Ecological Footprint (of Wine)
Ecological footprint is - in very simple terms - a measurement of how much land is required to perform a task (e.g., to sustain a certain lifestyle, to run a business, to manufacture a product). For an better introduction to the concept refer to the relevant Wikipedia entry or other resources.
Recently, the International Ecological Footprint Conference was hosted by BRASS at Cardiff University. Among the many interesting submitted papers, there are two that are really quite interesting to read (and non-technical!):
- The Ecological Footprint Analysis Applied to Two Different Italian Wine Productions - comparing the footprint of a famous Italian Chianti producer and an organic winery catering largely for local consumption
- Our health, our environment: The Ecological Footprint of what we eat - the results aren’t anything new or shocking but it’s interesting to see the common arguments for vegetarianism, local, and organic produce quantified via their superiour ecological footprint. Well, I think I’ll go with my very moderate meat consumption and largely local and organic diet.