Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions on the legislative framework for sustainable food systems
Date: 2023-05-25
Institutions: Commission for Natural Resources, European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: consumer information, eating habits, food consumption, food production, food security, food systems, foodstuff, human nutrition, labelling, public procurement








C_2023257EN.01002301.xml










21.7.2023   


EN


Official Journal of the European Union


C 257/23






Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions on the legislative framework for sustainable food systems
(2023/C 257/05)












Rapporteur:


Joke SCHAUVLIEGE (BE/EPP), Vice-President of the Flemish Parliament









POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS


Introductory comments

THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS (CoR),








1.


welcomes the intention of the European Commission to put forward the legislative framework for sustainable food systems (FSFS), as outlined in the European Commission work programme for 2023;












2.


stresses that a sustainable food system has to deliver food security and nutrition for all in such a way that the economic, social and environmental bases to generate food security and nutrition for future generations are not compromised (1). It should contribute to all elements of environmental, social and economic sustainability;












3.


stresses that the food system includes ‘the elements and activities related to producing and consuming food, and their effects, including economic, health, and environmental outcomes (2)’ from the farm to the fork, including primary production, processing, retail and catering, in addition to producers and consumers, which are already mainly targeted by the legislation currently in force while also taking into account the social and cultural dimension of food and the need to respect traditional diets;












4.


calls on the European Commission to ensure that horizontal and sectoral policies linked to food and food systems are in line with the objectives and targets set by the future FSFS, the farm-to-fork strategy, the European Climate law, the biodiversity strategy and zero pollution targets, with proper evaluation and regular monitoring in place;












5.


calls on the Commission to provide for a proper assessment of the impact of the future legislative framework on European food systems and production and of the results by means of regular monitoring, and to limit as far as possible the use of delegated and implementing legislation to decisive aspects and aspects impacting on European production systems, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity and sincere cooperation, as provided for in the Treaties;












6.


in this regard, requests that the future regulation foresee an evaluation by the European Commission and by 2030, to review all existing horizontal and sectoral policies linked to food and food systems to ensure that they are consistent with and support the objectives and targets of the future regulation on FSFS;












7.


in particular, insists that the common agricultural policy (CAP) regulations should also be brought in coherence with this new FSFS regulation when they will be reviewed after 2027;












8.


highlights the willingness of EU citizens to move towards safe, sustainable, just, resource- and climate-responsible food production that provides guaranteed quantities and quality for all at affordable prices, respecting sustainability principles, the environment and safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystems while ensuring food security, as expressed in the Final Report of the Conference on the Future of Europe;












9.


calls for identifying the main reasons leading to citizens’ and environmental exposure and to surface and groundwater contamination, as well as air and soil pollution;












10.


calls on local, regional and other public authorities, within the framework of EU public procurement rules and the European Commission’s guidance on green and sustainable public procurement, to set their own targets for the procurement of healthy, nutritionally balanced, seasonal, local and organic food in public catering, as part of sustainable public procurement strategies supporting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.












11.


highlights the strategic role of rural areas for climate and food security and the production of healthy and diverse food, as they preserve agricultural soil and its fertility. This is facilitated by the coexistence of rearing activities and cultivation of rural areas and landscapes across the EU, as they create jobs in farming, agri-food industries and associated sectors. Regions and cities have an important role in maintaining rural areas and landscapes, which should be taken into account in the Commission’s proposal;












12.


reiterates its call to set a binding target to halve food waste by 2030 within the revision of the Waste Framework Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) and on the basis of the work streamlined by the EU Platform on Food Losses and Food Waste; draws attention to the recommendations formulated by the European Citizens’ Panel on Food Waste (4);












13.


emphasises the contribution of the sustainable management of forests and other wooded land, as well as agroforest systems, to food production and maintaining one health, highlights the growing interest in wild food products and calls for the use of livestock on the land referred to above to be promoted, in order to prevent forest fires, restore biodiversity and maintain and increase ecosystem services in rural areas;





A harmonised, EU-wide approach









14.


stresses the urgent need for setting up a comprehensive framework for sustainable food systems in the EU to make sustainability central to all food-related policies while ensuring better policy coherence;












15.


calls for a holistic, balanced approach, built on economic, social and environmental pillars that are based on clear, scientific, EU-wide definitions of sustainability, principles and general objectives;












16.


urges EU, national, local and regional authorities to ensure that sustainability is mainstreamed in all food-related policies. The framework law should look into clarifying responsibilities for all food-system actors by setting up multi-level cooperation, engaging participation at EU, Member State, regional and local level. Any potential expansion of responsibilities at local and regional level should include support and guidance, as well as adequate financial resources to fulfil the additional commitments;












17.


