Tempo Libero

The zero-kilometer project is an initiative begun by Coldiretti, Italy's largest association for the representation and assistance of Italian agriculture. The goal of the project is to recognize restaurants who use exclusively local products of the territory, products like wine, olive oil, cured meats, cheese, milk, fruits and vegetables. The idea is that these restaurants can simultaneously save a great deal of money on logistic costs as they do not have to pay to have food products shipped to them over great distances, help the environment by reducing pollution, and meet the growing demand for bio-friendly food. Consumers are becoming more mistrusting of the way food is produced, and more dissatisfied with the rising food costs and drops in food quality. The transportation of food from where it is produced to where it is consumed can create many problems. It can raise the price of products, especially today when ever-increasing oil prices are making transportation costs higher. Transporting products over long distances also has obvious negative effects for the products as well, as it becomes more difficult to control the quality of the products. Finally, the transportation of food is a huge contributor to environmental pollution. If a product is transported by sea for 5.000 kilometers the emissions of CO2 are 100 times higher than if it was bought locally. If a product is transported by air for 5.000 kilometers the emissions of CO2 are 5000 times higher than if it was bought locally. For example: Apples imported from New Zealand to Rome (14.000 km) by air cause 14.000 times more CO2 emissions than apples grown and bought locally. Recently, there has been an increase in the number of Farmers Markets and local food guides to encourage interest in local farming and to reconnect the producer to their community.