The 2021 edition of the Conference was a particularly momentous one, as the event took place in the wake of the UN Food Systems Summit, taking stock of its outcomes to chart the pathway for the transition towards a more sustainable and inclusive food system. A high-level line-up of keynote speakers, including EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski and UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Food System Summit Agnes Kalibata, opened the event, discussing what is necessary for the EU to deliver on the outcomes of the UN’s Food System Summit.
Held over two days in an entirely virtual format, the Conference has addressed a wide host of themes, ranging from regenerative agriculture and carbon farming, to sustainable food labelling, food dis- and misinformation, Vocational Education and Training, gender balance, impact investment and more. Notably, Day 1 featured a panel of Generation-Z representatives, the FutureFoodMakers, who presented a Manifesto with their demands to improve the food system and a set of concrete and well-substantiated proposals to achieve the objectives they set, to engage policymakers and the industry in a discussion on the change they want to see and how to make it happen.
Featuring as many as 74 engaging speakers and over 750 delegates actively participating with their questions, the 2021 edition of this event proved to be a great platform to open a dialogue between different segments of the food system and exchange views and perspectives on the key themes that, ultimately, will determine what will be on the plates of European citizens in the future.