16 January, 2019

The food system projected by the European Commission

The European Commission (EC) finances the FIT4FOOD2030 project with the objective of finding solutions to the challenges facing our food system: obesity, malnutrition, climate change, scarcity of resources and volume of waste, among others, through research and innovation at all levels of responsibility that act in the food chain.

The way to produce, process, transport, process, consume and waste food is not sustainable. For this reason, in order to contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and COP21 commitments, the EC launches this project which, through innovative ideas proposed by the parties involved, intends to combat the problems mentioned above.

The challenge of FIT4FOOD2030 towards the renewal of the food system is based on four pillars:

1. NUTRITION for sustainable and healthy diets
2. Smart CLIMATE and environmentally sustainable food systems
3. CIRCULARITY and resource efficiency of food systems
4. INNOVATION and empowerment of communities.

Ultimately, the purpose of the program is to make the system use resources more efficiently, provide sufficient and nutritious food in a sustainable manner and allow communities to manage change with ease.

To achieve this, all the actors and processes in the chain are involved in this conversion. From primary production (agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries), collection, storage, processing, packaging, distribution and waste management to the final consumer.

It is also essential in the RRI approach, which in Spanish means, responsibility for research + innovation (R&D), where all the people involved in R&D come together to move towards sustainable and acceptable results.

The platform of the 2030 Food Platform project, which connects stakeholders at European, national and local levels to analyze R & I programs and results, consists of:

1. “UE Think Tank”. Composed by internationally recognized experts.
2. National laboratories. They will bring together the participants at the national level in the fields of health, food and nutrition, to explore new ways of designing the R&D policy.
3. Laboratories of the cities. They will bring together people from all walks of life with the aim of empowering their communities to transform a more sustainable food system for the future.

The FIT4FOOD2030 project will end in 2020, but until 2030 the platform will continue its work to:

1. inform and support the European Commission about its R&D programs,
2. keep Member States aligned in their food-related policies,

and inform citizens at the local level about the importance of having a more sustainable food system and what are the requirements to go in that direction.