Europe’s food system is stuck: “Change is happening far too slowly”

Europe’s food system must deliver affordable food, reduce climate impact, protect biodiversity, improve public health and maintain competitiveness. But while ambitions are high, the transition is slow.

This is the starting point for a new scientific article in Nature Food, where researchers from Aarhus University, Wageningen University & Research and the French research institute INRAE, among others, investigate why Europe’s food systems repeatedly encounter the same barriers.

According to the researchers, the problem is not just about a lack of technology or political will. It’s about structures that keep production, regulation and consumption stuck in old ways.

“There is a broad consensus that Europe’s food supply needs to change. Yet the regulatory framework is very conservative, which means that change happens far too slowly. That tension is what we have tried to understand in this study,” says Sophie Nicklaus, Scientific Director “Food and Health” at INRAE, in a press release.

Five lockdowns slowing down the transition

The researchers use the term “lock-ins” to describe the mechanisms that make it difficult to change the food system, even when many actors want change.

In particular, they point to five gridlocks in the form of fragmented policy, difficult diet and consumption habits, market structures focused on low prices and efficiency, environmental costs with no real price tag, and crises and unpredictability that make the system more vulnerable.

For startups and companies in the agri-food sector, this is key. New technologies, alternative ingredients and more sustainable production methods cannot bring about change on their own if the market, regulation and incentives pull in a different direction.

“If you only look at agriculture and not the entire food chain from farm to fork, you lose coherence. This is a fundamental structural challenge,” says Bart de Steenhuijsen Piters, senior researcher in food systems at Wageningen University & Research.

Not one technical solution

The article is the first scientific result from a new European research alliance in which 34 scientists from Denmark, France and the Netherlands have contributed expert assessments across the food chain.

The interdisciplinary approach is important. Researchers are not looking for one technology to solve the problem, but for principles that can be used by policy makers, businesses and civil society.

Recommendations include prioritizing access to healthy, sustainable and affordable food, involving all stakeholders in the transition, creating more transparent decision-making processes, using Europe’s diversity as a strength and shifting the focus towards common goods.

“When short-term efficiency is rewarded, it becomes difficult to invest in solutions that only pay off in the longer term, such as soil health, biodiversity, climate stability and human health,” says Jørgen E. Olesen, Professor and Head of Department at the Department of Agroecology at Aarhus University.

Relevant for Aarhus’ agro-food environment

For Aarhus and East Jutland, the study fits directly into an area where the region is already strong: agro-food, climate, biotechnology and research-based innovation. The Agro Food Park in Skejby brings together a wide range of the most innovative players, and Aarhus University plays a central role in research, but the perspective also extends to companies and startups working with new foods, green production, data, biology and supply chains.

The study suggests that future food innovation will not only be a question of better technology. It will also be a question of system understanding, regulation, behavior and the ability to build solutions that can work in complex value chains.

“It’s not just about new technologies. It’s about leadership, priorities and the courage to work with the whole picture,” says Jørgen E. Olesen.

In doing so, the research paves the way for a broader discussion on how Europe’s food system can change in practice. And what role researchers, businesses and entrepreneurs should play in that transformation.