‘Farm to fork’ strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system

SUMMARY OF:

Communication: A ‘Farm to fork’ strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE COMMUNICATION?

It sets out the ‘Farm to fork’ strategy which aims to accelerate the EU’s transition to a sustainable food system that:

• has a neutral or positive environmental impact;
• helps to mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts;
• reverses the loss of biodiversity;
• ensures food security, nutrition and public health, making sure that everyone has access to sufficient, safe, nutritious and sustainable food;
• preserves affordability of food while generating fairer economic returns, fostering competitiveness of the EU supply sector and promoting fair trade.

KEY POINTS

European Green Deal

The ‘Farm to fork’ strategy is a key element of the European Green Deal (see summary) and works in concert with the EU biodiversity strategy for 2030 (see summary).

Sustainable food system

The strategy is designed to bring about a sustainable food system by addressing a number of issues:

• ensuring sustainable food production;
• ensuring sustainable food security;
• stimulating sustainable food processing, wholesale, retail, hospitality and food services practices;
• promoting sustainable food consumption and facilitating the shift to healthy, sustainable diets;
• reducing food loss and waste;
• combating food fraud along the food supply chain.

Action plan

A draft action plan is annexed to the communication. It contains a list of proposals for new legislation and a list of current legislation to be revised, as well as a number of other reviews and initiatives. These include:

• a proposal to revise Directive 2009/128/EC on the sustainable use of pesticides (see summary) to significantly reduce the use, risk and dependency on pesticides and enhance integrated pest management;
• a proposal for a harmonised mandatory front-of-pack nutrition labelling to enable consumers to make health-conscious food choices, which follows report of the European Commission on the use of front-of-pack nutrition labelling stemming from Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 (see summary);
• setting nutrient profiles to restrict promotion of food high in salt, sugars and/or fat, which follows the Commission working document evaluating Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims (see summary);
• the evaluation and revision of the existing animal welfare legislation, including on animal transport and slaughter of animals, which links to the Commission roadmap for the fitness check of EU animal welfare legislation.

2030 targets

The strategy sets out a number of concrete targets to be reached by 2030:

• Pesticides. Reduce by 50% the use and risk of chemical pesticides and the use of more hazardous pesticides.
• Nutrients. Reduce nutrient loss by at least 50% while ensuring no loss in soil fertility and reduce fertiliser use by at least 20%.
• Antimicrobial resistance. Reduce by 50% the use of antimicrobials such as antibiotics for farmed animals and aquaculture.
• Organic farming. See at least 25% of farmland under organic farming.

The strategy also aims to have fast broadband available in all rural areas by 2025.

BACKGROUND

For further information, see:

• Farm to fork (European Commission).

MAIN DOCUMENT

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — A Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system (COM(2020) 381 final, 20.5.2020)

RELATED DOCUMENTS

Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council — On the experience gained by Member States on the implementation of national targets established in their National Action Plans and on progress in the implementation of Directive 2009/128/EC on the sustainable use of pesticides (COM(2020) 204 final, 20.5.2020)

Commission staff working document: Evaluation of the Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006 on nutrition and health claims made on foods with regard to nutrient profiles and health claims made on plants and their preparations and of the general regulatory framework for their use on foods (SWD(2020) 95 final, 20.5.2020)

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030 — Bringing nature back into our lives (COM(2020) 380 final, 20.5.2020)

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — The European Green Deal (COM(2019) 640 final, 11.12.2019)

Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1924/2006 and (EC) No 1925/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Commission Directive 87/250/EEC, Council Directive 90/496/EEC, Commission Directive 1999/10/EC, Directive 2000/13/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, Commission Directives 2002/67/EC and 2008/5/EC and Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004 (OJ L 304, 22.11.2011, pp. 18-63)

Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 have been incorporated into the original text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

Directive 2009/128/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 establishing a framework for Community action to achieve the sustainable use of pesticides (OJ L 309, 24.11.2009, pp. 71-86)

See consolidated version.

last update 05.02.2021