Closing Plenary Session
Safe and sustainable food systems – How can we get there?
European food is recognised as being safe and of high quality, but it should now also aim for the highest standards of nutrition and sustainability. Food systems at global and EU level need urgent and significant transformation if they are to meet sustainability targets. With the Farm to Fork Strategy, which is at the core of the European Green Deal, there is accelerating momentum in efforts to make our EU food system more resilient and sustainable. Although the European Green Deal puts sustainability at the heart of EU policy-making, and reflects the need for systemic change in food systems, we are still in the process of turning such ambitions into policies and actions. Moreover, steering food systems towards a sustainability transformation remains an immense challenge. Yet, food systems offer many entry points for change. Building on points emerging from the thematic (break-out) sessions over the previous days of the Conference, this plenary session will explore how food safety assessments need to be advanced to keep our food safe, while contributing to making it more nutritious and sustainable. To this end, we will address how a One Health approach could help to deliver more integrated, cross-sectoral and collaborative health assessments, and how such assessments could better inform policies that shape food system transformations.
Vision
The safety of the food chain from farm to fork is at the core of EFSA’s mission. With its food safety assessments, EFSA – together with EU Member States – contributes to the protection of human, animal, plant and environmental health and animal welfare. The ambition to advance food safety assessments to ensure they remain fit for purpose in the face of a changing environment is at the heart of EFSA’s Strategy 2027.
EFSA’s Strategy 2027 emphasises that new approaches to food safety are required to meet societal ambitions and policy targets for more nutritious and sustainable food, without compromising on food safety. To this end, we will address how a One Health approach could help to deliver more integrated, cross-sectoral and collaborative health assessments that go beyond the traditional boundaries that separate scientific disciplines and organisations, and involve new stakeholders. Moreover, we will explore how such assessments could better inform policies that shape food system transformations. This will enable recommendations to be formulated that promote the implementation of more participatory, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches, and thus facilitate a transition towards more integrated, cross-sectoral and collaborative health assessments.
Background – Challenges and opportunities
Current global food systems are at a pivotal turning point. They are increasingly challenged by a fast-growing world population, rising hunger and malnutrition, a rapidly changing climate, unprecedented biodiversity loss, and significant social inequities. At the same time, there is accelerating momentum in efforts to transform food systems so that they better integrate planetary health, economic viability and social welfare. At a global level, for example, the United Nations has adopted a transformative agenda for 2030 based on 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are designed to stimulate action in areas of critical importance for humanity and the planet. Food represents a common thread linking all 17 SDGs, given the interconnected economic, social and environmental dimensions of food systems.
At an EU level, the European Commission has put forward its Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system. The Farm to Fork Strategy is one of the key components of the European Green Deal, alongside the Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Chemicals Strategy for Sustainability and the Soil Strategy for 2030. The main aim of the Farm to Fork Strategy is to enhance the sustainability of the European food system, so that we can produce safe and nutritious food in the most equitable way, without putting further undue pressure on the environment.
While the European Green Deal puts sustainability at the heart of EU policy-making, and reflects the need for systemic change in food systems, we are still in the process of turning such ambitions into policies and actions. Moreover, steering food systems towards a sustainability transformation remains a monumental challenge. Food systems are complex, as they consist of all the components (such as the people, institutions, environments and infrastructure) and activities involved in bringing food from farm to fork. Yet, food systems offer many entry points for change. An avenue that will be explored further in the session is how more integrated, cross-sectoral and collaborative approaches to health assessments could better inform policies designed to shape food system transformations. Collaborative, co-creation and partnership approaches to knowledge development will be crucial in this context.
Scope and objectives
Food systems, globally and in the EU, need urgent and significant transformation to meet sustainability targets. While steering food systems towards a sustainability transformation remains an immense challenge, food systems offer many entry points for change.
The main objectives of the plenary session are to:
- Report on relevant points emerging from the thematic sessions over the previous days of the Conference;
- Explore how food safety assessments need to be advanced to keep our food safe, while making it more nutritious and sustainable;
- Discuss how taking a One Health approach can help to deliver more integrated, cross-sectoral and collaborative health assessments that go beyond traditional boundaries that separate scientific disciplines and organisations, and involve new stakeholders;
- Explore how more integrated, cross-sectoral and collaborative health assessments could better inform policies that shape food system transformations;
- Formulate recommendations to promote the implementation of more participatory, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches and thus facilitate a transition towards more integrated, cross-sectoral and collaborative health assessments.
| Time | Duration | Talk |
|---|---|---|
| 08:30 | 5 |
Opening and welcome Pamela Byrne, Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) |
PART I: One Health – Delivering integrated health assessments that advance food safety
| Time | Duration | Talk |
|---|---|---|
| 08:35 | 10 |
ONE Society track: wrap up Lynn Frewer, Newcastle University |
| 08:45 | 10 |
ONE Life track: wrap up Francesco Branca, World Health Organization (WHO) |
| 08:55 | 10 |
ONE Planet track: wrap up Franck Berthe, World Bank |
| 09:05 | 10 |
MANY Ways track: wrap up Christine Nellemann, Technical University of Denmark, National Food Institute (DTU) |
| 09:15 | 50 |
Panel discussion moderated by Rose O' Donovan Lynn Frewer, Newcastle University | Francesco Branca, World Health Organization (WHO) | Franck Berthe, World Bank | Christine Nellemann, Technical University of Denmark, National Food Institute (DTU) | Steven Musser, US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) |
| 10:05 | 5 |
Wrap up and concluding remarks Pamela Byrne, Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) |
| 10:10 | 30 |
Coffee break |
PART II: One Health – How scientific advice can help to make our food systems fit for the future
| Time | Duration | Talk |
|---|---|---|
| 10:40 | 5 |
Welcome to Part 2 Lee Ann Jackson, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) |
| 10:45 | 10 |
Achieving sustainable and resilient food systems: a science for policy perspective Sandra Gallina, European Commission |
| 10:55 | 10 |
Transitioning to more sustainable and resilient food systems: FAO’s policy vision Ismahane Elouafi, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) |
| 11:05 | 10 |
Knowledge for action: sustainability transitions and the food system of tomorrow Hans Bruyninckx, European Environment Agency (EEA) |
| 11:15 | 65 |
Panel discussion moderated by Rose O' Donovan Nathalie Chaze, European Commission | Ismahane Elouafi, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) | Gerda Verburg, Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) Movement | Joachim Von Braun, Bonn University |
| 12:20 | 5 |
Wrap up and concluding remarks Lee Ann Jackson, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) |
Closing ceremony
| Time | Duration | Talk |
|---|---|---|
| 12:25 | 15 |
Closing address Bernhard Url, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) |
| 12:40 | 15 |
Closing address by the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union Philippe Bodenez, Ministère de la Transition Écologique and Charles Martins-Ferreira, Ministère de l’Agriculture et de la Souveraineté Alimentaire |