Develop a roadmap to transform the food system

About the Workshop 

EIT Food are a successful investor in change in the food system - change that has real impact on people's lives, their businesses, careers and the world around them. In order to transform the food system and create real impact, EIT Food are now calling key stakeholders in the food system to come together to help shape priorities for action over the next 3-5 years in the following mission areas: 

(1) A Net Zero Food System
(2) A Fully Transparent, Resilient and Fair Food System
(3) Healthier Lives Through Food

We are delighted to invite you to our 1.5 day roadmapping workshop in Paris on Monday 5th December from 12noon and all day Tuesday 6th December 2022. 

This workshop will help develop three initial three-year roadmaps to identify and respond to the areas of greatest need in these mission areas where EIT Food can have a significant and distinctive impact.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, due to space and workshop constraints, numbers will be limited. We will be aiming to ensure all stakeholders in the food system are represented so therefore not all registrations will be allocated a place on the workshop. Please register early and we will be in touch to confirm places.

Why are EIT Food investing in three mission roadmaps?

Today more than ever our food systems are facing significant challenges. By 2050, we will need to feed and nourish more than 9 billion people in a safe, responsible and sustainable way. The agri-food sector is already facing competition and scarcity of land, water and energy for food production which will affect our ability to produce this food. This lack of resources is expected to be exacerbated by climate change, where up to 40% of the world is expected to develop unfamiliar climates with completely new combinations of temperatures and seasonality of rainfall. As a result, these changing weather patterns are expected to disrupt food availability, reduce access to food and affect food quality and safety. Where food is constrained, prices may rise and this introduces a greater risk of food fraud. Simultaneously, around one in three people are already suffering from some form of malnutrition, whether that be hunger, micronutrient deficiency, overweight or obesity, whilst 1 billion people suffer from 'hidden hunger'.

It is clear an assertive new vision for agriculture, food businesses and health needs to be forged. This will require a radical rethink of the whole agri-food system, from production to consumption, to policy and legislation. In order to do so, we first need to define the root cause of the problems and learn from the activities, operations and programmes from across the world, followed by an evaluation and prioritization of opportunities and pathways which transform our food system.

EIT Food is the world’s largest food innovation community, creating connections right across the food system. EIT Food invest in projects, organisations and individuals who have the shared goal of a healthy and sustainable food system. EIT Food have awarded Queen's University, Belfast and the Austrian Institute of Technologies along with project partners to develop three roadmaps to: (1) A Net Zero Food System (2) A Fully Transparent, Resilient and Fair Food System and (3) Healthier Lives Through Food, which identifies the priorities for action over the next three years. These roadmapping exercises will:

• Develop an understanding of the root cause of the problems
• Review the activities, operations and programmes occurring at country, European and global levels
• Evaluate, prioritize and validate the opportunities and solutions
• Construct a report to document the over-arching roadmap and Impact Priority Areas

This work will be carried out for EIT Food in order to contribute to EIT Food’s strategic initiatives actions for 2022 and to shape their business planning and decision-making priorities for 2023-2025 and beyond in the mission area of a Net-Zero Food System.

Who are EIT Food?

EIT Food is the world’s largest and most dynamic food innovation community. We accelerate innovation to build a future-fit food system that produces healthy and sustainable food for all.

Supported by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, EIT Food invest in projects, organisations and individuals that share our goals for a healthy and sustainable food system. We unlock innovation potential in businesses and universities and create and scale agrifood startups to bring new technologies and products to market. We equip entrepreneurs and professionals with the skills needed to transform the food system and put consumers at the heart of our work, helping build trust by reconnecting them to the origins of their food.

We are one of nine innovation communities established by the European Institute for Innovation & Technology (EIT), an independent EU body set up in 2008 to drive innovation and entrepreneurship across Europe.