THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF MILK FOR DIRECT CONSUMPTION OR PROCESSING INTO PDO CHEESE IN NORTH ITALY PRODUCTION SYSTEM

The livestock breeding in Italy plays an important role in the agri-food sector, spanning from social to economic and to environmental aspects. Italy is a leader in the production of quality milk for direct consumption and is the main European country producing PDO cheeses. However, milk production carries impacts on the environment, as livestock farming contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, mainly resulting from animals’ digestion system, manure management and feed purchase, as well as pollutants. With the aim of a sustainable agricultural and agri-food development, it is important to identify, through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), main criticalities related to the dairy sector, in order to adopt environmental mitigation actions. In this regard, the EC has developed the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) methodology and specific Category Rules (PEFCR), harmonizing the methodological choices of LCA and providing objective criteria to compare the eco-compatibility of products. The LIFE TTGG (The Tough Get Going) project applies the PEFCR, calculating the environmental performance of the Grana Padano and Comte PDO supply chains and laying the bases for transforming the environmental problems arising from the activities of individual producers into opportunities for improvement, with a view to the Country's ecological transition.