European Economic and Social Committee and FAO, together towards food systems transformation
Members of the Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment Section (NAT) of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) joined the virtual discussions of the 47th session of World Committee on Food Security (CFS 47), from 8 to 11 February.
Among the members of the EESC delegation was NAT section President Peter Schmidt (Workers Group – Group II) ,Andreas Thurner (Diversity Europe - Group III, President of the Thematic Group on Sustainable Food Systems) and Arnold Puech d'Alissac ( Employers' Group - Group I). Together they held meetings with FAO senior representatives, including the Director of the Office of Climate change, Biodiversity and Environment, Eduardo Mansur, the Director of the Office Partnerships and UN Collaboration, Marcella Villareal, and the Director of Food Systems and Food Safety, Jamie Morrison.
After the renewal of the EESC mandate in October 2020, the NAT Section selected the promotion of a comprehensive food policy as one of its main priorities for the period 2020-2023. The Section gathers members of civil society, private sector and trade unions from across EU Member States.
On 10 February, a section meeting was held with a thematic debate on the "EU Farm to Fork strategy and UN Food Systems Summit: making food systems a key leverage in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement,” with the participation of the Deputy to the UN Special Envoy on the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS), Martin Frick, and Deputy Director-General of the EU Commission Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE) Claire Bury. In her intervention, Ms Bury acknowledged the role of the EESC opinion calling for a system-wide approach to sustainable food systems as one of the seeds that fed into the EU Farm to Fork Strategy. Ms Bury highlighted the potential of the UNFSS to put the spotlight on the Farm to Fork Strategy as a holistic approach to promote the transitions to sustainable food systems, targeting animal health, plant health and the environment simultaneously.
Ms Bury went on to say that the UNFSS is complementary to other initiatives, such as the meetings of the States Parties for the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) and for Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD COP15), the Nutrition4Growth Summit and the FAO/OIE/WHO Tripartite on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).
FAO Brussels will continue to support and find opportunities for further collaboration to work towards a comprehensive food system. In 2020, FAO has contributed to key opinions such as the “From farm to fork: a sustainable food strategy” and “EU 2030 Biodiversity Strategy” presented to the EU institutions.