Skip to main content
European Commission logo
Research and innovation
Conferences and summits

FOOD 2030: research and innovation for tomorrow's nutrition and food systems

High-Level Event, 12-13 October 2016, Brussels

At the 2015 Milan World Expo Commissioner for Research and Innovation, Carlos Moedas, announced his intention to launch a food research area by World Food Day 2016, presenting a single thematic research and innovation narrative built on a number of key food and nutrition security priorities.​

  • food safety | animal health | foodstuffs legislation | EU food chain
  • -
  • Brussels, Belgium
  • Live streaming available

Practical information

When
-
Where
Brussels, Belgium
Social media links

Report

Key food and nutrition security priorities include:

NUTRITION for sustainable and healthy diets

Ensuring that nutritious food and water is available, accessible and affordable for all. It involves reducing hunger and malnutrition, ensuring high levels of food safety and traceability, reducing the incidence of non-communicable diet-related diseases, and helping all citizens and consumers adopt sustainable and healthy diets for good health and wellbeing.

CLIMATE smart and environmentally sustainable food systems

Building climate smart food systems adaptive to climate change, conserving natural resources and contributing to climate change mitigation. It seeks to support healthy, productive and biodiverse ecosystems. Ensuring diversity in food systems (including production, processing, distribution and logistics) including in terms of cultural and environmental diversity. Natural resources (water, soil, land and sea) are used sustainably within the planetary boundaries and available to future generations.

CIRCULARITY and resource efficiency of food systems

Implementing resource-efficient circular economy principles across the whole food system while reducing its environmental footprint. Circularity is applied for sustainable and resource-efficient food systems and food losses and waste are minimized throughout.

INNOVATION and empowerment of communities

Boosting innovation and investment, while empowering communities. A broad innovation ecosystem leading to new business models and value-added products, goods and services, meeting the needs, values and expectations of society in a responsible and ethical way. More and better jobs across the EU, fostering thriving urban, rural and coastal economies and communities. Through closer partnerships with industry and food producers, markets that function in a responsible manner thereby fostering fair trade and pricing, inclusiveness and sustainability. Scientific evidence and knowledge from a wide diversity of actors underpinning the development and implementation of FNS relevant policies, at all geographical scales (Local to Global).

FOOD 2030 builds of this intention and is a timely EU research and innovation policy response to the recent international policy developments including the SDGs and COP21 commitments.

Objectives

The FOOD 2030 high level event will provide a platform for dialogue that seeks to build on the political momentum for a coherent research and innovation policy framework for Food and Nutrition Security. The conference is an important step towards boosting future investment in research and innovation in support of impactful nutrition and food systems research breakthroughs, market-creating and open innovation, open science and multi-actor engagement, building of capacities and skills; and strengthening global collaboration for improved research policy alignment.

FOOD 2030 will explore what is needed to transform and future-proof our food systems to be sustainable, resilient, competitive, diverse, responsible and performant in their provision of accessible, healthy and sustainable food and diets for all. Furthermore, FOOD 2030 will investigate how research and innovation systems can be scaled-up to better contribute to the above Food and Nutrition Security priorities.

FOOD2030 conference background document

Presentations

Opening: future-proofing our food systems

Building FOOD 2030: align, structure and boost

Panel discussion 1 - nutrition, sustainable diets & healthy lives

Panel discussion 2 - climate-resilient food systems

Panel discussion 3 – sustainable and circular food systems

Voice of cities in food & nutrition security

Panel discussion 4 – investing in tomorrow's solutions today

Closing session

Workshop 1 - From food waste to innovative bio-based products

This workshop on the use of food waste in the Bioeconomy outlined the potential of food waste streams from food and beverages industry sectors to produce added value bio-based products: food supplements, feed, sustainable nutrients for agriculture, bio-based chemicals, bio-polymers, bio-based food packaging, etc. The outcome of this workshop showed the best use of food waste in boosting a zero-waste circular economy at local level, by reducing resources depletion, and in fostering long-term economic growth.
 

Workshop 2 - aquatic food products and new marine value chains

The workshop was structured on a vivid discussion around three key issues for European aquaculture: fish by-products processing for food and food ingredients, potential of new algae value chains for food, consumer acceptability of aquaculture products, including algae.
 

Workshop 3 - hack your food diy workshop

This workshop provided an opportunity for participants to learn how citizens can contribute to designing Do-it-Yourself solutions relevant to agriculture and food security. It provided insights and a hands-on opportunity to engage in 'biohacking' and 'DiY food' approaches employed in selected FAB-LABS.
 

Workshop 4 - Food visions 2030

This workshop provided participants the opportunity to, firstly, validate and assess a systemic approach to the food system, and secondly, to identify and critically assess the gaps and leverage points in the food system, also with respect to research and innovation. The workshop engaged participants in an interactive process using a mixture of foresight methodology and design-thinking in order to identify potential future areas of action for food and nutrition security to be tackled by the EC. This workshop was by invitation only.
 

Speakers

Programme

Photo gallery