet, it built an environmental pyramid by positioning foods according to their environmental impact. It was discovered that the classification of the food in the food pyramid and in the environmental pyramid is almost the same, but reversed. The Double Pyramid demonstrates the benefits of the Mediterranean diet. It improves the quality of life and has a lesser impact on the environment.

Barilla has promoted studies on the analysis and comparison of different systems for the cultivation of durum wheat. It has shown that in many cases, farmers could significantly decrease CO2 emissions (by over 30%) and other related environmental impacts, often increasing profit and the quality of the product. In order to achieve these results, proper crop rotation and an efficient use of technical means are essential. The analysis has made it possible to create a methodology for comparing the sustainability of different crop rotations and agricultural practices. The "Decalogue for the sustainable cultivation of quality durum wheat in Italy" was drafted, containing directions for farmers. Finally, an experiment to further verify the results and extend an identified model of sustainable agriculture on a large-scale was launched.