Hybrid Event: How to make sustainable diets the norm?
Tuesday 13th February 2024 at 14:15 – 16:00 CET
European Parliament (Room ASP 3H1) & online
Hosted by MEP Juozas Olekas
Co-Chair of the ‘Sustainable Agriculture, Food Systems & Apiculture’ Working Group of the European Parliament Intergroup on ‘Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development’
The current food system is a major driver of environmental impacts, especially biodiversity loss, eutrophication, water stress, land degradation and climate change. The global food system contributes approximately one third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. In industrialized regions like the EU, approximately half of emissions associated with the food system come from agriculture and associated land use. The other half come from energy-related activities downstream, including transports, processing and packing.[1]
To address such key issues, recent scientific advice concludes that dietary guidelines should take both health and environmental sustainability angles into consideration. While these guidelines already promote healthy diets, most are not consistent with sustainability goals.
Until now, the main policy focus in the EU has been on providing consumers with more information, for them to make healthy and sustainable food choices. But this is not enough. People choose food not just through rational reflection, but also based on many other factors; food availability, habits and routines, emotional and impulsive reactions, their financial and social situation, and culture. Moreover, information about the actual impacts of individual food choices on climate, environment and social issues is not always transparent or even provided.
So what are environmentally sustainable diets? And what tools could be used at EU level to overcome the barriers preventing consumers to adopt sustainable diets?
This event aims at presenting and reflecting on recent scientific advice by the European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM) which address these key questions. Two SAM reports (Evidence Review Report, and Scientific Opinion “Towards sustainable food consumption”) will give an impulse to a discussion on how to make sustainable diets a norm.
[1] SAPEA, Science Advice for Policy by European Academies. (2023). Towards sustainable food consumption. Berlin: SAPEA. doi:10.5281/zenodo.8031939
FINAL AGENDA:
The event is moderated by Regine Roncucci, the European Parliament Intergroup on “Climate Change, Biodiversity and Sustainable Development”
14:15 – 14:30: Opening remarks by MEP Juozas Olekas and MEP Miapetra Kumpula-Natri
14:30 – 14:45: Presentation of the “Towards sustainable food consumption” Expert Report by Prof. Erik Mathijs, University of Leuven (KU Leuven) & Scientific Advice Mechanism to the European Commission
14:45 – 15:25: Panel discussion with the participation of:
- Anastasia Alvizou, Deputy Head of Unit ‘Farm to Fork’ (E1), DG SANTE, European Commission
- Lynnette Marie Neufeld, Director, Food and Nutrition (ESN), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
- Camille Perrin, Senior Food Policy Officer & Team Leader, BEUC
- Bo Dohmen, Senior Manager Nutrition & Health, FoodDrinkEurope
- Dr. Eva Sali, Senior Policy Advisor, Copa-Cogeca
- Rosalie Tukker, Senior Policy Advisor, Europêche
15:25 – 15:30: Reaction by Joke Schauvliege, Rapporteur for the Opinion on the Legislative Framework for Sustainable Food Systems, Committee of the Regions (CoR)
15:30 – 15:35: Reaction by MEP María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos
15:35 – 15:50: Q&A session with the audience
15:50 – 16:00: Closing remarks by MEP Juozas Olekas and Prof. Erik Mathijs, University of Leuven (KU Leuven) & Scientific Advice Mechanism to the European Commission
