The food system in the EU is characterised by high levels of food safety, variety and availability. Extreme
forms of undernourishment and hunger are very rare. However, new challenges have emerged for
food policy in recent decades, ranging from health and diet-related diseases, household food insecurity,
animal welfare debates to the environmental and climate impacts of the food system, and its resilience
to environmental degradation, pandemics and growing geopolitical instability.
Demand-side food policies offer untapped potential to address many of these challenges by contributing
to more sustainable and healthier food consumption patterns. This includes reducing food waste and
promoting healthy and sustainable diets, in line with dietary guidelines, with high intakes of vegetables,
fruits, whole grains, nuts and legumes, and moderate intakes of fish, dairy products, meat and sugar.
Against this background, this policy paper analyses food policies in eleven European countries and explores opportunities for further developing demand-side food policies. Combining the results of the case studies with a broad literature review, authors provide insights into three key questions for food policymaking:
1. What changes in the current food policy mix can mobilise this untapped potential? How can
demand-side food policies become more effective?
2. Which policy instruments are effective in shifting towards more sustainable and healthier food
consumption patterns and why is building fair food environments so important in this regard?
3. How can policymakers develop and implement effective demand-side food policies? What are key learnings on how to develop, adopt and implement policies that create fair food environments? How can EU policy support this?
