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  • Book
  • © 2015

The Water We Eat

Combining Virtual Water and Water Footprints

  • Combines virtual water and water footprints in a multidisciplinary approach
  • Includes tips on how to make food production more sustainable in terms of water resources
  • Analyzes the new ISO for water footprints and its relevance in the context of policymaking
  • Presents case studies on specific food products, regions (the EU) and countries (Italy)
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: Springer Water (SPWA)

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Table of contents (18 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-x
  2. To Begin: Virtual Water and the Water Footprint

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
    2. Not All Drops of Water Are the Same

      • Francesca Greco, Marta Antonelli
      Pages 3-15
  3. Virtual Water, Humans and the Environment

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 49-49
    2. Water Resources in the Anthropocene Age: A Planetary Urgency

      • Eva Alessi, Gianfranco Bologna
      Pages 51-59
    3. Water in Food

      • Lynne Chatterton
      Pages 61-68
    4. Virtual Water in Diet, Shopping and Food Waste

      • Andrea Segrè, Luca Falasconi, Cecilia Bellettato
      Pages 79-89
    5. Aware Eaters of Water: An Idea for Water Labelling

      • Francesca Greco, Marta Antonelli
      Pages 91-102
  4. The Italian Case

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 137-137
    2. Water Resources in Italy: The Present Situation and Future Trends

      • Monia Santini, Maria Cristina Rulli
      Pages 139-143
    3. The Globalisation of Food and Water: The Italian Case

      • Paola Allamano, Pierluigi Claps, Paolo D’Odorico, Francesco Laio, Luca Ridolfi, Stefania Tamea
      Pages 145-158
    4. Virtual Water Trade in the Mediterranean: Today and Tomorrow

      • Roberto Roson, Martina Sartori
      Pages 159-174
    5. An Economic Approach to Water Scarcity

      • Antonio Massarutto
      Pages 175-186
    6. From the BCFN’s Double Pyramid to Virtual Water in the Production of Pasta Barilla

      • Luca Ruini, Laura Campra, Carlo Alberto Pratesi, Ludovica Principato, Massimo Marino, Sonia Pignatelli
      Pages 187-206
  5. Water in Food

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 207-207

About this book

This book pursues a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach in order to analyze the relationship between water and food security. It demonstrates that most of the world’s economies lack sufficient water resources to secure their populations’ food requirements and are thus virtual importers of water. One of the most inspiring cases, which this book is rooted in, is Italy: the third largest net virtual water importer on earth. The book also shows that the sustainability of water depends on the extent to which societies recognize and take into account its value and contribution to agricultural production. Due to the large volumes of water required for food production, water and food security are in fact inextricably linked. Contributions from leading international experts and scholars in the field use the concepts of virtual water and water footprints to explain this relationship, with an eye to the empirical examples of wine, tomato and pasta production in Italy. This book provides a valuable resource for all researchers, professionals, policymakers and everyone else interested in water and food security.

Editors and Affiliations

  • University IUAV of Venice, Venice, Italy

    Marta Antonelli

  • Geography, King's College London, London, United Kingdom

    Francesca Greco

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access