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Food is for everyone
Food unites humanity – eating food is something we all do. Therefore, all of us feel the effects of our global food system deteriorating with increased food prices and interruptions in the supply of certain products.
We all have a stake in our food and we all care.
Our farmers and fellow citizens are struggling
Many European citizens don’t have access to healthy, sustainable, and affordable food.
Farmers in Europe are facing increasing challenges in making a living. Barriers, lock-ins, and limited demand are making it difficult for farmers to make the shift to more sustainable food production.
We are unhealthy
Noncommunicable diseases (NCD), such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, account for more than 90% of deaths in Europe (8). Unhealthy diets are the major driver of NCDs. 59% of European adults and 1/3 of children being overweight. We all pay the price of the resulting enormous healthcare costs (9, 10)
Food emissions matter
Globally, food systems account for a third of all greenhouse gas emissions (6). The production of food is the largest contributor to the EU’s ecological footprint (7).
Our farmers are getting old
Only 12% of farmers in the EU are under 40 years old (11) and the vast majority is over 65. This is no surprise seeing the unattractiveness of getting into farming: profits are low, credits hard to get and the starting costs are high (11). We need to attract the next generation of farmers before no one is left to produce our food.
The cost is unequal
Globally, food systems have 10 trillion dollars of hidden and unequal societal costs (12). Globally, the super-rich 1% emit the same amount as the poorest 66% of humanity (5 billion people) (13).
We are out of balance
We have crossed 6 out of 9 planetary boundaries – boundaries such as freshwater use and CO2 concentration that are critical to sustain human life on Earth(1). While industries such as transportation do play a role, our food system is by far the greatest contributor:
~50% of today’s food production crosses all boundaries (2)
50% of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture (3)
70% of global freshwater is used for agriculture (4)
78% of global ocean and freshwater eutrophication is caused by agriculture (5)
Sources
Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University. (2024, January 23). Azote. https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/planetary-boundaries.html
Gerten, D., Heck, V., Jägermyr, J., Bodirsky, B. L., Fetzer, I., et al. (2020). Feeding ten billion people is possible within four terrestrial planetary boundaries. *Nature Sustainability*. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0465-1
Ritchie, H., & Roser, M. (2019). Half of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture. *Our World in Data*. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/global-land-for-agriculture
FAO. (2011). *The state of the world’s land and water resources for food and agriculture (SOLAW) – Managing systems at risk*. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome and Earthscan, London. Galli, A., Antonelli, M., Wambersie, L., Bach-Faig, A., Bartolini, F., Caro, D., Iha, K., Lin, D., Mancini, M. S., Sonnino, R., Vanham, D., & Wackernagel, M. (2023). EU-27 ecological footprint was primarily driven by food consumption and exceeded regional biocapacity from 2004 to 2014. *Nature Food*. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-023-00843-5
Poore, J., & Nemecek, T. (2018). Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. *Science, 360*(6392), 987-992.
Crippa, M., Solazzo, E., Guizzardi, D., Monforti-Ferrario, F., Tubiello, F. N., & Leip, A. (2021). Food systems are responsible for a third of global anthropogenic GHG emissions. *Nature Food, 2*, 198–209. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-021-00225-9
Galli, A., Antonelli, M., Wambersie, L., Bach-Faig, A., Bartolini, F., Caro, D., Iha, K., Lin, D., Mancini, M. S., Sonnino, R., Vanham, D., & Wackernagel, M. (2023). EU-27 ecological footprint was primarily driven by food consumption and exceeded regional biocapacity from 2004 to 2014. *Nature Food*. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-023-00843-5
World Health Organization. (2023, December 11). New WHO tools to support action on noncommunicable diseases and climate change. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/11-12-2023-new-who-tools-to-support-action-on-noncommunicable-diseases-and-climate-change
European Commission. (2020). *From farm to fork: The EU food safety policy*. Retrieved from https://food.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2020-05/f2f_action-plan_2020_strategy-info_en.pdf
World Health Organization. (2022, May 3). New WHO report: Europe can reverse its obesity epidemic. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/03-05-2022-new-who-report--europe-can-reverse-its-obesity--epidemic
European Commission. (n.d.). *Young farmers*. Retrieved from https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/common-agricultural-policy/income-support/young-farmers_en
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (2023). *The State of Food and Agriculture 2023: Revealing the true cost of food to transform agrifood systems*. Rome. https://doi.org/10.4060/cc7724en
Khalfan, A., Nilsson Lewis, A., Aguilar, C., Lawson, M., Jayoussi, S., Persson, J., Dabi, N., & Acharya, S. (2023). *Climate Equality: A planet for the 99%*. Oxfam International. https://doi.org/10.21201/2023.000001
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