EIT Food ivzw
EIT Food
EIT Food is the world’s largest and most dynamic food innovation community.
ID: 944733432021-08
Lobbying Activity
Response to Circular Economy Act
6 Nov 2025
As the EUs leading food innovation ecosystem, EIT Food supports the Commissions plan to propose a Circular Economy Act to enhance the EUs economic security and competitiveness, while promoting sustainability, circular economy business models, and decarbonization across the entire value chain. An Act well-conceived through a thorough impact assessment will undoubtedly facilitate the free movement of circular products, secondary raw materials, and waste, thereby creating a unified and functional market for circular economy products and secondary raw materials. To effectively support Sustainable Development Goals 8, 9, 12, and 13, a comprehensive impact assessment evaluating various policy options and their likely impacts is essential. The second pillar on which the Commission intends to structure the Acta mix of interventions to foster the single market for waste, secondary raw materials, and their usethat may include, among other measures, the reform of end-of-waste criteria; the simplification, digitalization, and expansion of extended producer responsibility (EPR) schemes, and the establishment of mandatory, targeted, impactful, and implementable criteria for public procurement of circular goods, services, and works to stimulate EU demand is of paramount importance for EIT Food. EIT Food promotes sustainable food systems through innovative approaches that emphasize resource reuse, nutrient recycling, and waste reduction. We work closely with entrepreneurs and other stakeholders to scale up sustainable food solutions that minimize food waste and enhance resource efficiency. As part of our broader mandate for food system transformation, we support initiatives that foster greater resource efficiency, capacity-building, and innovation to support the circular economy. Based on the insights we have gathered in cooperation with stakeholders, we believe that a comprehensive approach to the circular economy should consider bio-based materials and the agri-food system, where side streams, data, and consumer trust are key elements. The Act should promote harmonised rules, interoperable data solutions, and piloting opportunities that enable SMEs and farmers to actively participate in the circular economy in practice.
Read full responseResponse to European Innovation Act
3 Oct 2025
EIT Food welcomes the upcoming publication of the European Innovation Act. We commend the Commissions work to overhaul the EUs R&I legislative alongside the 2028-34 Horizon Europe framework programme, to ensure that Europe remains at the forefront of global innovation, both in terms of research and practical application. As a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), built on the knowledge triangle, we work based on collaboration between civil society, academia, and business, as close to the ground as possible. EIT Food can provide useful input on how to best support innovation in regions and sectors often considered less innovation-intensive, like agriculture and food production. It is essential to have enabling legislation that addresses the range of interconnected issues in a coordinated manner. For instance, actions aimed at reducing regulatory fragmentation can enhance the appeal of private investment. EIT Food recommends that the European Innovation Act be accompanied by sectoral action plans or enabling frameworks that can translate policy objectives into sector-specific actions to maximise the impact of this new policy approach. We encourage the European Commission to acknowledge different public-private partnerships instituted under the Horizon Europe programme, and in particular, the EIT KICs offer a good model for public-private partnership, providing sector-specific support for research, helping innovators access finance, facilitating testing of their ideas, and improving commercialisation via the knowledge triangle. Out of the problems identified by the call for evidence, we wish to draw your attention to the following issues: 1. Regulatory fragmentation and insufficient policy coordination. 2. Insufficient opportunities for testing innovative goods and services. 3. Limited access to finance and insufficient commercial exploitation. 4. Limited access to research and technology infrastructures (RTIs). In response to these challenges, EIT Food presents practical measures to drive progress. Please read the full document attached.
