About SUSFOOD
The SUSFOOD ERA-NET was build on and accelerated the work of the SCAR Collaborative Working Group that was launched in Denmark in 2010.
A first network SUSFOOD was initiated under FP7 and ran from 2011 until 2014. This predecessor of the current network SUSFOOD2 under H2020, had some major achievements, such as 2 research calls, one in 2013 and one in 2014, funding in total 15 projects, a strategic research agenda (SRA) and a metaknowledge base (MKB) which generated the SUSFOOD Country report.
After this succesfull edition, 26 partners applied for a H2020 SUSFOOD2 Cofunded which was granted and started in 2017. A first action of this Cofund was a 3rd call in which 12 research projects were funded.
History
The SUSFOOD ERA-Net was build on and accelerated the work of the SCAR Collaborative Working Group that was launched in Denmark in 2010.
In 2011, a first SUSFOOD ERA-NET was developed under the EU 7th Framework Programme (FP7) and consisted of a durable focused network of national research funders in Member and Associated States of the EU. In SUSFOOD, 25 partners from 16 Countries were active, coordinated by INRA, France.
The purpose of the first SUSFOOD was to share information, coordinate activities and work towards a common research agenda and mutual research funding activities in the field of sustainable food production and consumption. During this ERA-Net, a Strategic Research Agenda was developed to identify eight priority research areas. These were used to determine the topics of the two Joint calls that were initiated between 2011 - 2014.
For information sharing and mapping van research, an online database called the Meta Knowledge Base or MKB, was developed. The results thereof were summarized in the SUSFOOD Country report (see publications).
After it's ending in 2014, the SUSFOOD partners continued the netwerk.
In January 2017, the network continued officially as a H2020 ERA-NET COFUND under the name SUSFOOD2. SUSFOOD2 consists of 26 partners from 15 EU Member states or 3rd countries, coordinated by Juelich, Germany. This ERA-NET COFUND will run for 5 years and its' first action was the launch of a Joint cofunded call in its first month.
Objectives
The strategic goal of SUSFOOD2 complements the EU bioeconomy and food policies, and aims to reinforce cooperation in research, development and innovation between EU members and associated States in order to maximize the contribution of research to the development of more sustainable food systems from production to consumption.
Global demand for food is expected to rise by at least 60% by 2050. At the same time the food supply chain is under pressure due to limited resources, water scarcity, soil degradation, biodiversity loss and the impacts of climate change. More than one third of the food produced in the world today is lost or wasted. Our food system has experienced huge transformation during the last century with changes in dietary preferences impacting on consumer health and food availability (e.g. increasing non-communicable diseases and obesity).
To meet these challenges we need to strengthen a sustainable* food system providing opportunities for all stakeholders to develop a secure, resilient and competitive sector.
*SUSFOOD defines sustainability as: A food system that supports food security, makes optimal use of natural and human resources, and respects biodiversity and ecosystems for present and future generations, and which is culturally acceptable and accessible, environmentally sound and economically fair and viable, and provides the consumer with nutritionally adequate, safe, healthy and affordable food"
The scope of SUSFOOD covers the entire food supply chain with the main focus on food chain sustainability beyond the farm gate (Primary production from both land and sea). The farm level will be considered if it has direct impact on the sustainability of the other steps in the food chain.
SUSFOOD2 promotes a cross-sectoral and multi-disciplinary approach from biology to food engineering and social sciences. It addresses the following socio-economic and environmental goals:
- To develop sustainable food systems from production to consumption, to increase food production sustainably while reducing waste in food supply chain and limiting environmental impacts;
- To improve the quality of life by improving food quality in a sustainable way and to ensure the resilience of the food supply chain;
- To encourage sustainable consumer behaviours and food choices;
- To improve competitiveness and economic growth in the European food industry with special attention to SMEs.
SUSFOOD VISION: ALL FOOD CHAIN PARTNERS CONTRIBUTE TO ACHIEVING SUSTAINABLE,SECURE AND RESILIENT FOOD SYSTEMS WHICH FEED THE WORLD AND MAKE SUSTAINABLE CHOICES THE EASY AND PREFERABLE CHOICES FOR CONSUMERS.
