Olive oil is good

The IOC invited all IOC member countries to participate in a conference on 16 November entitled “Olive Oil, the liquid gold helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions”.

During this conference, the IOC, through the presentations of recognised international experts, was able to highlight the corpora of scientific studies that indicate thatolive growing has positive effects on the environment and that the adoption of appropriate agricultural practices helps to increase the capacity for atmospheric CO2 sequestration in permanent vegetative structures (biomass) and in the soil.

Woody crops, such as olive trees, are particularly efficient, compared to other annual crops, in capturing atmospheric CO2 and storing it as carbon in organic matter.

Furthermore, olive trees can be grown in areas with a rainfall of less than 450 mm, typical of the semi-arid Mediterranean climate, where the boundary of the forest spread lies. Olive trees can store as much or more carbon than these forests.

A scientific consensus has now been reached that olive trees have a positive carbon balance and that they have a real positive impact and offer a real “environmental service” to society.

According to studies published to date, while an average of 1.5 kg of CO2e is emitted into the atmosphere throughout the life cycle of the production of one litre of olive oil, the adoption of appropriate agricultural practices enables the olive tree to sequester approximately 11.5 kg of CO2 in the soil, resulting in a clearly positive balance of 10 kg of CO2. Furthermore, the increase of carbon levels in the soil improves the biotic biodiversity of the soil and the upper parts of plants and improves the rainwater storage capacity of the soil.

The IOC shared a short video in support of its overarching message that “Olive oil is good for your health and for the environment”: HERE

Photo by Luigi Caricato

Olio Officina