EIT Food’s flagship Future of Food conference returned to Brussels

EIT Food’s 2023 Future of Food conference, which took place on 26 October in Brussels, was the last before the institutional change at European level in 2024. It welcomed over 200 guests to Brussels and 170 online for a day packed full of opportunities to inspire lawmakers, by sharing evidence-based insights, business cases and concrete recommendations on how, together, we can make change happen to transform our food systems.

The conference featured over 40 insightful speakers who joined our MC and Agrifood reporter at Euractiv, Natasha Foote to discuss the latest food innovations and European food policies. Key topics were brought to light such as the future framework for sustainable food systems. Peter Kearns, Director for Sustainable Food Systems and Innovation of Re-Imagine Europa and Ninna Granucci CEO of Greenspot Technologies, looked at the agrifood system and the path towards achieving the sustainability goals.

The event also marked the launch of the Food Consumer Observatory who released a research paper based on a survey of nearly 10,000 consumers from 18 European countries. During the session, Professor Klaus Grunert presented the results of the study, highlighting the importance of a universal label signalling the environmental impact of food products.

The morning sessions were concluded by the inspiring keynote speech given by Iliana Ivanova, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, on the future of Europe’s food system aiming at ensuring sustainability and food security.

Natasha Foote led the international debate, putting European food systems in perspective. Arvea Marieni, Technical Director at the Regenerative Society, Julie Vermooten, Chair of the Agrifood Committee at AmCham EU, Ana Euler, from EMBRAPA Brazil’s agriculture research corporation, Nir Goldstein, CEO of GFI Israel and Felix Collins from Full Circle Technology presented innovative approaches towards sustainability and resilience

The delegates also had the opportunity to join interactive breakout sessions and brainstorm on crucial topics such as skill gaps in the agrifood sector, the European Deep Tech Talent Initiative, soil health and regenerative agriculture and the financial instruments needed for the transformation of European food. During one of the interactive parallel sessions, the Protein Diversification Think Tank presented their new policy brief on how to accelerate protein diversification in Europe.

Two closed round tables took place, gathering key actors from the European food innovation landscape: food startups and top R&D food investors.

The event was closed by a discussion between European leaders and decision makers, Roberto Berutto, Member of Cabinet Wojciechowski from the European Commission and Lins Heivers, Coordinator Belgian EU Presidency for Agriculture and Fisheries at Flemish Government. They brought up the next steps towards building the relevant instruments for the future of the European food system.

The discussions from the Future of Food Conference were captured in EIT Food’s Manifesto detailing their recommendations for the new EU legislature beginning in 2024.

The full replays of the sessions are available on the event website.