More than 36 million people in the European Union cannot afford a healthy meal every other day, according to the Commissioner for Health and Food Safety in the EU, Stella Kyriakidou.
Mrs. Kyriakidou speaking on the occasion of the third International Food Loss and Waste Awareness Day Strategy "Farm to Fork" said: "Our food system is under a lot of pressure. We are simultaneously dealing with the negative consequences of climate change, environmental degradation, economic shocks and violent conflicts, which threaten the food security of millions of people around the world.
In this context, it is unacceptable that 20% of all the food we produce in the EU is lost or wasted. Today is a reminder to all of us that we need to take bolder action against food loss and waste."
More than 36 million people in the EU struggle to find healthy food
As the Commissioner said: “in the EU, we are already taking decisive action to manage global food security through international cooperation, supporting the creation of sustainable and resilient food systems through our investments in partner countries. We are also mobilizing humanitarian aid and support to those most affected by the crisis, in partnership with our member states.
While food availability is not currently at risk in the EU, food affordability is becoming an increasing concern for many households. Today, over 36 million people in the EU cannot afford a healthy meal every other day. To create a sustainable food system and enhance food security, we need to make the most of food and the resources available to produce it.
EU legislation is being drafted
The EU's Farm to Fork strategy gives us a clear direction to eliminate food loss and waste from the food system. We are currently in the process of drafting the first EU legislation to set binding targets for reducing food waste. In this way we will step up action on the ground to prevent food waste and upgrade the EU's contribution to the global target of halving food waste by 2030. We will also propose, by the end of 2022, new rules on date marking to help consumers and avoid unnecessary food waste linked to misunderstanding 'use by' or 'use by' dates.
He added that we will continue to integrate food loss and waste prevention into other EU policies and scale up actions across the EU, mobilizing Member States, food businesses and civil society, in particular through the work of the EU on food loss and waste.
Through Horizon Europe, the Commission is investing in research and innovation to support all actors in accelerating the transition to sustainable, healthy and inclusive food systems, including by identifying solutions to prevent and reduce loss and of food waste.
"We are not alone in our mission. The European Commission is participating in international efforts through its participation in the global coalition "Food is never waste", in a process of transforming the way the world produces, consumes and thinks about food. This is a vital step forward towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Today we join other public and private sector organizations around the world in a joint call for action against food loss and waste.
Let's stop food waste, for people and our planet!” concluded Stella Kyriakidou.
About the "LIFE-foodprint" program
It is worth mentioning that the "LIFE - FOODPRINT" project, which is co-financed by the LIFE program of the European Union, focuses on the environmental problem of food waste. The aim of the project is, in the first stage, the awareness of the public and special target groups of the burden on the environment from organic waste and its awareness, with the ultimate goal of behavior change.