Policy decisions arising from the Russian war in Ukraine have put food security at risk. Other military and civil conflicts, the COVID-19 pandemic, and an increase in climate change-related weather events have likewise highlighted how the availability and accessibility of food, feed, fuel, and fibre can be negatively affected in both quantity and price. Against this backdrop, it is critical to examine the driving role of policy and the potential for unintended consequences.

With this in mind, it is also important to look at the European Green Deal and its repercussions for global food systems and food security.

Our managing director, Steffen Noleppa, together with Ettore Capri from Opera Research, a think tank of the Universitá Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Piacenza, Italy, look to contribute to this understanding by providing a white paper examining specific elements of the European Green Deal from a food-security perspective and to initiate a conversation about revising the policy agenda.

The authors particularly want to explore how we as a European and global society can achieve environmental and socio-economic sustainability while ensuring that policy decisions benefit both food security and environmental performance. Thereby, the authors focus on those most relevant to socio-economic issues and environmental aspects related to the Farm to Fork Strategy and Biodiversity Strategy of the European Green Deal.

In conclusion, the authors recommend that food security be reinstated as a central objective in agricultural and food policies; that more research into the potential for unintended consequences be carried out on a global level; that policymakers open the dialogue more widely and improve communication; that technologies and innovation be more widely promoted and spread, and that innovation be supported by an appropriate regulatory and policy framework.

The paper which was made possible by the support of CropLife International can be found here.

Additionally, the paper is available in French, Portuguese and Spanish.

An executive summary of the white paper is additionally available here.

For further information, please, contact steffen.noleppa@hffa-research.com.