The Farm to Fork Strategy, launched by the European Commission in 2020, is a cornerstone of the European Green Deal. It sets out the vision for making Europe’s food systems fair, healthy, and environmentally friendly. The strategy recognises that food production is essential for society but also one of the sectors with the highest environmental impact. Transforming the way Europe produces, processes, and consumes food is therefore vital for achieving climate neutrality and building a resilient future.
At its core, Farm to Fork is about more than reducing environmental impacts. It is also about creating opportunities for the people who sustain Europe’s food systems:
- Farmers, who produce crops, livestock, and dairy.
- Fishers and aquaculture producers, who manage vital marine resources.
- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which process, innovate, and bring products to market.
These groups often face strong market pressures, fluctuating resource costs, and the challenge of adapting to new sustainability requirements. By aligning innovation with their needs, Farm to Fork aims to ensure that sustainability and competitiveness go hand in hand.
The ONE EARTH project shows how this vision can be translated into practice. Its central idea is that residues and by-products can become raw materials for new, valuable products. Instead of being discarded, they are brought back into the economy:
- Fisheries by-products, such as fishbones and scales, are transformed into fertilizers and feed ingredients.
- Poultry residues, such as feathers, are converted into proteins for cosmetics and nutraceuticals.
- Dairy by-products, produced in large volumes across Europe, are processed into inputs for bio-based applications.
This approach strengthens the resilience of Europe’s food systems by:
- Reducing waste and disposal costs for producers.
- Creating new income streams for SMEs, farmers, and fishers.
- Lowering dependency on imported resources, such as phosphorus and proteins.
- Supporting innovation that connects farming, fisheries, and industry.
By demonstrating how by-products can be transformed into resources, ONE EARTH complements the broader ambitions of the Farm to Fork Strategy:
- Making food systems more sustainable.
- Ensuring a fairer distribution of value along the food chain.
- Supporting climate action within agriculture and fisheries.
- Encouraging innovation and competitiveness across Europe’s regions.
Farm to Fork provides the policy roadmap, while projects like ONE EARTH show how it can be implemented on the ground. Together, they move Europe closer to a truly sustainable and circular food economy, one where farmers, fishers, and SMEs are not only adapting to change but also benefiting from it.
More info: https://food.ec.europa.eu/horizontal-topics/farm-fork-strategy_en