The Agro-ecological Pattern of Animal Husbandry as a Sustainable Food System

The need to satisfy agroecological principles, in order to restore the environmental balance without neglecting the economic benefits for producers, makes the sustainability assessment of fundamental importance. The study is based on the application of Environmental and Economic indicators, developed on the basis of the SAFA methodology, to assess the state of sustainability of organic meat farming in Sicily (Italy). For the dimension related to the Environment the results were on average positive due to the growing commitment to a rational use of resources and the implementation of environmentally friendly practices, but improvements are needed to make the sector more sustainable. In the Economic Area the results were quite high due to the investments that allowed farmers to increase their economic resilience in the long term. The research demonstrates the importance of assessing production processes and the difficulties of methodological application and the detection of certain aspects of business management. In the agri-food system there are opportunities to achieve ambitious objectives, in a market with high consumer needs, where economic and environmental sustainability is increasingly strategic.