Planet-friendly dietary choices

April 22nd is Earth Day, the largest environmental event on the planet. We will celebrate with exceptional products, a result of passion, awareness and respect. And to top it all off, a ton of Sabadì sweetness. But let’s take a step back. 

Food - or rather which food we choose to buy – has an incredible weight on the health of the Earth. Every product has its environmental impact, a cost in terms of energy used and pollution produced which is our responsibility to know, as consumers. 

Everything we bring to the table has made a journey. Let’s put it this way: a pineapple from Costa Rica, grown with herbicides, must cross the whole world to arrive in the supermarket’s fruit and vegetable department. An almost zero-km local, seasonal product is a whole other story. 

A tuna caught with trawls is destroying the seabed, corals and algae as well as killing turtles and dolphins. Its environmental cost is immeasurably higher than a tuna caught on the hook, like our precious Campisi one.

These are simple examples but they really help us to understand how much power we have as consumers. All it would take is to really be aware to radically change the market. At least on April 22nd.

Sustainable diet

Modern food has a very high environmental cost, completely unsustainable. Let’s be clear: if we all ate better and made ethical choices, there would be more food for everyone. The problem is never the quantity, but its distribution. 

Those who produce in an ethical, conscious and sustainable way must be rewarded. It’s certainly not the easiest choice but definitely the right one. And that’s exactly Sabadì’s choice, this brand is the result of a constant research towards exceptional and sustainable raw materials. 

But before we delve into the sweetness, let’s see what’s really wrong with the current production methods. 

Meat and conscious consumption

The massive and constantly growing consumption of meat from intensive farming has caused the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, the green lung of the Earth. It is now proven that 99% of tropical forest fires are of arson set up by farmers who need new land for pastures and for the cultivation of soy. 

By the way, soy is a food that could feed millions of people, but is instead reserved to intensive farms for cattle. 

When you buy meat produced this way (without even wanting to address the issue of animal welfare) you are implicitly saying that you agree with these systems. In other words, you’re financing them.

Have you ever heard of water footprint? It’s about the consumption of water, direct and indirect, necessary for a specific product. For a kilo of beef we need about 15,000 liters of water, for a kilo of eggs it’s over 3,000. And for a kilo of vegetables? About 320. Impressive, isn’t it?

This doesn’t mean I’m condemning meat consumption, but to reward ethical producers, who breed, slaughter and transform meat into healthy products that are also good for the planet. 

Organic farming

We’ve talked about deforestation and water consumption, but let’s also talk about actual pollution, the one caused by pesticides and fertilizers. 

Insecticides, herbicides, plant growth regulators, nitrate fertilisers and many others: these are all substances that optimize the production of fruits and vegetables at the expense of the health of the soil, aquifers and those who consume these products. 

Organic farming, on the contrary, is“an agricultural method that aims to produce food using natural substances and processes. This means that organic farming tends to have a limited environmental impact as it encouragesresponsible use of energy and natural resources, maintenance of biodiversity, preservation of regional ecological balances, enhancement of soil fertility and maintenance of water quality.” (source European Commission)

Want to taste some real organic products? Sabadì’s Modica chocolate, winner of the Tavoletta d’Oro (Golden Tablet) award as the best Modica chocolate for 10 consecutive years. 

Seasonality and short supply chain

Even choosing local and seasonal products is considered sustainable diet. It helps reducing CO2 emissions from goods transport and brings healthier and better products to the table. Through the short supply chain we can promote the territory and support small local producers.

Besides, it is just a matter of education on eating well. No strawberries on December, nor eggplants on January, you can’t tell me they’re as good as when they’re in season. Moreover, it is such a wonder to rediscover the taste of the first fruits every time, it’s all healthy and genuine food culture!

Conscious choices to explain an identity

Who, like us, works with food, knows perfectly well that every food product has (and is) a story. Through raw materials we can tell many things. 

First of all, we can explain a territory. Which is exactly what Sabadì does with its beloved Sicily. Some absolute gems were chosen for the tablets, for the Modica chocolate and for the nougat. 

From the Noto almond to the prickly pear, from the PDO Bronte pistachio to the Sicilian black bee thistle honey, as well as the late ripening Ciaculli mandarin, everything here tells the tale of a generous, fragrant and absolutely unique land. 

To promote, defend and celebrate a territory through exceptional products. After all, isn’t this the best way to celebrate Earth?