UNA ANALISI LCA DI DIFFERENTI STILI ALIMENTARI

Over the past few years, consumers have been increasing their awareness about environmental, health and safety concerns, gradually changing their habits in favour of organic food. In Europe, the organic aquaculture is legislated by Comm ission Regulation (EC) 710/2009. In Italy, only ten farms are involved in the supply of certified organic fish and only some pilot projects were carried out for organic farming of different species. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to evaluate o rganic technical feasibility and production costs, comparing them with conventional production. This study contains the first considerations about organic production and its relative costs for seabass fry, one of the most reared species of the country. Con version to organic production naturally involves additional costs concerning the conversion process itself, the production of a new type of product and the lower output. In fact, results have shown that certification and feed costs represented the most sig nificant difference between conventional and organic production. .

The paper draws out the possibilities of development and increase of organic farmed fish in Italy, evaluating both technical and economic aspects, for breeding, market, political, regulatory and environmental issues. The survey has been conducted using the Delphi technique, in three rounds with a panel of national experts. The analysis offers interesting insights and useful suggestions addressed to the organic aquaculture sector. Authors chose Delphi methodology according to the paper’s objective: the study is in fact aimed at exploring the evolution dynamics (positive or absent) for a less-developed market like the one of the Italian organic fish. This method allows to create a forecast by collecting and evaluating experts’ opinions about the organic fish market; these experts are divided in homogeneous groups and selected as privileged observers of the phenomenon.