Quantified future challenges to sustainable food and nutrition security in the EU

Quantified future challenges to sustainable food and nutrition security in the EU

The aim of this paper is to provide a forward looking assessment of the baseline and alternative contextual scenarios in terms of their impacts on the sustainability of European Union's food and nutrition security. Our approach, on the one hand, allows to identify the future challenges and opportunities for the EU agro-food sector, and on the other hand provides a basis against which agro-food policies and innovations can be tested and evaluated in terms of their contribution to sustainable development.

Future food demand in European Union is projected to stagnate due to saturation by individual consumers and limited growth in European population. This provides a unique opportunity to re-think the food system “from quantity to quality”. This shift would improve the nutritional value for consumers, provide new business opportunities for farmers, and reconcile agricultural production with the environment. The future socio-economic developments represent a unique opportunity to make the European food system great again – for people, businesses, and the environment.