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Welcome to the second issue of The Truth About Pasta, the new monthly newsletter from the International Pasta Organization. Each month's newsletter will feature a new and different topic -- all pointing to The Truth About Pasta. The truth is......pasta is healthy, sustainable, convenient, delicious, affordable, doesn't make you fat, and much, much more. This month's focus is on sustainability. Be sure to look for each new issue, with new topics and information. Join our Mailing List.
March 2015
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Evidence That Pasta is Good for the Earth
Pasta is well known as a delicious food with a rich culinary history, but many are pleased to learn that it's also a sustainable food choice. After all, sustainable diets (which feature fruits, vegetables, and grains) are now at the center of food and nutrition debates, and are even being recommended by the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (the group of nutrition scientists responsible for suggesting changes to the US Dietary Guidelines, which gets updated every 5 years). Similarly, other countries are also prioritizing sustainable diets. In the Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population, revised in 2014, the Ministry of Health of Brazil affirms that "healthy diets derive from socially and environmentally sustainable food systems."
Grain foods, like pasta, have been at the core of traditional diets for centuries, and as scientists assess the risks and benefits of different food production systems, it is easy to see why. Fruits and vegetables, while very nutritious, aren't as energy dense as pasta, and are harder to grow, transport, and store for year-round enjoyment.
So to provide the necessary calories in fruits and vegetables -- instead of grains -- much more food would have to be grown.
Thankfully, pasta is one of the least intensive foods to produce. Because of its culinary versatility, pasta also discourages food waste. After all, few other foods can so beautifully transform a hodgepodge of leftover vegetables and food scraps into a hearty, gourmet meal. The recipe below -- Spaghetti Tortilla -- is a perfect way to use leftover pasta!
We are increasingly learning that the health of our bodies is greatly intertwined with the health of the planet, and pasta is a prime example of this relationship.
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| This video from LiveWell for LIFE, a program funded with the contribution of the European Union, explains the importance of sustainability in the food system, and what we can do to help. |
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Experts Say...
As our growing planet moves towards climate uncertainty, food choices will need to make the best use of Earth's precious resources. Luckily, scientific studies show that pasta is the perfect, environmentally friendly pick! Research published in
Ecosystems found that grains (like the wheat used to make pasta) use only 0.51 liters of water to produce 1 calorie of food. Similarly,
food lifecycle assessments indicate that the carbon footprint of pasta is only
14.5 ozCO2eq/lb.
Source: Union of Concerned Scientists
The
Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) reached a similar conclusion, noting that while locally grown foods are a sustainable choice, "there are more-
effective ways to reduce global warming emissions through dietary changes," such as by choosing low emission foods like pasta. The Union of Concerned Scientists' data singles out pasta as a low emission food.
Lastly, a 2010
report on Sustainable Diets and Biodiversity from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization recognized the Mediterranean Diet as a sustainable diet, due to its biocultural diversity. Indeed, pasta is a key harbor of this diversity, as it is used as a canvas for a number of different seasonal ingredients.
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Mothers Say...
In
the March issue of
Cooking Light, First Lady Michelle Obama (a mother of two, and a well known sustainable food advocate) shares a recipe for
One-Pot Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes, a healthy, energy saving pasta meal. This environmentally friendly dish requires less energy and less water because it uses one pot instead of at least two (no pouring water down the drain or dirtying extra pots and pans) and is made from scratch with fresh produce. In her interview, the First Lady sings the praises of pasta as a healthy meal for busy families.
According to Mrs. Obama, "The pasta dishes, those 30-minute dishes, that's the cost of a box of pasta; it's some tomatoes, it's some basil, it's boiling pasta, it's adding in a little flavoring and seasoning, and you have a delicious meal. It's quick. It's fast. It becomes faster the more you do it."
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Continuing the Tradition
All across the globe, pasta has a centuries-old tradition of being the original "kitchen sink" meal -- a perfect way to transform leftover vegetables, cheeses, and other ingredients into a satisfying, complete dish. Our ancestors were far less wasteful than we are today, and pasta certainly made their job easier! Whether it was combined with olive oil, greens, and tomatoes in the
 Mediterranean, or soy and vegetables in China, pasta has long been a delicious way to make precious foodstuffs stretch into multiple meals, without letting food go to waste. As sustainable food systems and waste reduction
capture public attention, pasta will no doubt continue the tradition as a healthy and sustainable food staple.
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 Recipe of the Month
Spaghetti Tortilla (using leftover pasta)
For those interested in the "environmental footprint" of their meal, this pasta dish boasts a modest 125.7 ozCO2eq/lb (1.618 kgCO2eq/kg) carbon footprint, and its complete production requires only 1.69 liters of water per food calorie.
Ingredients:
4 ounces whole wheat or durum wheat spaghetti, cooked (or leftover pasta)
1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
5 eggs
Herbs of choice (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- In a skillet cook the onion and garlic until softened. Add the spaghetti.
- Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat. Pour into the skillet (number of eggs depends upon the size of the pan, or even the number of eggs you have). Add herbs if you choose.
- Let the eggs settle for 3 to 4 minutes, until the underside is browned.
- Flip the tortilla and cook for a few more minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve immediately or let cool and eat at room temperature.
Nutritional Analysis:
Calories: 180, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Sodium: 90g, Carbohydrate: 11g, Fiber: 2g, Protein: 10g
Yield: 4 servings
Recipe courtesy of Fausto Luchetti; photo courtesy of
Oldways
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Video of the Month
This video can be played in English or Italian, showing how to make the recipe that we are featuring this month. Spaghetti frittata or Spaghetti tortilla.
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