The specific objectives of the F2F strategy
To achieve these overarching goals, the F2F Strategy focuses on six specific sub-objectives, each with detailed components:
• Ensuring sustainable production.
• Securing food security.
• Promoting sustainable food in processing, wholesale, retail, and food services.
• Encouraging sustainable food consumption and supporting a shift to healthy, sustainable diets.
• Reducing food waste.
• Combating fraud within the food supply chain.
1. Ensuring Sustainable Food Production
Several noteworthy initiatives to ensure sustainable food production have been proposed by the European Commission, as outlined below:
1.1. For the Entire Agricultural Sector
• Transition in Production Methods
All actors in the food supply chain play a vital role in supporting its long-term sustainability. For example, farmers and fishers can adopt more environmentally friendly production methods by making optimal use of natural resources, incorporating modern machinery and digital tools, and reducing reliance on chemical inputs such as pesticides and fertilizers. While this shift requires initial investments in manpower and finances, it promises long-term benefits by lowering costs and increasing product value.
The EU is pursuing several programs to support this transition, including carbon farming—using agricultural practices to remove CO₂ from the atmosphere—and the development of a circular bioeconomy. This emerging sector offers significant potential; for instance, factories can produce biofertilizers, bioenergy, and biochemicals to reduce environmental pollution and generate additional income. Similarly, farmers can cut methane emissions from livestock by investing in biogas digesters for manure, creating a closed-loop system similar to Vietnam’s VAC (garden-pond-livestock) model, which leverages natural resources while minimizing harmful chemical use. The European Commission will accelerate the adoption of these methods and other efficient food chain innovations, provided investments remain sustainable and do not compromise food security or biodiversity.
• Promoting Organic Farming
The organic food market is expected to see substantial growth, making organic farming a key focus for further development. This sector is currently a growing trend, positively impacting biodiversity, creating jobs, earning consumer recognition, and attracting young workers.
The EU’s existing legal framework already supports the shift to organic farming. Alongside measures in the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and Common Fisheries Policy (CFP)—such as eco-schemes, investments, and advisory services—the European Commission will propose an Action Plan for Organic Farming. This plan aims to help Member States increase both the supply of and demand for organic products, boosting consumer confidence and driving demand through promotional campaigns and green public procurement. The Commission anticipates that this initiative will enable the EU to achieve 25% of its agricultural land under organic farming by 2030, alongside a significant rise in organic aquaculture.
1.2. For the Crop Production Sector Specifically
• Reducing Pesticide Use
Reducing pesticide use in agriculture is essential for sustainable food chains, as pesticides contribute to soil, water, and air pollution, biodiversity loss, and harm to non-target species. The European Commission has set a target to reduce both the use and risk of chemical pesticides by 50%, and the use of more hazardous pesticides by 50%, by 2030. To achieve this, the Commission will revise the Sustainable Use of Pesticides Directive, strengthen integrated pest management (IPM) provisions, and promote alternative crop protection methods such as crop rotation and mechanical weeding to lessen dependence on pesticides.
• Reducing Nutrient Loss
In practice, not all nutrients applied in agriculture are effectively absorbed by plants, and the overuse of fertilizers results in significant nutrient runoff—particularly nitrogen and phosphorus—polluting air, soil, and water, and reducing biodiversity. The European Commission aims to reduce nutrient loss by at least 50% by 2030 without compromising soil fertility, which is expected to cut fertilizer use by at least 20% by the same year. This will be accomplished by fully enforcing relevant environmental and climate laws, setting specific nutrient loss reduction targets for each Member State, and developing an integrated nutrient management action plan to tackle the issue at its source, integrated into each Member State’s CAP Strategic Plan.
• Improving Crop Varieties
Climate change presents new challenges to plant health, necessitating innovative measures to protect crops from emerging pests and diseases. The European Commission will introduce regulations to enhance oversight of imported and circulated plant species within the EU. Additionally, at the request of Member States, the Commission is researching the potential of new genetic techniques to improve sustainability in the food supply chain, while ensuring seed security and biodiversity. This includes streamlining the registration of seed varieties—particularly organic, traditional, and locally adapted ones—enabling farmers to access high-quality seeds that yield crops resilient to climate change pressures.
