(ANSA) - Rome, August 1 

Young Italians are more and more climatarian at the dinner table, a new Barilla Center for Food and Nutrition (BCFN) survey showed Monday.   

The term climatarian appeared on the New York Times list of top 2015 food-related words, and means someone whose diet is based on locally sourced food, on limiting food waste, and on avoiding the most energy-consuming of meat products in a bid to reduce carbon emissions and fight climate change. The survey of 800 Italians aged 18-30 across Italy's regions showed 62% are willing to adopt sustainable diets, 64% said they don't have negative repercussions on social life, and 73% believe such a diet to be nutritious.
    Another 61% believes such diets are too expensive - which is a mistaken public perception, according to the BCFN.
    A meat-based diet actually costs 0.85 euros more a day on average than a vegan or vegetarian one, while cutting meat consumption to twice a week equals savings of 4.50 euros a week and more than 320 euros a year per household, according to April 2015 data from the Italian Price Observatory.
    "Eating healthy doesn't cost more," the BCFN study said.

Read the full article here.