ICLEI Europe alongside more than 280 civil society and trade union organisations have signed a joint letter to urge Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to ensure that a strong proposal for an EU Sustainable Food Systems Law is presented by September 2023.

Political resistance against sustainable food policies is threatening to derail the legislation process for the planned law that is supposed to promote sustainable food systems. Without ignoring the current geopolitical context, signatories jointly emphasise this unique opportunity to improve people’s access to sustainable and healthy food. A strong law is needed to ensure coherence and predictability in a transition towards sustainable food systems. Current crises, such as the war against Ukraine (a global supplier of primary agriculture and food commodities) and the increasingly negative impact of climate change on food production, underline the need for sustainable food policies and “a clear path for the transition to a sustainable EU food system”, as is stated in the joint letter to President von der Leyen.

ICLEI engages in several initiatives and EU-funded projects supporting a sustainable, just and inclusive food system transformation. The Buy Better Food coalition - of which ICLEI is a core team member - brings together local and regional governments, non-profit and non-governmental civil-society organisations that call for public procurement rules that work for the environment, consumers, and workers, and that provide healthy food to all European citizens in public places, such as schools, hospitals and elderly care homes.

To read the joint letter in full, click here.

To learn more about ICLEI Europe’s work in initiatives and EU-funded projects to make sustainable food systems, click here.