Member States with outermost regions, as listed in Article 349 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, may take into account the specific needs of these regions as regards the use of plant protection products when adopting national 2030 reduction targets, due to the particular climatic conditions and crops in these regions. This shall not lead to allowing lower targets in the outermost regions;












18.


stresses the importance of technological innovation in achieving environmental sustainability while also ensuring economic and social sustainability and maintaining current production levels;





Governance









19.


is convinced that cities and regions are key actors in this field, playing an important role in addressing the challenges of food systems, and that their role should be taken into consideration with due respect for the principle of subsidiarity; food constitutes an activity within the health and school sectors, as well as within dedicated administrative organisations. Regions and cities also have an important role to play in promoting good and equitable health and good lifestyle habits among different groups in the population. Moreover, food as an economic activity has a clear link with regional development and spatial planning, a responsibility which often lies with local and regional authorities;












20.


highlights the importance of social innovation, to respond to collective needs and foster sustainability in production and consumption systems;












21.


highlights the importance of shorter value chains that bring farmers closer to their consumers through direct sales which will enable affordable food for consumers while at the same time ensuring that the price respects the producers, allowing them to live in dignity and make a decent living;












22.


therefore reiterates its call to establish a multi-stakeholder platform on sustainable food systems, involving the European Committee of the Regions together with other relevant stakeholders and civil society, thus creating a supporting network that would facilitate the transition to more sustainable food systems for European regions and cities while taking into account regional differences and areas’ specialisations and traditions;












23.


draws attention to the role played by the different actors in the food systems as potential ‘agents of change’, from primary producers, farmers and fishers, to different producer and business operators, food manufactures, traders, retailers, and hospitality and food-service businesses, health actors and consumers;












24.


requests the European Commission to set up a mechanism ‘polluter pays and provider gets’ in order to reward those farmers or other food producers who go beyond EU minimum legal requirements and deliver additional environmental benefits to EU society and in order to give incentives to others to improve the sustainability of their production;





Healthy and sustainable diets









25.


insists that the FSFS should incorporate the ‘food environment’ concept to facilitate access to healthy and sustainable diets, as unhealthy and unsustainable food environments are the main cause of inadequate dietary patterns;












26.


highlights the role of cities and regions in shaping food environments that promote affordable and accessible, sustainable and healthy diets while supporting sustainable producers; in this regard, highlights the importance of urban planning in facilitating access to healthy food options; this is especially important the vicinity of schools, and in the case of ‘food deserts’;












27.


highlights the potential of the EU school fruit, vegetables and milk scheme to facilitate the transition towards sustainable and nutritionally comprehensive food systems;












28.


calls for a revision of the EU school fruit, vegetables and milk scheme to enhance the consumption of products that contribute to healthy, more plant-based sustainable diets while reconnecting to agriculture through educational activities on sustainable farms; this revision should examine the circumstances of local and regional authorities with regard to promoting health and sustainable diets;












29.


calls for the national dietary guidelines to be regularly updated to support healthy and sustainable diets and underpin the transition to more sustainable food systems;












30.


calls for alignment of the promotional campaigns for agri-food products with the objectives of the farm-to-fork strategy and EU Beating Cancer Plan;












31.


calls for public money to be spent primarily on food associated with healthy, sustainable and more plant-based diets; This should be accompanied by support and guidance for municipalities and regions that are major public buyers;












32.


calls for pricing policies to align food prices with the true cost of food and to lower the relative price of more sustainable food, such as plant-based food options;












33.


calls for EU subsidies to support small farmers to produce ecological food and to reward farmers who are implementing sustainable practices and promoting animal welfare;












34.


calls for fiscal incentives and minimal VAT on staple foods;












35.


is worried about a possible re-introduction of genetically modified organism (GMO) in our European food with the future European regulation proposal on plants produced by new genomic techniques (NGT). This should be based on a robust assessment and sound scientific evidence of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). In any case, every food product containing GMO should show a front-of-the-pack label indicating the presence of GMO;





Food public procurement









36.


reiterates its call (5) to eliminate existing constraints within its public procurement rules to apply sustainability criteria. EU competition legislation prohibits territorial preferences (such as local foods) being specified in public purchasing contracts; points out that today public authorities wishing to include locally based suppliers and producers and support the regional food economy are risking legal action for potential infringement of common market rules, if they exploit existing loopholes; Clarification should be accompanied by guidance and training for regions and municipalities that are major public buyers;












37.


underlines that public procurement of sustainable, healthy, seasonal and local food represents a powerful tool for transition to more sustainable food systems in line with the sustainability policies and the Sustainable Development Goals, and encourages the use of green public procurement (GPP) criteria;












38.


