European fresh produce association says holistic review of agricultural, fiscal, health and environmental policies urgently needed to tackle low consumption levels and promote plant-based diets
Freshfel Europe has said that the release of the latest EAT-Lancet report on ’healthy, sustainable and just food systems’ is well aligned with the association’s ”repeated calls” to have a drastic shift in policies influencing food systems.
It said that a holistic review of agricultural, fiscal, health, environmental and education policies is urgently needed, positioning fruit and vegetables as key partners to the much-needed solutions to rising societal challenges.
”Currently, levels of fruit and vegetable consumption remain far too low compared to health and sustainability recommendations,” Freshfel stated.
”Meanwhile the prevailing food policy environment continues to reinforce the dominance of ultra-processed foods, contributing to a collapse in public health and leading an high environmental footprint incompatible of food with the EU’s climate ambitions.
”In contrast, the fresh fruit and vegetables sector has a much better use of natural resources such as water, a low carbon emissions and also importantly a unique carbon sequestration capacity to secure Europe carbon neutrality,” the association outlined.
It pointed out that Europe is “at a turning point”m, with obesity rates soaring, diet-related noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) dominating mortality statistics, and healthcare systems ”buckling under unsustainable costs”.
Europeans are eating too few fruits and vegetables, Freshfel said, something it has ”long warned” policymakers of, but ”necessary actions to be taken lagged behind political ambition”.
To meet both climate and health targets, the European Union must accelerate its transition to a more plant friendly diet with fruit and vegetables at its core, Freshfel confirmed, with a positive discrimination towards fruit and vegetables key to reversing the long lasting consequences of previous policies.
“The EAT-Lancet Report on Healthy, Sustainable and Just Food Systems delivers a clear and urgent signal from the scientific community and fully match the year long narrative carried by Freshfel Europe,” said Philippe Binard, Freshfel Europe’s general delegate.
“The EU cannot afford ignoring the power of fruit and vegetables,” he continued. ”They are the foundation of healthier citizens, healthier planet, and a competitive rural economy.
”A holistic review of agricultural, fiscal, health environmental and education policies is urgently needed.
”The current policy framework has fostered an deep imbalance with production growth destined to the food industry conflicting with the need of supply of healthy agriculture products needed according to health and nutritional guidelines.”
The EU Platform for diet, physical activities and health based on industry commitment to remedy to rising obesity was a ”blatant failure of a soft law approach” at the start of the century, the association continued.
”And yet, the most recent EU health strategies, including the Beating Cancer Plan, so far failed to fully acknowledge and voice the preventive and protective role of fruit and vegetables.”
Simultaneously, EU agricultural subsidies and fiscal policies remain misaligned, favouring ultra-processed food production and promotion over fresh, nutritious produce.
Besides, in the EU, a robust nutritional education strategy is missing, it commented.
”Fresh fruits and vegetables are Europe’s most underused resource in confronting today’s crises,” Binard said.
“Freshfel Europe continually underscores the ’triple win’ fresh produce can deliver: health gains through lower obesity and fewer NCDs; environmental gains as the food group with one of the lowest footprints; and economic gains by supporting rural economies and reducing hidden healthcare costs associated with poor diets.”
Europe has pledged to build a sustainable, resilient, and competitive economy.
“This ambition and the effective, thrifty use of public funding remains out of reach unless EU and national policymakers place fruit and vegetables at the centre of food, health, and agricultural policies,” he outlined.
”The support for agriculture production should be better aligned with nutritional and dietary guidelines. This is not the case for the moment.”
The cost of inaction and lack of shift is “disastrous”, Freshfel warned, for people, for the planet, and for Europe’s prosperity.
On behalf of the entire fresh produce sector, Freshfel Europe called again for an urgent, coherent action plan by the European Commission with a policy shift placing fresh fruit and vegetables at the heart of a sustainable food system.
Every measure in agriculture, fiscality, health, education, or the environment (such as packaging) should undergo an impact assessment to ensure the alignment of production incentives with health and sustainability goals, it said.
This will steer consumers toward affordable, healthy, and appealing food choices, with fruit and vegetables as a truly natural and preventive ’medicine’ for citizen’s health, without a reliance on addictive elements.
“The time to act is now,” Freshfel added. “Europe cannot build a sustainable future on an unsustainable diet. Can the European Commission and EU member states be up to the challenge?”
