Bringing about change in the local food sector

After more than two years of pandemic-related restrictions on mobility, socialisation and networking, it is not surprising that people eagerly packed their light luggage and travelled to attend the EIT Food’s Future of Food Conference 2022, even if they could have done this remotely.

Participants, however, did not flock into a crowded conference hall (something which made the European Commissioner for Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius feel a bit uneasy) simply out of hunger for social contact; they came to the same place carrying different problems and expecting answers on how to solve some of the challenges that surround the modern food systems.

One of the strongest messages came from Andy Zynga, CEO of EIT Food, who set the scene for building the upcoming EU food systems innovation agenda, saying it’s a matter of resources (money and investors), inclusion (women, consumers, youth) and vision.

Without doubt, innovation is key to ensure competitiveness and sustainability because if we continue doing what we have done for the past years we will never arrive at new solutions.

We also need to step back in our inclusion circle and think about farmers because...