Farm to Fork (F2F) food policy

The Farm to Fork Strategy is at the heart of the European Green DealSearch for available translations of the preceding aiming to make food systems fair, healthy, and environmentally friendly.

Food systems cannot be resilient to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic if they are not sustainable. We need to redesign our food systems which today account for nearly one-third of global GHG emissions, consume large amounts of natural resources, resulting in biodiversity loss and negative health impacts (due to both under- and over-nutrition), and do not allow fair economic returns and livelihoods for all actors, in particular for primary producers.

Putting our food systems on a sustainable path also brings new opportunities for operators in the food value chain. New technologies and scientific discoveries, combined with increasing public awareness and demand for sustainable food, will benefit all stakeholders.

The Farm to Fork Strategy aims to accelerate our transition to a sustainable food system that should:

*have a neutral or positive environmental impact

*help to mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts

*reverse the loss of biodiversity

*ensure food security, nutrition, and public health, making sure that everyone has access to sufficient, safe, nutritious, sustainable food

*preserve the affordability of food while generating fairer economic returns, fostering the competitiveness of the EU supply sector, and promoting fair trade.

The own-initiative report, adopted by MEPs during the plenary session in Strasbourg, was put together in reaction to the Commission’s organic action plan, unveiled back in March 2021.

The plan outlines a three-pronged attack designed to incentivize organic produce production and consumption across the bloc, in line with the ambitious target of 25% of agricultural land farmed organically by 2030, as outlined in the EU’s flagship Farm to Fork (F2F) food policy.

However, an explicit mention of the target was notably absent from the finalized text.

Farm2Fork: Do you have the appetite for change?

Instead, the report emphasizes the need for market-driven solutions, more support for member states in drawing up their national organic strategies, and research in organic farming to increase production in line with demand.

The report only expresses the position of the European Parliament – one of the two branches in the EU lawmaking process – on the matter. Still, it is not legally binding and will not amend the Commission’s political ambition either.

Welcoming the report’s adoption, center-right MEP Simone Schmiedtbauer, the Parliament’s author of the EU action plan on organic agriculture, stressed the sector will “only grow if the market for organic products grows.”

“The market should determine the extent of the growth of the organic sector, not any pre-set target figure,” Schmiedtbauer said, underscoring the need to focus on “practical issues of supply and demand”.

“The EU must support farmers to increase organic production and also consumers to find their way to these products”, she said.

For Schmiedtbauer, a “good mix of the right instruments, incentives and sufficient flexibility” is needed to allow each EU country the opportunity to “further develop its organic sector individually and bring the European organic vision into its own national or regional organic strategies”.

She said this, combined with clear labeling, controls, and certification, to help build consumer trust and stimulate demand.

Likewise, the EU organics association IFOAM welcomed its the own-initiative report, saying it “recognizes that organic contributes to more sustainable food systems and delivers ecosystem services,” including climate change, mitigation, biodiversity, and soil protection.

However, for Green MEP and shadow rapporteur on the organic action plan, Claude Gruffat, who tabled the rejected amendment to include the target in the report explicitly, the adopted text was sorely lacking in ambition.

“I deplore the rejection of various amendments that aimed to improve the unambitious text adopted in committee, including those aimed at including the objective of 25% of agricultural land in organic farming as well as the one for increased support for the introduction of organic products in school canteens and collective catering in Europe,” he said.

The second amendment tabled by the MEP, also rejected by the plenary, aimed to improve the place of organic products in collective catering by supporting local authorities and territorial actors in their action project in favor of a sustainable and resilient healthy food system.

This was put forward to stimulate demand by promoting organic products in collective catering, particularly in schools, by supporting local authorities and territorial players in their action, according to the MEP, who lambasted the Parliament for its lack of ambition in this area.

“I do not understand the lack of willpower on the part of my fellow MEPs,” he lamented. 

Final thoughts

Building sustainable food systems together’ is an annual gathering of European stakeholders interested in helping to shape the EU’s path towards sustainable food systems. This means “we are more on track,” the head of CCRES, Zeljko Serdar.

Croatia has approximately 1.5 million hectares (ha) of used agricultural land and 2.5 million ha of forests. Croatia has favorable conditions for diverse farming but is self-sufficient only in the production of wheat, corn, poultry, eggs, and wine. Imports of agricultural and food products continue to grow. Responding to these challenges requires a science- and expertise-based approach, one that addresses the broad range and complexity of these issues holistically and sustainably. Agri-food systems are dynamic structures, in a state of constant change and adjustment, which makes building effective collaborations with all its stakeholders extremely complex, but also necessary for transformation. These are the challenges that all of us are facing.

The adoption of the text will now be followed by the publication of a midterm review from the Commission on the action plan planned for 2024. Stakeholders across the food value chain, public authorities, international and civil society organizations, as well as other citizens and the interested public are invited to join the debate every year and contribute to the implementation of the Farm to Fork Strategy Search for available translations of the preceding for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system.

