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Introduction: The European Commission’s Farm to Fork strategy, launched in 2020, marks a pivotal step towards sustainable governance of the EU’s food systems. Current food systems significantly contribute to climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation. Comprehensive changes are urgently required to address these challenges.
Key Recommendations
- Coordinate Complementary Policies
- Implement a mix of regulatory measures, incentives, and information campaigns to promote healthy and sustainable food choices.
- Develop a long-term vision shared by all supply-chain actors, ensuring coherence and accountability.
- Promote Affordable and Accessible Healthy Diets
- Introduce taxes on unhealthy and unsustainable products, redirecting revenues to subsidize healthier alternatives.
- Adjust subsidy schemes to support environmentally sustainable production systems.
- Address poverty and invest in education to enhance food literacy and access to nutritious foods.
- Ensure Transparency and Trusted Information
- Include sustainability criteria in national dietary guidelines.
- Launch information campaigns and educational programs to raise awareness about healthy and sustainable diets.
- Restrict advertising of unhealthy and unsustainable food products.
- Enhance Availability of Sustainable Products:
- Regulate product placement in retail outlets to promote healthier options.
- Mandate food product reformulation to increase the availability of sustainable and healthy foods.
- Restrict EU imports of food commodities that cause significant environmental damage.