The future health of Europe’s people and the planet lies on our plate: the way in which food is farmed, fished, processed, distributed, valued, prepared, consumed and wasted must change to ensure that the environmental, social and economic sustainability of food become core assets of the EU’s food systems, along with food safety. Research and innovation (R & I) is a critical resource for the EU in the transformation towards safe and sustainable food systems for people, planet and climate (SSFS). The prime condition for success is that a wide diversity of actors join forces in a partnership – with a mission for change.