The Role of Science, Technology, and Innovation for Transforming Food Systems in Europe

Abstract

The UN FSS provides an important stimulus to develop new momentum to tackle shared challenges for achieving food and nutrition security. For this Brief, EASAC provides an assessment of the science to update our previous contribution to the IAP global project. European farming systems are diverse and food has traditionally played a central role in the shaping of individual and cultural identities. In this Brief taking a food systems approach, we examine European issues for the interrelationships between agriculture, environmental sustainability, nutrition and health, considering all steps in the food value chain from growing through to consumption and recycling. There are multiple policy objectives and instruments to coordinate but, although the challenges are unprecedented, so too are the scientific opportunities. A wide range of issues are covered, including those for: agro-ecology and the implications for ecosystem assessment, other new production systems, linking soil structure and health both with environmental sustainability and novel products of the bioeconomy, and microbiomics. However, capitalising on scientific advances is not sufficient, there must also be flexibility in regulatory systems to encourage innovation. EASAC recommends that it is the products of new technologies and their use, rather than the technology itself, that should be evaluated according to evidence-based regulatory frameworks. <br />There are major opportunities for developing climate-resilient food systems while, at the same time, reducing the contribution that agriculture makes to climate change, and the implications for food policy. The COVID-19 pandemic has also brought significant adverse pressures on food systems but planning for a sustainable economic recovery after the pandemic can facilitate efforts to make food systems more resilient, nutritious and environmentally sustainable.