JPI Oceans is involved in the preparations for the proposed Horizon Europe Partnership on Safe and Sustainable Food Systems for People, Planet and Climate, to support the important role of aquatic foods in food system transformation. The transformation of our food systems is a necessity to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and food from freshwater and marine resources is a central part of the solution.
The Partnership on Safe and Sustainable Food Systems for People, Planet and Climate provides a food systems R&I platform connecting European platforms, local, national and European R&I programs and combining in-cash and in-kind resources in support of the transition to sustainable European food systems by 2030.
It co-develops multidisciplinary R&I programs with stakeholders, sets up a European network of harmonised observatories for food system monitoring and implements a broad range of activities to increase the relevance, impact, and visibility of R&I and EU leadership in tackling unsustainable food systems, in line with the European Green Deal and the EU Farm to Fork strategy for 2030.
- Accelerate the transition toward safe and healthy diets for all that are sustainably produced in resilient EU and global food systems (the “for all” to cover the dimension of food and nutrition security).
- Collectively develop and implement an EU-wide mission-oriented Food innovation policy.
- Set the foundation for a European Food Research Area.
The Potential impact of the partnership is strongly related to the capacity to align actors of the food system around the goals identified by the Green Deal and to quantify contributions to the objectives in the Farm to fork strategy. Besides, it should have qualified contributions to food and nutrition security, safety, efficient resource usage, and economic and social aspects in food system approaches at EU, national, regional and local levels. Its success depends on the transformation capacity of food system actors towards more sustainable outcomes, via understanding of food systems, exploring systems approaches, searching for appropriate leverage points and solutions, and overcoming barriers and trade-offs.
The mission-orientation of the SSFS Partnership, is informed and built on the EU Green Deal and its Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies, relevant expert groups[1] on FOOD 2030 and SCAR themes, Horizon Europe Mission Boards and various programming and technology platforms to deploy across four thematic areas for transformative R&I: Change the way we eat, Change the way we produce and process food, Change the way we connect citizens to food production, Change the way we govern the food system.