THE GOOD OIL MILL
AT YOUR HOME
Olive oil and olive growing are two of the most fundamental elements in the Italian environmental landscape.
Italian hills and valleys have been covered by flourishing and luxuriant olive trees since forever and they travel pari passu with the production of excellent extra virgin olive oil, famous national and international green gold.
Such an important product like olive oil implicate that over the years, especially in these last ones when people decided it was time to have special consideration for environmental sustainability, the spotlight have been on every aspect that concerns it and today we discuss about its ecological role and how it is often ignored.
Did you know that the production of EVO oil has a very low environmental impact and that over the course of its life it is one of the few products that manages to absorb more CO2 than it emits?
Nowadays, it is thought that talking about a specific topic gains particular relevance if brought to the attention of an audience only during the usual “World Day of…” but we at Frantoio Bonamini want the indispensable role played by the olive tree and its cultivation to be remembered and recognized on a daily basis, especially in areas with a designation of origin.
In fact PDO extra virgin olive oil is unfortunately poorly valued from an environmental point of view even though, being a certified product and therefore associated with specific territories and local resources, its role can actually improve not only environmental sustainability, but also economic and social sustainability.
But, how?
The protection of geographical indications in the olive sector can potentially play a positive role in environmental conservation, simply by acting as an obstacle to the growing intensification of the EVO oil sector and thus preserving traditional agricultural systems, taking into account local specificities.
In addition to the commitment and dedication that we at Frantoio Bonamini, deep lovers of our territory and local traditions, put into the field when it is time to take a step forward on the topic of environmental enhancement and sustainability, we also allow ourselves to do something more for this important topic.
And so… How to use everything from the olives?
Once our beloved extravirgin oil is extracted, the wastes are not a cost to get rid of anymore but they truly represent an important resource and in this way we place further, particular and greater attention on recovery and the environment.
In fact, for over ten years, our olivemill has started a thriving recycling process of what are no longer defined as waste, but rather by-products of olive processing. Once the precious protagonist, namely extra virgin olive oil, has been extracted, everything that remains from production must be recovered, reused and above all valorized.
How? The olive stone is used to heat the entire structure, while the pulp is used to produce biogas.
But, when possible, we try to do even more.
For example, we took part in the OLIVARE project (acronym for Olive Valorizzazione Recupero) and, in collaboration with the University of Padua and its department of pharmaceutical science, we thought of giving further value to these olive by-products, recovering all the active ingredients that could be interesting enough from a health, pharmaceutical and cosmetic point of view. The results deriving from this “experiment” were the creation of supplement products useful for both humans and the animal world, thus confirming how the olive tree (and olive growing) is a product that can be used at 360° and that, as such, it must be treated and considered.
And if you still needed another reason to realize how committed Frantoio Bonamini is to promoting and taking care of sustainability in general, we give you this last example that may surprise you, given the presumed incompatibility of the theme of olive oil with what we are about to reveal to you.
Integrating in a stable manner two socially and economically important supply chains such as that of olive oil and sheep milk and cheese is possible and it has been done.
The basic idea was to reuse olive pomace, therefore the most present by-product, and use it as feed for dairy sheep, to study the possibility of having nutritional improvements in their derived products. The result was that the use of olive pomace with a high polyphenol content can exert a protective effect against the oxidation of products of animal origin and improve their lipid profile, even including only 10-20%.
So, to sum up, in addition to everything already mentioned on the subject of oil and sustainability… is the cultivation and production of extra virgin olive oil actually “sustainable”?
So yes, in conclusion, extra virgin olive oil is a sustainable product that can contribute to global sustainability, reducing the impact on the environment, preserving water resources and contributing to biodiversity. Choosing a sustainably produced extra virgin olive oil means making a responsible choice for ourselves, for our planet and for future generations.
