What is the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture?

Consumer health and the financial stability of farmers are at the heart of a new EU policy framework, which stretches across the entire food chain, from agriculture to consumers, on the path to a more sustainable future for the planet.

Conceived by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in September 2023, the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture has finally put forward its recommendations – 14 in total addressed in a 110-page document entitled ‘A shared prospect for farming and food in Europe.’

The aim is to unite farmers, manufacturers and grocers in the EU’s 27 member states toward achieving a comprehensive set of objectives laid down by the Commission (EC). Those agriculture and food industry players currently tend to have disparate agendas, creating a roadblock to a common policy and strategy.

Discussions toward achieving common and fair goals, though not yet set in stone, began in January and brought together 29 “major stakeholders from the European agri-food sectors, civil society, rural communities and academia”.

What does the framework entail?

In a rather large nutshell, some of the key aims include: fostering healthy diets through plant-based foods; the reformulation of foodstuffs by manufacturers to make them healthier; more transparent planet-friendly and animal-welfare labels; protecting children from unhealthy food marketing; and making food affordable for low-income consumers to promote health.

It all starts with farmers, with the Dialogue recommendations seeking to ensure their survival in the transition away from, or at least a reduction in, animal meat consumption through aid programmes and support. The framework also aims to help in achieving targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from livestock.

Professor Peter Strohschneider, who chaired the panel, said an agreement has been reached “on a shared conceptual consensus for the future of farming and food in Europe, through a new culture of mutual understanding and communication”.

Or as von der Leyen framed it, a “move beyond a polarised debate and create trust among very diverse stakeholders”.

Strohschneider, who once chaired Germany’s Commission for the Future of Agriculture, added: “These joint perspectives, agreed by a diverse and representative group of stakeholders in this sector, form a holistic and societal approach to addressing the EU’s environmental, climate, economic and socio-political goals.”

Key parameters

“Making healthy and sustainable choices [the consumer]; governance change and new culture of cooperations; reducing GHG emissions in agriculture; [and] creating pathways for sustainable animal farming in the EU” are four key parameters for food among the 14 recommendations.

It was recommended within the guidelines that the EC should, by 2026, form a so-called ‘EU Action Plan for Plant-based Foods’ with an aim “to strengthen the plant-based agri-food chains from farmers all the way to consumers.”

Also, within the healthy choice framework, and given the “significant scientific advancements on nutrition”, EU member states should, when they haven’t already done so, adopt “food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) with a view to integrating sustainability and develop strategies to foster” healthy eating.

In terms of finance, an Agri-food Just Transition Fund (AJTF) should be formed, the Dialogue forum suggested, in order to “finance a successful transition of the European agri-food sector”.

Funding projects for the EU agriculture sector would include moves to sustainable farming, and financing “innovative technology projects” for environmental initiatives such as cutting GHG emissions, pollution, water consumption and fostering biodiversity.

To encourage collaboration among the players in the agri-food chain, or a “new culture of cooperation” – one of the other 14 pillars – the Dialogue committee has recommended all those participants, as well as civil society organisations and scientists, form a joint European Board on Agri-food (EBAF).

It should be tasked with identifying “strategies necessary to the implementation and further development of the Strategic Dialogue’s conceptual consensus in order to make agri-food systems more sustainable and resilient”.

Background context

We are all being told one way or another that we are overweight, or even obese, perhaps consuming too many unhealthy foods such as ultra-processed stuff, and sugar- and salt-laden foods. Diets contain not enough fruit and veg and too much meat some would say, with environmental consequences for the latter. As a consequence, there are concerns about the burden on health services from conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure and cholesterol, and heart disease, culminating in early deaths.

Food manufacturers, although not in generalised terms, have been accused of putting sales and profits before health, and are increasingly being urged to reformulate recipes along health and nutrient-intake guidelines.

Taxes have even been implemented or proposed to encourage them to do that. And consumers, too, are targeted with the removal, in some cases, of multiple-buy offers from stores and sweets and other goodies removed from checkouts.

Some food labelling systems have been criticised for lacking transparency or even for being misleading, with Nutri-Score in Europe getting increasing flak – Danone has recently backed away.

Farmers’ plight

On the environmental front, endeavours to lower greenhouse gas emissions and ultimately meet various net-zero targets – for governments, food manufacturers, grocers and farmers – were emphasised.

Farmers in the EU have long claimed they are and have been squeezed on price from food retailers, with some quitting or going out of business as profit margins evaporated. And, as the world grapples with climate change, they have recently been hit with floods, drought and wildfires.

The Ukraine war has hurt too, with fuel and fertiliser prices going up.

Earlier this year, protests by farmers erupted across the EU in demonstration of their plight, with a key thrust of their anger vented at the bloc’s so-called Green Deal, creating an added financial burden without funding to meet the objectives.

Meanwhile, the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) tends to favour large-scale farmers over small counterparts in terms of the size of the subsidies proffered to keep meat and other goods competitive with overseas imports.

The Dialogue’s mandate, when talks began, was to find solutions to some of these grievances, including providing farmers with a “fair standard of living” and ways “to support agriculture within the boundaries of our planet and its ecosystem”.

Professor Strohschneider said in the Dialogue presentation: “We all want a thriving food and farming sector across our continent, that rewards our farmers, citizens and precious natural heritage. With this report, we have a very solid foundation for the development of a new vision for food and farming in Europe.

