The new strategy for sustainable food throughout the value chain, announced by President-elect Ursula von der Leyen, is taking shape, according to a draft text seen by EUROPE. This farm to fork strategy, when finalised, will be one of the pillars of the 'Green New Deal', which is supposed to be the hallmark of the future Commission and is expected on 11 December.
Planned as a document linked to other input, this very general text has nothing revolutionary about it. It reflects the desire to address all aspects of the food chain in a holistic approach, integrating sustainable development goals, all the players and all stages of the chain - from producer to the consumer -, taking into account the social, political, economic and environmental systems affecting these activities and also being affected by the impact of these activities.
The vision it proposes to achieve sustainable food systems, aims to improve quality of life and well-being, ensure healthy and carbon-free ecosystems, strengthen livelihoods and inclusive economic growth.
The text identifies all the challenges facing food systems - whether related to demographics, world hunger (affecting 820 million people in 2018), life expectancy, diets and their related issues: the public health challenges of increasing numbers of overweight and obese people in Europe; consumer demand around the safety and origins of food on the plate; climate change and its impact on agricultural production; the need to ensure that farmers' incomes enable them to live; threats to plant and animal health; food waste; the digital revolution.
In environmental, climate, health and social terms, it recommends setting targets for 2030 - for biodiversity, reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from the food sector, reduction of pesticides, food waste, water quality, reduction of food poverty, and malnutrition/obesity rates - based on existing EU legislation or universal sustainable development goals (SDGs).
With regard to economic objectives, it refers only to the SDGs for agricultural income and the number of young farmers (SDG 8), the number of start-ups in the food sector (SDG 9), Internet connectivity in rural areas (SDG 9), and sustainability of the agri-food industry (SDG 12), without giving any figures.
The document stresses the importance of ensuring the coherence of EU policies in all relevant areas and at all levels of governance. The importance of innovation and adequate funding is also highlighted (10 billion has been proposed by the Commission for food, bio-economy, natural resources, agriculture and environment for the Horizon Europe programme in the draft budgetary plan 2021-2027).
The implementation of the future strategy will require the mobilisation of all stakeholders, including consumers, the text stresses.
To consult the project: http://bit.ly/2XBwKTv (Original version in French by Aminata Niang with Lionel Changeur)