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Farm to Fork strategy on sustainable food system

In “A European Green Deal”

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On 11 December 2019, the European Commission published its Communication 'The European Green Deal', which envisaged a 'Farm to Fork' strategy on sustainable food to address priorities and challenges related to every step in the food chain. The strategy was published on 20 May 2020 in the Communication 'A Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system'. It states that a shift to a sustainable food system can bring environmental, health and social benefits, offer economic gains and ensure that the recovery from the crisis puts us onto a sustainable path.

An Action Plan of an overall 27 legislative and non-legislative measures accompanies the strategy. Such measures will be taken forward in a timespan from 2020 to 2024. Among the envisaged initiatives, a legislative proposal for a framework for a sustainable food system will be put forward before the end of 2023, and a contingency plan will be developed by the end of 2021 for ensuring food supply and food security in times of crisis.

A host of actions for the agricultural sector to make it more sustainable include the following:

  • rewarded removal of CO2 emissions;
  • advancement of energy efficiency solutions;
  • 50 % reduction in the overall use and risk of chemical pesticides and in the use of more hazardous pesticides by 2030;
  • at least 20 % reduced use of fertilisers by 2030;
  • measures for a more sustainable animal sector, animal welfare and plant health;
  • 50 % reduction of EU sales of antimicrobials in farming and aquaculture by 2030;
  • 25 % of organically farmed area and a significant increase in organic aquaculture by 2030;
  • recommendations to each Member State on the 9 objectives of the common agricultural policy (CAP) to be included in their strategic plans;
  • measures for increasing sustainability of fish and seafood production;
  • clarifying competition rules and monitoring the implementation of the unfair trading practices (UTPs) directive.

On the consumption side, enhanced information to consumers and measures on procurement and taxation should facilitate the shift to healthy and sustainable diets. Targets will be set for reducing food loss and waste, including on the date marking (‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates).

An EU code of conduct, rules on corporate governance, food packaging and marketing standards are envisaged for promoting a sustainable food chain. Moreover, the Commission will scale up efforts on combating food fraud to achieve a level playing field for operators and strengthen the powers of control and enforcement authorities.

The strategy relies on research and innovation, targeted investments, and enhanced data use for enabling the transition to a sustainable food chain, and on international cooperation and trade policies to promote the transition to sustainable food supply at global level. A review of the strategy by mid-2023 will assess whether the action taken is sufficient. In the meanwhile, the Commission aims to engaging citizens and stakeholders in a broad debate and invites the Parliament and the Council to endorse the strategy and contribute to its implementation.

In the Council, Ministers adopted conclusions assessing the 'Farm to Fork' strategy on 19 October 2020. The conclusions involve political messages aiming to ensure sufficient and affordable food while contributing to EU climate neutrality by 2050, and a fair income and strong support for primary producers. While broadly welcoming announced initiatives, the Council requests the Commission to base legislative proposals on scientifically-sound ex-ante impact assessments describing the methods of calculation of the targets and the baselines and reference periods of each individual target, after consultation with the Member States.

An own-initiative report on the 'farm to fork' strategy was adopted by Parliament plenary on 19 October 2021 (votes: 452 votes in favour, 170 against, and 76 abstentions). One amendment tabled for the plenary on the need of impact assessment following the publication of studies on the effects of the strategy on agricultural production was approved too (votes: 464 in favour, 220 against, and 14 abstentions). The report largely supports the vision and goals of the strategy towards more sustainable food production and consumption.

The first deliverables of the strategy were completed between 2020 and 2021; among these, Commission’s recommendations to EU countries on their CAP strategic plans, the Action Plan on organic farming, the EU Code of Conduct on Responsible Food Business and Marketing Practices, and a contingency plan for ensuring food supply and food security in times of crisis.

In 2022, the geopolitical uncertainty caused by the Russian war on Ukraine sparked a heated debate on whether to hold off the future proposals in the context of the 'Farm to Fork' strategy and, more generally, of the 'Green Deal', with a view to prioritise food security over environmental and climate objectives. Having expressed the intention to implement the strategy as planned, in the course of 2022 the Commission launched other initiatives, such as a public consultation on the development of an Integrated Nutrient Management Action Plan, the Nature protection package (including a proposal to reduce the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50 % by 2030), a proposal on the conversion of the farm accountancy data network (FADN) into farm sustainability data network (FSDN), with a view to collect sustainability farm data, and a proposal of EU rules on certifying carbon removals on farm.

In 2023, the Commission put forward the EU-level targets for food waste reduction and a legislative proposal on the protection of animals during transport. Other proposals announced for 2023 include the new legislation on food labelling, a legislative framework for sustainable food systems and the review of the EU school scheme legal framework. For 2024, the strategy announces a proposal for a sustainable food labelling framework.

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Further reading:

Author: Nikolina Šajn, Members' Research Service, legislative-train@europarl.europa.eu

As of 20/03/2024.