stresses the need to make a shift towards more plant-based food as a foundation for a more sustainable, climate-neutral and resilient food system; in this respect, highlights the health and cultural benefits of traditional diets;












39.


expresses concern about the introduction of lab-grown foods on European markets, as it will not guarantee quality, well-being and the protection of culture and traditions; lab grown food remains costly, which is a significant barrier that would need to be overcome;












40.


underlines that a low-carbon food chain from farm to fork contributes to the GHG emission reduction targets, by introducing scientific and technical innovation while applying the principles of circularity in the farming;












41.


highlights the need to involve national and international procurement experts in the definition of criteria to support both the implementation at the local level and public buyers such as government authorities, regions and cities and promote a more strategic use of public procurement;












42.


calls for the development of practical guides for procurement officials on how to use procurement to promote sustainable development goals and healthy, seasonal, local and organic diets; advocates creating and financially supporting networks for public procurers to share guidance, expertise and best practice;












43.


reiterates the need for financial and technical support to be provided by the EU and the Member States for a more strategic use of procurement in line with national and local food strategies and objectives;












44.


highlights the benefits of socially responsible food procurement which encourages the presence of farmers in rural areas and includes the social economy and social cooperatives along the whole supply chain;












45.


proposes setting country-specific progressive targets for sustainable food public procurement, in line with the farm-to-fork strategy;





Labelling









46.


notes that the introduction of harmonised sustainable food labelling should be proportionate legally regulated and mandatory, and developed on the basis of solid and independent scientific data and should not interfere with existing systems such as geographical indications, by arbitrarily classifying foods that could mislead consumers on food choice;












47.


highlights that sustainable labelling should be based on science while including all aspects: environmental, social and nutritional. It should be expressed via separate individual indicators in order to minimise the trade-offs between various sustainability dimensions. The CoR supports a simple, EU-wide and front-of-pack labelling of food products based on robust and independent scientific evidence. Such an indicator should highlight both the high and lower performers in order to help the consumer to make an informed choice when buying their food. In this respect, highlights the importance of awareness-raising campaigns, sustainable food education programmes and other initiatives in local communities from early childhood onwards;












48.


stresses that labelling should be linked to marketing and promotion policy, as well as to a reduction of packaging and packaging waste;












49.


points out that it is imperative to provide farmers with effective solutions for organic or biological treatments with a view to reducing the use of pesticides and chemicals in order to improve the resilience of farms to external shocks, to protect the health of people and nature, and preserve soil fertility — ultimately strengthening food security;












50.


considers that voluntary labelling — schemes for food which are not coordinated at European level could have distortive and negative effects within the single market, which would be particularly detrimental to small and medium sized producers; while recognising that such considerations do not outweigh the imperative that a high level of human health protection must be ensured in the definition and implementation of all policies and activities;












51.


encourages EU policies to help consumers make informed, healthy, sustainable food decisions, including by adopting harmonised, proportionate European labelling schemes based on robust and independent scientific evidence;












52.


stresses that food labelling must be coordinated and harmonised at European level, without creating any kind of quantitative or qualitative restriction on trade within Europe or jeopardising the proper functioning of the single market unless justifiable with reference to imperatives such as the protection of human health;





Food security









53.


calls on the EU to ensure food security and to invest in sustainable local agriculture production, and shorten its supply chains;












54.


stresses the need to safeguard logistics and food transport between Member States, including in crisis situations;












55.


calls for dependencies to be reduced by diversifying sources of key imports, through a robust trade policy that also influences the EU’s trade partners to move towards more sustainability by applying the same sanitary conditions to the production of the products they import as apply to farmers in the EU;












56.


calls for strong coherence and coordination between EU policies on sustainable food production, consumption and trade, in order to make unsustainable practices sustainable. In this regard, the FSFS should also ensure the coherence and alignment between EU policies on sustainable food production, consumption and on trade, to make sure that imported agri-food products respect the same social and environmental rules of production as those existing in the European Union in compliance with World Trade Organization’s rule;












57.


stresses that it is necessary to strengthen research and innovation policy on sustainable food. It will be necessary for Europe to have legislation that stimulates the use of new innovative techniques.





Brussels, 25 May 2023.


The President of the European Committee of the Regions

Vasco ALVES CORDEIRO




(1)  FAO, 2014.

(2)  Food systems — OECD.

(3)  Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste and repealing certain Directives (OJ L 312, 22.11.2008, p. 3).

(4)  flw_eu-actions_fwrt_20230210_recom-cit_0.pdf (europa.eu).

(5)  Opinion of the European Committee of the Regions — Towards a sustainable EU food policy that creates jobs and growth in Europe's Regions and Cities (OJ C 272, 17.8.2017, p. 14).