1.3. For the Livestock and Aquaculture Sectors Specifically
• Sustainable Feed Transition
Agriculture accounts for approximately 10.3% of the EU’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with about 70% stemming from the livestock sector. Additionally, 68% of agricultural land is dedicated to animal production, significantly affecting the environment and climate. The European Commission is prioritizing sustainable livestock farming by researching and introducing sustainable feed additives to the market and reducing reliance on environmentally harmful feed materials (e.g., soy grown on deforested land). This involves exploring alternative feed sources such as insects, algae, and by-products from processing industries (e.g., fish offal).
• Reducing Antibiotic Use
Antibiotic resistance, driven by the misuse and overuse of antibiotics in animal and human healthcare, causes around 33,000 deaths annually in the EU and incurs significant healthcare costs. The European Commission has set a goal to reduce total antimicrobial sales for farmed animals and aquaculture by 50% by 2030. To achieve this, new regulations on veterinary medicinal products and medicated feed containing antibiotics will be implemented, promoting a comprehensive approach to human and societal health.
• Improving Animal Welfare
Enhancing animal welfare can improve animal health, food quality, reduce antibiotic use, and support biodiversity preservation. The European Commission will revise animal welfare regulations, including those on transport and slaughter, to expand their scope and ensure higher standards. The new CAP Strategic Plans and EU Strategic Guidelines on Aquaculture will facilitate this process. The Commission will also explore options for animal welfare labeling to raise awareness of this aspect within the food supply chain.
• Promoting Sustainable Seafood Production
Economic data from the EU show that in areas where fishing has become sustainable, fishers’ incomes have increased correspondingly. The European Commission will intensify efforts to bring fish stocks to sustainable levels through the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), including reducing wasteful discarding, improving fisheries management in the Mediterranean, and addressing climate change risks to the seafood industry. The proposed revision of the EU’s fisheries control system will enhance traceability to combat fraud, preventing illegally caught or farmed seafood from entering the EU market.
2. Ensuring Food Security
A sustainable food system is one that can provide an adequate and diverse supply of safe, nutritious, and affordable food for all people under all circumstances, particularly during times of crisis. For example, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has provided numerous lessons about food security crises, supply chain disruptions, and the livelihoods of those involved in the food supply chain. In the current context, climate change and biodiversity loss also represent urgent and long-term threats to the food supply chain, not only within the EU but across the globe.
Due to the complexity and the large number of actors involved in the food value chain, crises or significant disruptions can affect the system in multiple ways. For instance, during the COVID-19 pandemic, although the food supply generally remained sufficient, it encountered unprecedented challenges such as supply chain interruptions, labor shortages, loss of markets, and shifts in consumer habits. These challenges are unparalleled, and the food supply chain faces an increasing number of threats each year—from droughts, floods, and wildfires to biodiversity loss and emerging disease risks affecting crops, livestock, and humans. Therefore, enhancing the responsiveness and recovery capacity of the supply chain to ensure food security is fundamentally about increasing its sustainability.
To address these issues, the European Commission will strengthen the EU’s collective response to crises impacting food systems to safeguard food security, bolster public health, and mitigate their socio-economic effects across the EU. Drawing on lessons from the past, the Commission will evaluate the resilience of the food system and develop a contingency plan to ensure the maintenance of food supply and security during crises, while also enhancing the Agricultural Crisis Reserve to maximize its effectiveness in emergencies. This contingency plan will establish a food crisis response mechanism, coordinated by the European Commission with the participation of Member States, involving various sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, food safety, labor, health, and logistics, with resources mobilized according to the nature of the crisis.
3. Encouraging Sustainable Food in Processing, Wholesale, Retail, and Food Services
Food processors, food service providers, and retailers play a pivotal role in shaping the market and influencing consumers’ dietary choices through the types of food they offer, the nutritional composition of their products, their selection of suppliers, production methods, packaging, transportation, merchandising, and marketing activities. Strengthening the sustainability of the food supply chain can enhance a company’s reputation and brand, create shareholder value, improve working conditions, attract employees and investors, provide a competitive edge, boost productivity, and reduce costs. Consequently, the food and retail industries should lead the way in increasing the convenience and affordability of healthy, sustainable food options, thereby encouraging consumers to opt for these choices more frequently.