Read full responseResponse to European Research Area (ERA) Act
10 Sept 2025
EIT Food welcomes the forthcoming publication of the European Research Area (ERA) Act. EIT Food commends the Commissions work to overhaul the EUs R&I legislative framework to ensure Europe remains at the forefront in global innovation, both in terms of research and practical application. We, as an European Institute of Innovation & Technology (EIT) Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), founded on the knowledge triangle principle that fosters collaboration among civil society, academia, and business, and committed to operating closely at the local level, welcome the Commissions recognition of the urgent need to improve cooperation between higher education institutions, research organizations, and businesses. We believe that the ERA Act, together with the 28th Regime and the European Innovation Act, can serve as catalysts for blended public-private support for innovation through public-private initiatives and platforms. The EIT and its KICs play a unique role in the future ERA framework thanks to the experience as sponsors of innovation built upon business-academic-civil society cooperation across Technology Readiness Level (TRLs). As evidenced by the EU Commission in recent reports , KICs have the capacity to address many of the issues identified by the Commission in this call for evidence, creating the conditions for effective knowledge exchange, interdisciplinary cooperation, and the translation of research into market-ready solutions. Between 2021 and 2023, the KICs demonstrated their crucial role in bridging Europes innovation gap by fostering the development of innovative products and services, driving innovation-led growth, and supporting new business ventures originating from academia. During this period, they successfully launched 956 innovations onto the market, created 436 start-ups, and provided support to 5,806 start-ups and scale-ups. This highlights the KICs as key examples of impactful innovation ecosystems within the Horizon Europe programme. Moreover, the KICs play a critical role in enhancing the deepening and widening of the European fifth freedom and a single research area, thanks to their activities on the ground, by helping support in local language education and training programmes and providing business support and advice to promote innovation in a geographically balanced approach. Full response is available as attachment.
Read full responseResponse to Generational renewal in agriculture
14 Jul 2025
EIT Food welcomes the forthcoming publication of the EUs Generational Renewal. The Strategy represents another step in the work of the new European Commission to address long-standing issues that the rural milieu suffers from. EIT Food is pleased to see that the Commission is requesting input from stakeholders to better tailor agriculture, food, and rural development policies to ensure generational renewal in rural areas and to support young farmers. Rural areasand farming in particularexperience an intensified form of Europes broader demographic ageing, which poses a serious threat to the long-term sustainability of European agriculture, environmental stewardship, and the vitality of rural economies. Policies related to agriculture, cohesion, and rural development are crucial tools to empower young farmers and foster generational renewal. The Commission must recognize the potential of innovation policy to support young farmers. EIT Food contributes to addressing these challenges by equipping young people with entrepreneurial skills and promoting career opportunities within the agri-food sector. This support is especially vital for young women in rural areas, who often face additional barriers.
Read full responseMeeting with Peter Wehrheim (Head of Unit Research and Innovation)
10 Jul 2025 · • EIT Food´s overview on self financial sustainability • Life Science Strategy and start -ups • Interest of EIT Food to promote a JU on biotechnology called Advanced Biotech for Food (AB4F)
Response to Towards a Circular, Regenerative and Competitive Bioeconomy
22 Jun 2025
The EUs food system has the potential to be a cornerstone of a sustainable and competitive bioeconomy, driving innovation, economic growth, and environmental benefits. EIT Food, as the EUs largest food innovation ecosystem, calls for dedicated attention and targeted funding to ensure the agri-food sector receives the investment and policy support it needs to realize this potential. Highlights: Bioeconomy and Biotechnology: the bioeconomy is vital for achieving the EU Green Deals sustainability and competitiveness goals. Biotechnology offers transformative solutions for agriculture and food, supporting new revenue streams for primary producers, reducing strategic dependencies, and enabling circular resource use. Biomass and Circularity: biomass production and utilization are central to the EU bioeconomy. Investments in precision agriculture, digital tools, and biorefineries are needed to boost yields and value creation, while circular approaches maximize the use of by-products and side streams. Protein Diversification: Europe leads in protein diversification, but regulatory barriers and uneven progress across Member States threaten its global position. Accelerating innovation in alternative proteins and supporting start-ups are essential for future growth. Innovation Ecosystem: many agri-food innovators face challenges in scaling and commercializing their solutions. The EU must enhance its regulatory framework, improve access to funding and infrastructure, and support the entire innovation pipeline to prevent an innovation drain to more favourable markets.
Read full responseResponse to Biotech Act
11 Jun 2025
EIT Food welcomes the call for evidence for an impact assessment on biotechnology to improve the size and competitiveness of this strategic sector in the EU while maintaining high safety standards. EIT Food emphasizes the need for the Commission to adopt a comprehensive approach to biotechnology, as both biotechnology and biomanufacturing offer significant opportunities. According to the OECD, biotechnology is applied in various fields, including pharmaceuticals, agri-food, marine, industrial, and environmental sectors. These diverse applications can advance research, innovation, and education within the Single Market, supporting the "fifth freedom" proposed in the Enrico Letta report.
