Transforming our food systems for sustainability and resilience is pertinent and urgent to achieve our EU Green Deal goals. The food system is highly complex, characterised by uncertainty, multiple drivers, impacts and interconnected sectors, requiring trade-offs. Acting simultaneously on many fronts is the only key to success. This is why we need a systems approach to understand the challenges and to target transformational change through a coherent set of policies, initiatives, and investments. The role of Research and Innovation (R&I) policy has finally been recognised as key to unravelling the complexities and catalysing solutions.
In 2016, DG Research & Innovation launched the Food 2030 initiative, which set out an ambitious and impact-driven R&I policy framework for sustainable food systems, that is being deployed via Horizon Europe.
On 4 and 5 of December 2023, the European Commission will organise a conference in Brussels entitled “Food 2030: green and resilient food systems” to showcase achievements of EU food systems related projects, explore future research and innovation orientations and levers of change. The EC aims to convene a wide range of actors and policy makers for this in-person event, which will also be web streamed and recorded for those unable to travel.