Related links

• European Green DealSearch for available translations of the preceding linkEN•••
• Sustainable Development GoalsSearch for available translations of the preceding linkEN•••
• Communication on the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030Search for available translations of the preceding linkEN•••
• SAM work on sustainable food systemsSearch for available translations of the preceding linkEN•••
• Factsheet on SAM work on sustainable foodSearch for available translations of the preceding linkEN•••
• Eurobarometer October 2020: Making our food fit for the future – new trends and challenges
• Factsheet on Farm to Fork StrategySearch for available translations of the preceding linkEN•••
• Factsheet on The business case for biodiversitySearch for available translations of the preceding linkEN•••
• Factsheet on benefits for farmersSearch for available translations of the preceding linkEN•••
• Factsheet on the Common Agriculture Policy’s contribution to the European Green DealSearch for available translations of the preceding linkEN•••
• Farm to Fork episodesSearch for available translations of the preceding linkEN•••

European gas transmission system operators (ENTSOG)

Winter 2023 weather forecast by zeljko Serdar

The European Commission is drafting plans to help EU countries reduce fossil gas demand and, if necessary, curtail consumption in the face of “a likely deterioration of gas supply outlook” this winter. Over the past few months, gas supplies from Russia have declined in a “deliberate attempt to use energy as a political weapon”, driving energy prices higher and raising concerns about whether Europe will have enough supply to get through the next winter.

Already, supply to the Baltic States, Poland, Bulgaria and Finland has stopped. Supply to Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands and Italy has been reduced and flows through Nord Stream 1, the largest import route to the EU, have been cut by 60%.

“There is no reason to believe this pattern will change. Rather, a number of signals, including the latest decision to reduce further supply to Italy, point to a likely deterioration of gas supply outlook,” the Commission says in a new policy document.

The policy document, due to be published on Wednesday (20 July), has a self-explanatory title: “Save gas for a safe winter”.

While the EU tabled plans in May to phase out Russian fossil fuels and strengthen its security of supply, full energy independence from Moscow was not envisioned until 2027 at best. Now the EU needs to prepare for the “sizeable risk” of a complete halt of Russian gas supplies this year, the Commission warns.

The EU’s security of gas supply regulation adopted in 2017 defines three national crisis levels: “Early Warning”, “Alert” and “Emergency”.

The EU is currently at the early warning stage, but on 20 July, it will move to the alert stage, the document says. This means “there is concrete, serious and reliable information that an event likely to result in significant deterioration of the gas supply situation may occur and is likely to lead to the emergency level being triggered in the several Member States.”

This situation requires instruments that reduce gas demand, increased daily monitoring and information, measures for industry to reduce demand, switching from gas to other fuels and obliging public buildings to limit heating to 19°C and cooling to 25°C unless not technically feasible.

According to the draft policy document, the EU gas system has “more than compensated” for the 25 billion cubic meters (bcm) of reduced Russian gas imports, with 35 bcm of additional liquified natural gas and pipeline gas imported from elsewhere.

However, according to simulations by European gas transmission system operators (ENTSOG), a full disruption of Russian gas supplies would “likely result” in the EU falling short of its 80% storage target, possibly “as low as 65% to 71%”, leading to a gap of 20 bcm during the winter.

This means several EU countries would risk “running very low by the end of winter,” making it challenging to replenish supplies for the following year.

To anticipate this, the Commission’s proposed ‘demand reduction plan’ looks at cutting gas consumption by protected groups, like consumers and key services, as well as unprotected groups like industry. It also looks at more extreme curtailment measures if the situation becomes critical.

“Coordinated action now will be more cost-effective and less disruptive to our daily lives and to the economy than impromptu action later when gas supplies could be running low,” reads the leaked draft.

‘Protected’ consumers urged to contribute as well

Under the 2017 Gas Security of Supply Regulation, vulnerable consumers who “do not have the means to ensure their own supply” are protected under EU law. This definition covers private households, essential social services and small businesses.

The regulation also introduced a solidarity mechanism whereby EU countries “must help each other to always guarantee gas supply to the most vulnerable consumers” even in severe gas supply situations.

But while citizens are protected, the European Commission outlines gas-saving measures that can be taken to avoid curtailments in other sectors.

This includes “large savings” in heating by using gas saving campaigns targeted at households, including turning down thermostats by 1°C and mandating the reduced heating of public buildings, offices and commercial buildings to 19°C.

The European Commission also calls on EU countries to switch the fuel used for electricity production away from gas, including coal and nuclear power.

In words seemingly aimed at Germany, it calls on EU countries to postpone their nuclear phase-out plans where technically feasible, saying these national decisions “need to take into account the impact on the security of supply on the other Member States”.

The EU executive admits that temporarily switching from gas to coal “may increase emissions” and that renewables remain the top priority. And it also highlights a temporary relaxation of industrial emission rules to grant more leeway to industry. The situation in the gas market is tense, and unfortunately, we cannot rule out the deterioration of the situation. We have to prepare for the situation to come to a head.