Read full responseResponse to EU Life sciences strategy
17 Apr 2025
EIT Food welcomes the upcoming publication of the Life Sciences Strategy and appreciates the Commissions efforts to gather input from stakeholders to feed into its preparation, as well as that of the Bioeconomy Strategy and the future EU Biotechnology Act. A better understanding of the challenges and opportunities of life sciences in the context of agriculture and food production, and the interplay between Horizon Europe and other funding schemes, is key to unlocking the potential of these innovations.
Read full responseMeeting with Maria Walsh (Member of the European Parliament)
3 Apr 2025 · Women in agriculture
Response to EU Start-up and Scale-up Strategy
17 Mar 2025
EIT Food welcomes the upcoming publication of an EU Start-Up and Scale-Up Strategy as an opportunity to facilitate the work of innovators and envision measures to better support them from the incubation of their ideas to market placement. We wish to thank the Commission for the opportunity to provide feedback based on our experience as a successful accelerator and innovation network in the agri-food sector. Start-ups and scale-ups in Europe face numerous obstacles to their growth and success, as correctly identified by the Commission. Unfortunately, start-ups and scale-ups in the agricultural and food sectors face additional hurdles across the board, partly due to specific regulatory obstacles, and partly because of the perception by private (and often public) actors of the agri-food sector as one of secondary concern or limited relevance discouraging investment and dedicated public support. To specifically respond to the questions raised by the Commission, please find EIT Food response attached.
Read full responseMeeting with Gijs Schilthuis (Director Agriculture and Rural Development)
12 Mar 2025 · Exchange of views on EIT Food work supporting farmer on the transition of the food system
Meeting with Peter Van Kemseke (Cabinet of President Ursula von der Leyen)
29 Jan 2024 · Policy Brief
Meeting with Lukas Visek (Cabinet of Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič)
12 Dec 2023 · Sustainable food systems
Meeting with João Albuquerque (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)
8 Mar 2023 · European Year of Skills
Meeting with Agne Razmislaviciute-Palioniene (Cabinet of Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius)
6 Mar 2023 · The aim of the meeting was to get to introduce EIT food to the Cabinet and present the White paper on protein diversification.
Meeting with Annukka Ojala (Cabinet of Commissioner Stella Kyriakides), Karolina Herbout-Borczak (Cabinet of Commissioner Stella Kyriakides)
2 Mar 2023 · VTC Meeting: Sustainable food systems and protein diversification
Meeting with Joanna Stawowy (Cabinet of Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski)
15 Feb 2023 · Implications of protein diversification for agriculture
Meeting with Lukas Visek (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)
15 Feb 2023 · Protein diversification
Response to European Year of Skills 2023
14 Dec 2022
EIT Food welcomes the decision to designate 2023 as the European Year of Skills and values the opportunity to participate in this open consultation. Innovation is a major enabler for the transition to healthier, more sustainable, and resilient food systems. The correct skillsets are in turn needed for innovation to take place, especially in the agrifood sector, which faces many sector-specific skill and education challenges that require tailored efforts. Skill shortages leave many professionals unequipped for the challenges posed by the twin green and digital transitions to achieve a sustainable food system. As Europes leading food innovation initiative, working to accelerate the twin transitions through innovation, education, entrepreneurship and public engagement, EIT Food fully recognises the central need to tackle this skill gap. To this end, EIT Food already deploys a vast array of education activities, aimed at cultivating the crucial blend of innovation and entrepreneurial skills needed for the transformation, fully in line with the objectives stated in Article 2 of the EYS proposal. While the proposals explanatory memorandum does acknowledge the clear link between addressing the skills gap and innovation power, we found that the same recognition of the skills-innovation nexus is unfortunately not present in the text of the proposal itself. Considering the above, EIT Food calls for including in the EYS proposal stronger emphasis on the following elements: Promote entrepreneurial and innovation skills as essential tools for the workforce to tackle the challenges ahead in the transition to a green and digital EU industry. In the agrifood sector, where a conservative mindset prevails, promoting innovation skills is crucial if we want to meet the growing and changing food demand. Enhance funding opportunities to deploy upskilling and reskilling initiatives/programmes and thus develop a skilled and innovative workforce that can lead the way in the sustainable transition. Increase synergies between stakeholders striving to boost innovation and related skills, to achieve the systemic approach that is needed for a modern, sustainable, and thriving European industry. Attached is a position paper further elaborating on the points above. Other than EIT Foods own response, the document also contains an Annex expressing the joint position of the Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs) of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), including EIT Food. The joint response also welcomes the EUs resolve to invest in education and lifelong learning and expresses the readiness of the EIT Community to contribute to the success of this endeavour. In parallel, it calls for a greater, explicit recognition of the direct link between education, innovation, and Europes competitiveness, and for the acknowledgement of EITs role in achieving this endeavour. EIT KICs also caution about the need to earmark budget to fund dedicated actions towards upskilling and reskilling for a successful outcome.
