Erik Gerritsen

In 2009, Rockstrom et al. reminded us that not only does the Earth have physical boundaries; humankind is operating outside the ‘safe operating space’ needed to ensure a stable living environment. Unfortunately for policy-makers, even though we increasingly understand how we overstretch the web of rubber bands called Earth, we still find it hard to predict when and where the first bands will snap. Moreover, we have trouble foreseeing the unintended consequences of such disruptions, which in the case of extinction are usually irreversible.

Growing awareness – combined with biodiversity loss 10-100 times above background extinction – caused a group of leading voices to speak up before the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development  and demand an urgent and integrated global response. Nothing new of course, as similar global initiatives have periodically emerged since the 1970’s. However, this time politics moved up to the top of the global economic agenda. Industry has woken up to the challenge of ecological resilience, increasingly aware of supply security and societal expectations.

WWF has for many years advocated for industry to treat environmental sustainability as a pre-competitive issue and some big steps have been made in recent years. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development has the planetary limits concept at its core vision for 2050. The Sustainable Agriculture Initiative has taken this pre-competitive notion to the food and agriculture sector. Perhaps not surprisingly, this notion has now also entered European policy making: on 30 April a group of influential food industry stakeholders issued a joint statement to stress their concerns about global food system sustainability, urging the European Commission to play its part. The LiveWell team was invited to co-draft the statement, and WWF signed the final version.

Why is the statement important? Firstly, it is the first time European food chain members support EU food sustainability in a joint- up manner, and the consensus shows a large convergence on the key building blocks to achieve a sustainable food system. Moreover, the statement presents an inclusive approach to food sustainability, taking an international food chain perspective – including diets – trying to strike the right balance between environmental, social and economic objectives. Lastly, the statement contradicts the often-heard political excuse for inaction – which is business objections – and sends out a very clear signal to the European Commission, Parliament and Member States to accept responsibility in this joint challenge.

Most importantly: the statement includes healthy and sustainable diets as a horizontal priority, an important acknowledgement for LiveWell. With the current European Commission showing leadership on sustainable food consumption, and the LiveWell project concluding later this year, the food chain statement provides important support for the next European Commission to bring together the European food stakeholders and agree on a plan of action to encourage better diets. LiveWell will continue to support the EC in these efforts.

Erik Gerritsen

LiveWell Policy Officer – WWF European Policy Office