The Origin Green Irish sustainability program of Bord Bia, the government agency dedicated to the development of the export markets of Irish food & beverage products, turns 10 years old. Andrea Segrè, economist and professor of international and comparative agricultural policy at the University of Bologna, praises the Irish program and considers it a model that can also be replicated in our country: "in a historical moment where the global agri-food system is under stress for the a combined pandemic-war effect and in a social context already influenced by the increase in energy prices and climate change, 'sustainability in practice' becomes an essential tool for overcoming the economic, environmental and social crisis we are experiencing".

Up to now, the initiative has involved 300 food businesses, 55,000 farms, 71,000 members who, thanks to the initiatives undertaken over the decade, have made it possible to reduce CO2 production per unit of meat and milk by more than 6%. animal. "With 90% of the food & beverage produced under the supervision of the Origin Green program, Ireland represents an exemplary model of sustainable production in the livestock sector," says a press release. In the “Irish model”, which has as well known characteristics of particular vocation from a natural point of view, meadows, pastures, rainfall, the reference to “green” is particularly real and represents an ambition that can also be reached in other situations.

The importance of producing food in harmony with nature, reducing the environmental impact as much as possible, supports and is linked to the nutritional pyramid, which refers to the consumption measured from the qualitative and quantitative point of view of good proteins of animal origin in all age groups and according to needs. If the responsibility for production and consumption also translates into measurable environmental sustainability, the benefit for the whole of society becomes evident not only from the environmental point of view, but also on that of personal health: eating in a balanced way has a positive impact on health, as demonstrated by numerous studies in the nutritional field. In this Origin Green is part of the One Health approach: a unique health that binds man with animals and the natural environment.