Meet our members | Piroska KÁLLAY: Food is the common thread that links all 17 SDGs

Piroska Kállay has been a member of the EESC since 2015 and is a member of the Workers' Group. She represents Medosz, the Agriculture, Forestry, Food and Water Supply Workers Union affiliated to the Democratic League of Independent Trade Unions LIGA in Hungary. She was recently appointed president of the Permanent Group on Sustainable Food Systems, and her work focuses in particular on sustainable food systems and the territorial development of rural areas.

As the new president of the Permanent Group on Sustainable Food Systems, what are your priorities for this mandate?

My wish is to promote the important role of this group in achieving the NAT section's main objective to foster the systemic change and well-being economy we need for the successful implementation of the European Green and Social Deal and the Sustainable Development Goals, showing how sustainable, healthy, inclusive and fair food systems are a crucial part of this transition. This will be achieved through meetings and hearings, where the permanent group will facilitate and promote dialogue among European and international institutions, civil society organisations and various stakeholders along the food chain, including farmers, workers, food processors, retailers and consumers.

The permanent group aims to tackle the economic, environmental and social consequences of food production and consumption through a more comprehensive policy approach, for example by promoting sustainable agricultural production while ensuring access to healthy and nutritious food, guaranteeing fair treatment of all economic actors in the food supply chain and reducing food waste.

The six main priorities for the current mandate can be summarised as follows:

• to discuss the implementation of the Farm to Fork strategy (sustainable labelling, education, food waste, public procurements, monitoring, the framework on sustainable food systems, etc.) and promote the idea of a European Food Policy Council;
• to further explore the functioning of the whole food value chainand promote the implementation of the SDGs across the whole chain;
• to promote an open strategic autonomy for sustainable food (proteins, water, fisheries and aquaculture, etc.) while fostering thriving rural areas;
• to reduce food waste and promote a circular bioeconomy, fostering links with the European Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform;
• to reinforce the relationship with international forums (the FAO, the UN Food Summit and the Committee on World Food Security – CFS, and the COP on Climate and on Biodiversity);
• to develop strategic recommendations to feed into the European Commission's 2024-2029 work programme.

The permanent group has already held two meetings. What were the topics and takeaways from these meetings?

The first meeting in June, organised in collaboration with the FAO, gathered representatives from the European Commission and civil society to explore the state of progress of the EU's efforts towards more sustainable, fairer and inclusive food systems, contributing to the UN Food System Summit (UNFSS) Stocktaking Moment which took place in 2021. We learned how the EU is following up on this summit by supporting partner countries in developing and implementing national pathways for food system transformations and by participating in 8 out of the 28 coalitions for action that emerged after the summit. Exchanges with civil society stakeholders have also identified how EU internal and external policies can accelerate the transformation of food systems (see details in the report that was shared with the UNFSS to feed into the July Stocktaking Moment).

The second meeting was organised jointly with the SDO on the theme "sustainable food systems as drivers for the implementation of the SDGs". The event explored how sustainable food systems can contribute to achieving the SDGs by providing concrete examples and best practices from food chain stakeholders, while also identifying the associated challenges. Mr Al-Khafaji from the FAO highlighted the need for dedication from all involved in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda, and the key role of food system transformations ("SDG accelerator"). Ms Nikolakopoulou from the European Commission highlighted how the Commission concretely applies a systems approach to food policy. Permanent group members and Commission representatives further discussed the monitoring of the Farm to Fork strategy and indicators of sustainability in the context of sustainable food systems.

Both meetings showed the importance of putting emphasis on presenting the concrete impacts that the SDGs have on our daily lives, including economic, environmental and social aspects, and the need for and added value of involving all stakeholders and sectors of civil society in the policy-making process to make the transformation happen.

In a few days COP28 will take place in Dubai. What is the link between sustainable food systems and climate change?

Food is the common thread that links all 17 SDGs. Sustainable, healthy, inclusive and fair food systems are instrumental for achieving the SDGs and the EGD.

The EU food system is at a crossroads, facing multiple crises that include various interrelated environmental, climate, health and social challenges. Conflict, COVID-19, climate and debt have exposed vulnerabilities in food systems and highlighted the urgency of a food system transformation. Agri-food systems are increasingly vulnerable to climate change, while also producing up to 37% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Climate-resilient agri-food system responses are fundamental for achieving both the global goal on adaptation and the collective temperature goal under the Paris Agreement. The latest IPCC report was particularly attentive to the ways in which food systems are affected by climate change, but are also contributing to it.

Ahead of COP28, the EESC has prepared a contribution on the implementation of climate action on agriculture and food security, with the aim of providing civil society's input to feed into the joint work. Moreover, the EESC will organise a number of side events, one of which will focus on food. This side event aims to tackle the role of governance and finance in fostering climate and food convergence in COP28 negotiations.

I believe that we need sustainable, healthy, inclusive and fair food chains (focusing particularly on affordability and food safety) in the whole food sector now more than ever. Democratising food systems and fostering a governance framework which increases coherence across the climate and food agendas is essential for ensuring the convergence of political approaches on climate and sustainable food systems.