Read full responseResponse to A New European Innovation Agenda
10 May 2022
EIT Food welcomes the opportunity to provide input to the development of a New European Innovation Agenda. As Europe's leading food innovation initiative, working to make the food system more sustainable, healthy, and trusted, EIT Food is fully aware of the central role the sector covers in the green and digital transition.
Achieving sustainability objectives and increasing the resilience of the European food system in the face of mounting systemic stressors will require that the EU’s Innovation Agenda prioritises and channels investment into the correct blend of innovations, not just deep-tech, but also the acceleration and upscaling of available solutions. This is key for the agrifood sector.
EIT Food has identified six Innovation Focus Areas which offer the highest potential to contribute to the transformation of the food system, deliver economic and societal impact and help the EU achieve its net-zero greenhouse gas emissions target by 2050. In most of these areas, it is already possible to deploy technologies or innovative approaches at scale. However, to accelerate and bring new solutions to market it’s necessary to reduce costs and regulatory barriers to adoption. Agrifood innovation is putting the EU regulatory framework to an unprecedented test. It is necessary to launch new programmes of sandboxes and living labs to test new potential approaches to design a regulatory framework which can ease the acceleration and deployment of innovations.
In access to finance, the EU is still lagging behind other global competitors. This hampers the EU’s innovation capacity and causes many European startups to go to non-EU markets to seek better growth opportunities. These challenges are exacerbated in the agrifood sector. Moreover, the underrepresentation of women in every segment of the sector, especially in decision-making positions, and the risk of negative gender bias towards women entrepreneurs among investors weakens the EU innovation capacity.
Reducing regional disparities in agrifood innovation is also key. In 2019, EIT Food established a RIS Policy Council to advance the innovation performance of countries with moderate or modest innovation scores and develop synergies with smart specialization strategies and European Structural Investment Funds (ESIF). However, the actual development and implementation of such synergies is hampered by obstacles which are generating misalignment between EU instruments, risks of inefficiencies and duplication.
In education and training, compared to other sectors, agrifood still follows more traditional approaches. Many job seekers are entering the agrifood sector with a deep but narrow technical profile. There is a need to enhance curricula with more trans- and interdisciplinarity to ensure key underpinning capabilities are available throughout the food system. Moreover, there is a barrier to more innovative curricula in that most jobs that graduates would flow into are more traditional roles. Indus-try is slow to adapt to the new skill sets that are coming available. EIT Food is addressing these issues through its Competency Framework and associated Certification approach to be able to recognise key innovation and entrepreneurship skills across the sector. EIT Food has also joined the Pact for Skills.
Read full responseResponse to Sustainable food system – setting up an EU framework
26 Oct 2021
EIT Food welcomes the opportunity to contribute to initial reflections on the design of a future legislative framework for a sustainable EU food system.
A common approach with an integrated policy framework is needed to accelerate the transition to a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system promoted by the Farm-to-Fork Strategy. Defining what is sustainable (cross-sectoral sustainability objectives and clarifying the responsibilities of all operators across the food system) will ensure there are no gaps or inconsistencies across EU and national legislation. It will provide greater clarity both to businesses and consumers. This is in line with EIT Food’s integrated approach which connects innovation, education, entrepreneurship and public engagement activities, to involve industries, farmers, universities, research organizations as well as citizens as active partners of change. EIT Food is therefore supportive of Option 4 of the Inception Impact Assessment: a new framework legislation on the sustainability of the EU food system.
