Green Deal: Overview

The Farm to Fork Strategy is at the heart of the Green Deal. It addresses comprehensively the challenges of sustainable food systems and recognises the inextricable links between healthy people, healthy societies and a healthy planet. The strategy is also central to the Commission’s agenda to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

Focuses on:

1. Building the Food chain that works for Consumers, Producers, Climate and the Environment
2. Ensuring sustainable food production
3. Ensuring food security
4. Stimulating sustainable food processing, wholesale, retail, hospitality and food services practices
5. Promoting sustainable food consumption and facilitating the shift to healthy, sustainable diets
6. Reducing food loss and waste
7. Combating food fraud along the food supply chain
8. Enabling the transition
9. Research, innovation, technology and investments
10. Advisory services, data and knowledge‑sharing, and skills
11. Promoting the global transition

© European Union, 2021

Create a food environment that makes the healthy and sustainable choice the easy choice – Over 950,000 deaths (one out of five) were attributable to unhealthy diets in the EU in 2017. A healthy, plant-based diet reduces the risk of life-threatening diseases and the environmental impact of our food system.

Add food labels that allow consumers to choose healthy and sustainable diets – The Commission will propose mandatory, front-of-pack nutritional information and develop a sustainable food-labelling framework that also covers the environmental and social aspects of food products.

Stepping up the fight against food waste – The Commission aims to cut food waste by half by proposing legally binding targets across the EU by 2023.

Research and innovation – €10 billion under Horizon Europe to be invested in R&I related to food, bioeconomy, natural resources, agriculture, fisheries, aquaculture and the environment. Knowledge transfer will be essential. The CAP’s farm advisory services and farm sustainability data network will be instrumental in assisting farmers in the transition.

Promoting the global transition – Making European food famous for its sustainability can give us a competitive advantage and open new business opportunities for European farmers. The EU will collaborate with third countries and international actors to support a global move towards sustainable food systems. A sustainable food labelling framework will facilitate consumer choice