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5.3        Transitioning towards sustainability in food systems

The recent EU Farm to Fork Strategy (EC, 2020c) is a first step towards tackling the impact of agricultural production and food consumption in an integrated and systemic way. It foresees action on several dimensions, focusing on enhancing the capacity of Europeans to make informed, healthy and sustainable choices in their food environment, while increasing the efficiency of the food system. The Strategy takes into account targets for sustainable water management in its overarching objectives of reducing nutrient and pesticide use and, and boost the development of sustainable agriculture, in particular organic farming.

There are potentially numerous strategies to enable a transition towards sustainability in agriculture from a food system perspective. The following sections discusses three strategies that have been highlighted in the Farm-to-Fork Strategy and other publications on reforming of food systems towards sustainability (GCSA, 2020), in light of the agricultural production and its impact on the water environment:

• Changing supply chains to promote sustainable and more resilient agricultural system;
• Stimulate more sustainable diets to reduce demand for water-intensive food products;
• Reduce food loss and waste, and encourage their reuse and recycling.

5.3.1        Changing food supply chains to promote sustainable agriculture

The structure of the value chain has important implications when designing responses to enhance the sustainability of agricultural production in Europe (Meynard and Messéan, 2014; GCSA, 2020). It also has a role to play to increase food system’s resilience to climate change by planning adaptation pathways not only for the production sector (farming systems) but also for investments into infrastructure for collecting, storing and transforming agriculture commodities (ADEME, 2019). Risks with adopting agro-ecological practices, diversifying production and adapting to climate change must be shared between farmers and value chain actors.

Value chain operators have optimised collection, storage and processing infrastructure according to cost reduction targets and economies of scale needed to compete on national, international and global markets (IPES Food, 2016; EEA, 2017b). Diversifying crops or switching to organic farming imply upfront costs to adapt and expand the specific supporting infrastructure as well as higher running costs on lower volumes of agriculture commodity. These difficulties can represent a major barrier for the expansion of organic farming or the diversification of farm production in specialized regions (Meynard and Messéan, 2014)

The importance of enabling changes in agricultural production through a value chain logic is increasingly emphasised (Meynard and Messéan, 2014; IPES Food, 2016). It calls for high level of collective action between relevant actors and better structuring between agri-food sectors (Zakeossian et al., 2018). EU Rural Development Programs have in some case supported such collective action. In Greece for example, authorities supported greater coordination between durum wheat processing plant operators and local cotton producing farms to initiate a transition from cotton production towards durum wheat production, leading to a reduction in water consumption. In Cyprus, potato farmers were encouraged to switch to less water-demanding fodder production in response to increased demand from livestock farmers faced with rising prices for imported feed.

Other strategies are possible to overcome the cost of creating the infrastructure for the collection, storage, and transformation of diversified crop production or organic farming. For example, preferential loans or subsidies for investments into infrastructure supporting diversification in specialised regions or to facilitate the development of organic farming have been provided, for example through RDPs (Zakeossian et al., 2018). Cities and municipalities have also created their own collection and storage food cooperative to supply organic food to public canteens.

The value chain can play a valuable role in changing agricultural practices in other ways. The food industry have increasingly established product specifications which farmers must follow to access markets (Fresco et al., 2016). These standards, in the form of production contracts and labels, typically include assurances that specific crop and livestock operations will be carried out and that final product delivery meet the desired quantity and quality. Integrating results-based, environmental performance in these standards, and rewarding it accordingly to account for potential higher production costs, can act as a major leverage on agricultural production. Some food operators, have integrated ambitious programmes. The CAP could support further expansion of such private schemes (Fresco et al., 2016).

CAP support schemes have encouraged adoption of more environmentally friendly practices, and such support schemes could go further in supporting the transition. However, the uptake of more sustainable farm practices will only last if the market takes over from public action. The higher costs of producing more sustainably can be covered through product differentiation, and the use of certification and labels (ADEME, 2014; Meynard and Messéan, 2014). Alternatively, the greater use of minimum sustainability standards on food products can support a broader and more systematic market uptake by levelling the playing field. The Farm to Fork Strategy (EC, 2020c) proposes to progressively raise sustainability standards of all food products placed on the EU market and support certification and labelling approaches.

A number of public and semi-public interventions are increasingly used to provide alternatives to compensation schemes provided under the CAP (Chapter 4) or overcome the lack of intervention from private food chain operators. Public and private drinking water providers across Europe have initiated schemes based on payments or the buying and leasing of agricultural land, to incentivise more sustainable forms of production on drinking water protected areas (Thomson et al., 2014; Cook et al., 2017).

Under the EU Farm to Fork Strategy, the Commission plans to determine the best modalities for setting minimum mandatory sustainability criteria in public procurement. This can represent a significant leverage for expanding supply of more sustainably produced food and promote sustainable diets in schools, public institutions and collective cantines (Renting and Wiskerke, 2010; IPES Food, 2016). Some cities seek co-benefits to preserve the quality of their drinking water supplies by targeting public food procurement contracts to producers in drinking water protected areas, and thereby incentivise uptake of more sustainable forms of agriculture.

5.3.2        Moving to sustainable diets to reduce water use and emission of pollutants

Recent years have seen an acceleration of the adoption of less water resource-intensive diets, by reducing meat consumption and increasing the share of vegetables and plant-based products. To reduce nutrient emissions and water use involved in growing feed crops and rearing livestock, diets should cut meat and dairy consumption, and increase the intake of plant-based and other protein types.

Estimates suggest that the water footprint of food consumption could be reduced by up to 41% by a switch to vegetarian diet in southern European countries and 30% for a switch to a healthy diet, and respectively 32% and 3 % in northern regions (Vanham et al., 2013). Studies on the effect of diets on nitrogen emissions suggest that halving meat, egg and dairy consumption in the European Union could achieve a 40% reduction in nitrogen emissions, assuming corresponding changes in livestock agricultural production (Westhoek et al., 2014b).

Demand from consumers is a fundamental driver in food system. However, consumer preferences are also shaped by the food system and constrained by norms and conventions, cost, convenience, and habit, and the ways in which food choice is presented (EEA, 2017b). Influencing the food environment could be an important lever for change with regard to dietary composition and supporting more environmentally sustainable production. Awareness-raising campaigns and food labelling have role in influencing choices and behaviours, but a food environment conducive to sustainable diets would shift costs on unsustainable choices and make sustainable choices the easiest option (GCSA, 2020).

The EU’s Farm to fork strategy does not commit to stop stimulating production or consumption of meat, but it offers support for alternative proteins and a move to a more plant-based diet.  It proposes to strengthen food labelling standards to support consumers in making sustainable diet choices, including most efficient meat production but also alternative protein diets based for instance on plants.

Targets can also be set to support greater adoption of sustainable diets in collective catering centres. For example, the Law for on trade relations in the agricultural and food sector in France aims for 50% of sustainable food products in collective catering centre, including 20% of organic food by 2022. Other instruments have been proposed, such as taxation of animal products (Vinnari and Tapio, 2012) or the expansion of short supply chain (Box 5.1).

Although the capacity of short supply chains and alternative food networks to meet the challenges of feeding the European population is often questioned, their role in fostering more sustainable eating habits and wellbeing is well acknowledged. Short supply chains have several advantages, from supporting the emergence of new local outlets and more diversified agricultural production, to increasing the value of agricultural products, improve producer income and enhanced social cohesion, and reducing C02 emissions because of less transport ways.