Overall objective of the F2F strategy
The European Union’s (EU) "From Farm to Fork" (F2F) strategy establishes a series of objectives aimed at enhancing the sustainability of the global food system while safeguarding the environment and ensuring food security amidst challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. Specifically:
First, The EU seeks to ensure that every stage of the food chain - encompassing production, transport, distribution, marketing, and consumption - achieves a neutral or positive environmental impact. This involves prioritizing the protection and restoration of essential resources such as land, freshwater, and marine ecosystems, while also mitigating and adapting to climate change effects, safeguarding soil, water, air, plant and animal life, and reducing biodiversity loss.
Second objective, The strategy aims to guarantee food security, nutrition, and public health. This means ensuring that everyone has access to sufficient, nutritious, and sustainable food that meets high safety and quality standards, while also accommodating individual dietary needs and preferences.
Third objective, The EU intends to maintain affordable food prices while upholding sustainability. This approach will enhance the competitiveness of the EU supply chain, promote fair trade, and unlock new business opportunities.
The sustainability of food systems is a global concern, requiring continuous improvement to address an array of evolving challenges. Through the F2F Strategy, the EU aspires to lead the establishment of global standards for sustainable food systems. Alongside new policy initiatives, enforcing existing regulations - particularly those related to animal welfare, pesticide use, and environmental protection - is vital for a fair transition. This strategy considers the diverse starting points and improvement potentials across Member States, acknowledging that shifting to a sustainable food system will reshape the economic landscape of many EU regions.
To accelerate and support this transition, ensuring that all food products on the EU market become increasingly sustainable, the European Commission has proposed a legislative framework for a sustainable food system, to be introduced before the end of 2023. This framework aims to foster policy coherence at both EU and national levels, integrate sustainability into all food-related policies, and bolster the resilience of food systems. Following extensive consultations and impact assessments, the Commission will define common principles, general requirements, and responsibilities for sustainable food systems, involving all stakeholders. Combined with certification and labeling of sustainability performance, this framework will elevate standards, encouraging sustainable practices across the industry and setting a benchmark for all food products entering the EU market.
Source: Center for WTO and International Trade - VCCI