Agriculture & Food

The WWF is run at a local level by the following offices...

Sustainable food systems

Our food systems are putting an impossible strain on the planet and on our health.

The impact of food systems can be felt in our daily lives. They are an essential pillar of our societies and economies, but they are also massively contributing to biodiversity loss, the depletion of natural resources and climate change. European agricultural production alone makes up an estimated 11% of the total greenhouse emissions in the EU.

Moreover, the way we produce and consume food is detrimental to our own health. With prices going through the roof and public subsidies prioritising factory farming and intensive agriculture, families are increasingly struggling to access healthy and sustainable food.

Currently, we spend €32.1 billion of taxpayers' money on industrial agricultural activities annually that destroy natural habitats and make sustainable food less affordable, while unhealthy diets lead to the deaths of 1 in 5 Europeans.

The EU has a key role to play in the transition towards resilient, equitable and sustainable agri-food systems. In 2023, the European Commission was expected to put forward its proposal for an EU legislative framework for sustainable food systems. Unfortunately, with a draft nearly finalised, the Commission succumbed to political pressure of the European elections and abandoned this needed initiative.

With this in mind, WWF and other environmental NGOs, stepped up efforts to engage key stakeholders in the food supply chain during the Strategic Dialogue for the Future of Agriculture and Food, resulting in a groundbreaking consensus to stop business as usual.

This consensus is intended to inform the upcoming EU Vision for Agriculture and Food, which will influence farming and food legislation across Europe in the years ahead.

The way we produce and consume food is harming our health and degrading our environment to a level that we cannot afford. We have a chance to improve the lives of millions of citizens if we rethink and strengthen the green architecture of EU farming, including the Common Agriculture Policy.”

Giulia Riedo
Agriculture and Sustainable Food Policy Officer

What WWF is doing

WWF believes that European policies can be instrumental in the transition to truly sustainable food and farming systems. Currently, our focus is on the upcoming EU Vision for Agriculture and Food and the . Common Agricultural Policy, one of the EU’s oldest, most influential, most debated, and unfortunately also most ineffective policies to date.

WWF is advocating at European and national levels with partner offices and organisations for more sustainable food systems. We want to increase political and public awareness and engagement for a systemic change in our food systems, from sustainable farming and fisheries to healthier diets, from marketing to public procurement of “good food”, from food waste to climate change mitigation.

In parallel, WWF is working with progressive businesses to drive the transition toward nature-positive farming, while ensuring our markets stay competitive.