In 2022 werd de Vlaamse voedselstrategie voorgesteld. Ze vormt de basis om te werken aan een beter voedselsysteem in Vlaanderen en om dringende uitdagingen aan te pakken in verschillende domeinen: gezondheid, milieu en klimaat, economische en sociale veerkracht, innovatie. In deze sectie behandelen we in het Engels het internationale luik van de Vlaamse voedselstrategie (Go4Food).
In the Flemish food strategy, a systems approach is applied, because everyone, from field to fork, is involved in the transformation of the food system. The strategy consists of four pillars: healthy and sustainable food for all, food system within ecological limits, full commitment to a resilient food economy and food connects farmers to citizens. Nineteen strategic objectives have been formulated under these pillars. A food coalition composed of representatives from the agri-food chain, civil society, research and policy, participated in the development process.
The strategy consists also of cross-policy food projects on various topics, from sustainable protein supply through reducing food loss to promoting local food, and results in several food deals, promising leverage actions where several partners step up and fill gaps in action, research and policy in a targeted manner.
More than 650 registrations from 42 countries, over 170 speakers, 27 parallel sessions and 4 plenary sessions. These were the main ingredients for an open dialogue on food policy at the Open Food Conference, initiated by the Flemish government, which took place in Leuven from March 11 to 13, 2024 during the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. For three days, policymakers, scientists, farmers, experts and representatives of NGOs, international organisations and the food industry engaged in a discussion on sustainable food systems and food security, and had the opportunity to meet and discuss the different themes of a future food policy. Organising the event was a joined undertaking: Flemish Agency for Agriculture and Fisheries, Flemish Department of Economy, Science and Innovation and Flanders Chancellery and Foreign Office joined forces.
The Flemish food policy fits into the EU framework of the Farm to Fork strategy. This strategy is part of the European Green Deal and aims to make food systems fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly. The European Commission launched its proposal in 2020.
The United Nations (UN) encourages actions to transform global food systems and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. In September 2021, the UN Food Systems Summit took place, where the Flemish Minister of Food spoke in the role of National Convenor for the Member State Dialogue in Belgium. The international best practices and outcomes of the UN summit inspired the Flemish food strategy in the making. The UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment took place in Rome in July 2023.