As a pan-European innovation ecosystem of 200+ partners across the value chain, working together to transform the food system from farm to fork, EIT Food has the following observations to make for the impact assessment of what is required to make the Commission’s ambitions a reality:
1. Adopting a systems approach to promote greater collaboration between all players in the food system, breaking down industry, institutional and policy silos, to provide consumers with healthier and more sustainable options. Co-ownership of the transformation process, with each actor equally responsible for the future of food, should be reinforced.
2. Fostering innovation, in line with the vision of the New Industrial Strategy for Europe, to accelerate the transformation of the sector. Meeting the targets of the Farm to Fork Strategy will require new technologies and new innovative solutions to be deployed by European industries, creating new market opportunities and leveraging the positive impact of disruptive innovations. A new framework legislation on the sustainability of the EU food system should be “technologically neutral” and should remain open to new scientific developments which might bring about new, unexpected solutions to food systems challenges.
3. Placing a greater focus on consumer centricity. To have a meaningful impact in reducing the environmental footprint from food, a closer look at consumption-based measures such as changes in diet or a reduction in food loss and waste, in addition to production measures, is warranted. Consumers will have to be inspired to take active part in the transition as actors of change.
4. Provision of information on the sustainable performance of food. Developing a robust system, which is based on science, is understandable and trusted by consumers, in a harmonized fashion across the EU, will be no easy task but is necessary to nudge consumers to change their eating patterns.
Read full responseResponse to Restoring sustainable carbon cycles
7 Oct 2021
EIT Food believes that systems innovation, education, public engagement, and investment will be key enablers for the development and adoption of new green business models and new climate-smart solutions rewarding climate-positive practices, creating new sources of income for farmers by means of financial incentives or new sources of revenues.
To maximise the uptake of carbon farming solutions, we consider that EU action should focus on the following:
• Involvement throughout the food value chain: The transition to climate-positive practices should involve all players in the value chain. The appreciation of processors, retailers and consumers of food production models that also provide ecosystem services will be pivotal in generating a market “pull” through a shift in consumption habits. We therefore believe that actors throughout the value chain should be encouraged and enabled to reward the farmers’ efforts to sequestrate carbon. To this end, we welcome the European Commission’s plan to develop a robust and credible framework allowing for carbon storage, management and removals to be accounted. Full accounting of carbon would foster trust across the value chain, eventually contributing to greater consumer trust in the food system and accelerate the transformation.
• Deployment of technological solutions: Excessive cost and time required to measure soil carbon content continue to be a major barrier to the uptake of carbon farming solutions across the EU. Public authorities should foster a large-scale deployment of technologies that could increase the accuracy of monitoring, reporting and verification while reducing the subsequent costs over time. This might include setting standards, for example in data collection, and investing in the development of new innovative solutions which can help create a market pull for carbon farming practices, such as digital traceability and innovative food labelling systems including the environmental and carbon footprint of food products. EIT Food and its partners are already investing in the development and acceleration of these solutions. However, we recommend that the European Commission further supports this process by: mobilizing additional resources in relevant R&I projects through Horizon Europe and other appropriate funding instruments; facilitating the exchange of best practices and the dissemination of results of promising R&I projects; promoting the match-making between challenge owners and solution providers.
• Financial incentives for farmers: Until the moment carbon credits are produced and verified, farmers would be required to make substantial upfront investments. Therefore, an appropriate mix of financial incentives will be necessary to ensure that their agricultural activity is economically sustainable. This could include non-market sources of financial support, for instance through the CAP. Against this background, we fully support the European Commission’s plan to develop result-based payment schemes for carbon farming in the EU. The mix of financial incentives could however also include market-based mechanisms, e.g. rewarding regenerative practices through the trade of carbon credits. Regardless, incentives must necessarily include measures to stimulate the demand for regeneratively produced food, by raising consumer awareness and appreciation of its benefits.
• Education and training: Public authorities should facilitate the reskilling and upskilling of farmers and foresters, providing them with training opportunities to support their transition towards regenerative and carbon farming practices as well as the adoption of those technologies which can support the implementation of regenerative agriculture and carbon farming practices and the monitoring of carbon.
Please refer to the attached document for the full version of our contribution, and to learn more of EIT Food’s engagement in facilitating the uptake of climate-positive practices.
Read full responseMeeting with Themis Christophidou (Director-General Education, Youth, Sport and Culture)
11 Oct 2018 · Meeting with CEO