Europski gospodarski i socijalni odbor
Hrana ima središnju ulogu u našem životu i sastavni je dio europske kulture. Međutim, hrana koju jedemo, načini na koje se proizvodi i količina hrane koja se baca u velikoj mjeri utječu na ljudsko zdravlje, prirodne resurse i društvo u cjelini.
Pandemija COVID-a 19 znak je upozorenja da je vrijeme za promjene. Ukazala je na činjenicu da se put hrane „od polja do stola” ne smije uzeti zdravo za gotovo te je iznijela na vidjelo međupovezanost dionika i aktivnosti u cijelom prehrambenom sustavu. Pravedni, resursno učinkoviti, uključivi i održivi opskrbni lanci u cijelom poljoprivredno-prehrambenom sektoru potrebniji su nego ikad kako bi se osigurala jednaka raspodjela koristi za građane, poljoprivrednike, radnike i poduzeća.
EGSO već godinama ima vodeću ulogu u zalaganju za održivu i sveobuhvatnu prehrambenu politiku. Integriran i sistemski pristup nužan je za hvatanje u koštac s višestrukim i međusobno povezanim izazovima koji se tiču prehrambenih sustava, za ostvarivanje gospodarske, okolišne i društveno-kulturne održivosti, za osiguravanje integracije i dosljednosti među područjima politike (npr. politike koje se bave poljoprivredom, okolišem, zdravstvom, obrazovanjem, trgovinom, gospodarstvom, tehnologijom itd.) te za promicanje suradnje među svim razinama vlasti.
Food is at the centre of our lives and an integral part of the European culture. Food also plays a crucial role in our economy: it is the Union’s biggest manufacturing sector in terms of employment and contribution to GDP. Also, the food we eat, the ways we produce it and the amounts wasted have major impacts on human health, on natural resources and on society as a whole.
Today, as a true pan-European collaborative venture, the European Commission, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), COPA-COGECA and IFOAM Organics Europe are together launching the first ever EU organic awards. These awards will recognise excellence along the organic value chain, rewarding the best and most innovative actors in organic production in the EU. Applications will be open from 25 March until 8 June 2022.
With Europe slowly getting back on track after the COVID-19 crisis, it is high time to move from words to action and implement the Farm to Fork strategy. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) strongly advocates supporting the transformation of Europe's food systems so that they are more environmentally, economically and socially sustainable, and notes that consumers have a key role to play in this context.
On 22 June, the EESC will host an online public hearing to explore the state of progress of the EU on the path to more sustainable, fairer and inclusive food systems, following the new actions agreed upon during the UN Food System summit in 2021.
This is an in-person conference that will be live streamed. Registration for in-person participation is required.
On Friday, 14 April 2023, the NAT Section is organising a public hearing "Towards a European Food Policy Council / Sustainable Food System" to feed into the own-initiative opinion NAT/892- Towards a European Food Policy Council as a new governance model in the future EU Framework on Sustainable Food Systems in order to compile the views of the civil society organisations working on these issues.
On Thursday, 23 March 2023, the NAT Section is organising a public expert event "What next for European action on childhood obesity?" to feed into the exploratory opinion requested by the upcoming Spanish Presidency to the Council of the European Union.
The EESC will host the third EU Youth Round Table on Wednesday 30 November, 14:30-16:00 CET. Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner for Agriculture, will participate in the event and will engage with the youth representatives on the topic: food security and sustainable food systems.
This thematic debate aims to discuss the impacts of the war on food security worldwide, with a focus on some specific world regions; further actions that will be needed to ensure food security while fostering resilient and sustainable food systems and the role civil society can play in ensuring food security both in Europe and beyond.
The aim of the conference is to look at how the European Union can be more active in this area, especially through better cooperation among the key stakeholders. The conference will take place in a hybrid format.