To support this goal, the European Commission will develop an EU Code of Conduct for responsible business and marketing practices, accompanied by a monitoring framework. The Commission will collaborate with food businesses and organizations to establish commitments for specific sustainable actions, focusing on improving food product ingredients in accordance with guidelines for healthy, sustainable diets; adjusting marketing and advertising strategies to meet the needs of vulnerable groups; enhancing energy efficiency; ensuring promotional campaigns do not diminish the perceived value of food in consumers’ eyes; and reducing packaging in line with the new Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP). The Commission will oversee these commitments and may resort to legislative measures if progress falls short of expectations.
In addition, the European Commission will pursue several other initiatives to bolster the sustainability of the food system, including:
• Developing an initiative to enhance the corporate governance framework, requiring the food industry to integrate sustainability into corporate strategies.
• Establishing nutritional profiles to limit the advertising of foods high in fat, sugar, and salt, based on published nutritional and health research.
• Promoting circular business models in food processing and retail, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises.
• Revising food contact materials legislation to improve food safety and public health, notably by reducing the use of hazardous chemicals, while supporting environmentally friendly, reusable, and recyclable packaging materials.
• Encouraging recycling in food services by replacing single-use packaging and cutlery with reusable alternatives.
• Revising marketing standards to promote the supply and consumption of sustainable agricultural, fishery, and aquaculture products, while assessing their potential impact on reducing food loss and waste.
• Strengthening the legislative framework for geographical indications (GIs).
• Reducing reliance on long-distance transportation to establish shorter supply chains, thereby enhancing the resilience of regional and local food systems.
4. Promoting sustainable food consumption and supporting the shift to healthy, sustainable diets
Current food consumption patterns are considered relatively unsustainable from both health and environmental perspectives. In the EU, average consumption of red meat, sugar, salt, energy, and fats continues to exceed recommended levels, while intake of whole-grain cereals, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and nuts remains insufficient. As a result, the EU aims to reverse the rising trend of overweight and obesity rates in the region by 2030. This will be achieved by shifting to a more plant-based diet, rich in fruits and vegetables, and reducing reliance on red and processed meats, which helps lower the risk of serious diseases such as cardiovascular conditions and cancer, while also reducing the environmental impact of the food system. Estimates show that in 2017, over 950,000 deaths in the EU (one in five people) and more than 16 million cases of illness were linked to unhealthy diets.
To tackle this issue, the European Union is actively implementing measures to encourage citizens to adopt healthier and more sustainable diets, including:
• Proposing mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labeling to empower consumers to make informed food choices, while also exploring the development of a sustainable labeling framework that covers nutritional, climate, and environmental aspects of food products.
• Providing food information through new means, including digital tools, to improve accessibility, especially for visually impaired individuals.
• Establishing minimum mandatory criteria for sustainable food procurement in public sectors such as schools, hospitals, and other public organizations.
• Revising the EU school scheme to enhance its contribution to sustainable food consumption through educational messages on the importance of healthy nutrition, sustainable food production, and reducing food waste.
• Improving sustainability standards in catering service contracts for European Commission canteens.
• Proposing tax incentives for sustainable foods, such as value-added tax (VAT) benefits for organic fruits and vegetables.
5. Reducing Food Waste
Reducing food waste not only saves costs for consumers but also carries significant social value by recovering and redistributing surplus food that might otherwise go to waste. To this end, the European Commission aims to reduce per capita food waste at the retail and consumer levels by 50% by 2030. The Commission will establish baselines and legally binding regulations to cut food waste across the EU, while also integrating food loss and waste prevention into other EU policies, informed by consumer research.
In addition to measuring food waste levels, the European Commission will investigate food losses at the production stage and explore methods to prevent them.
6. Combating Fraud in the Food Supply Chain
Food fraud deceives consumers, hinders their ability to make informed choices, undermines food safety, disrupts fair trade practices, and weakens the resilience and recovery of the food supply chain, ultimately threatening the sustainability of the food system. As a result, a zero-tolerance policy paired with effective deterrent measures is essential to tackle this issue.
The European Commission will strengthen its efforts to combat food fraud, ensuring a level playing field for all stakeholders. This will involve leveraging traceability data and alerts to improve coordination among Member States and relevant organizations in addressing food fraud, while also proposing stricter deterrent measures, tighter import controls, and exploring options to enhance the coordination and investigative capabilities of the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF).
Source: Center for WTO and International Trade - VCCI