“All too often, agricultural production and its natural preconditions have become entangled in a lose-lose constellation.

“With a view to the equal necessity of food and natural resources, it is clear, however, that this lose-lose situation cannot be resolved in either direction alone – neither through the promotion of environmentally incompatible food production, nor through environmental protection that ignores the socio-economic conditions of farming, nor through a mere postponement of one or the other.”

The Dialogue report’s executive summary concluded: “The transition must be designed in such a way that it leads to agri-food systems that are more resilient, sustainable, competitive, profitable, and just.”

What about food?

Under the ‘making the healthy and sustainable choice the easy one’ directive, the aim is to improve access to healthy diets, making them “affordable and attractive” for consumers in the EU.

Noting a trend in the bloc toward plant-based options over animal-based products, the trend should be encouraged and supported with the adoption of an EU Action Plan for Plant-based Foods.

Non-profit organisation ProVeg international said the plan would represent a “seismic shift” toward what it called “climate-friendly food” and such a plan would likely drive development of the category and take-up by consumers.

“The EU is listening to the science and is aware of the significant impact of climate change and how food can impact greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity, water usage, and human health,” Jasmijn de Boo, the global CEO of ProVeg, said.

“It is heartening to know that a serious recommendation has been made to promote climate-friendly, plant-based foods that will give nature a fighting chance to recover.”

Some countries within the EU are already taking strides to foster growth and development in plant-based foods.

The German government allocated €38m ($41.9m) this year to foster growth in plant-based, precision fermentation and lab-grown meat proteins.

The European Commission has also committed €50m to an accelerator to develop food made using precision fermentation and algae, adding to a sector investment of more than €100m through Horizon Europe, according to GFI.

In 2023, Denmark’s government launched its Action Plan for Plant-Based Foods, building on a sector investment of around $168m in 2021. Meanwhile, in Spain, officials in Catalonia have invested a total of €19m since last year, including in R&D for alternative proteins and a dedicated research hub, GFI said.

It has been advocated that funding from governments, as well as public and private partnerships, is vital if plant-based food and proteins are to have any chance of competing on a level playing field with animal meat, let alone enabling the category to become more mainstream or even mass market.

Animal meat subsidies in the EU agriculture sector are a key stumbling block. The Strategic Dialogue forum has recognised that and is proposing funding for farmers to support them in the transition, noting average consumption of meat in the EU currently exceeds dietary recommendations.

“It is important to use the Agri-food Just Transition Fund (AJTF) to support those affected. While also reinforcing the positive externalities that the sector already provides, this support should facilitate a smooth adaptation process, helping farmers, producers, and workers,” the Dialogue text reads.

“As this transition will impact the income and economic viability of livestock farmers and producers, policy interventions, therefore, should address not only consumers but also food providers, producers, manufacturers, and retailers.”

Consumer associations, NGOs, health organisations and educational establishments should work with EU member states to encourage sustainable and healthy diets to reduce environmental impacts, the recommendations urged. To get there, an awareness campaign should be launched across the bloc.

It’s great to see the report recognise that food innovation can coexist alongside our culinary traditions.

Seth Roberts, The Good Food Institute

Seth Roberts, a senior policy manager at the European division of non-profit organisation the Good Food Institute, welcomed the directive for public-private funding partnerships in plant-based foods, which he suggested would help foster growth and innovation.

“It’s great to see the report recognise that food innovation can coexist alongside our culinary traditions, as well as acknowledge the importance of boosting research investment,” Roberts said.

“The Strategic Dialogue points to what EU food policy needs – more progress and less polarisation – and we hope that policymakers will now get to work to build a secure, healthy and sustainable future food system for Europe.”

EU food labelling legislation should also be reviewed, the report recommended, to provide consumers with science-based and transparent information pertaining to sustainability and animal welfare.

To shield children from foods high in fat, sugars and salt, it was suggested the EC should look into the effectiveness of preventive measures on marketing campaigns with a view to issuing feedback by 2026 followed by legislation, if necessary.

Similarly, food manufacturers should “step up efforts and be better incentivised to implement policies and collaborative initiatives where feasible, to improve the nutritional composition and environmental impact of food”.

What happens next?

Subsidies for the EU agriculture sector under the CAP should also be reviewed in what the Dialogue proposals suggested was to come up with a policy that is “fit for purpose” and to encourage a transition to sustainable food consumption.

The report recommended: “The current policy needs to be changed to meet current and future challenges and to accelerate the ongoing transition of agri-food systems towards more sustainable, competitive, profitable, and diverse futures.”

Funding for farmers is an essential that runs through the policy recommendations document and also includes backing for GHG goals.

Policies should entail: “The promotion of integrated resource management practices, including water and nutrients; support in the form of grants covering costs for installing new renewable energy systems on farms, reducing emissions and enhancing energy independence; investment in methane-reducing technologies, including to research and develop such technologies in livestock farming.”

The recommendations set out are intended to “guide the work” of the EC under a second five-year term for President von der Leyen, starting in 2024, in “shaping its Vision for Agriculture and Food”.

In conclusion, the report said: “It will be important for the EC in its various portfolios, the European Parliament, the Member States of the Union, and the organised interest groups of the agri-food system to adopt the shared considerations and recommendations.

“They must develop and concretise them further and translate them into bold and swift decisions for the benefit of the EU farming community, food system, and rural areas, and ultimately for the benefit of the European society.”