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European Alliance for Plant-based Foods

EAPF

The European Alliance for Plant-based Foods (EAPF) brings together like-minded organisations in the plant-based value chain around a unique mission: To put plant-based foods at the heart of the transition towards more sustainable and healthy food systems.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Koen Dillen (Head of Unit Agriculture and Rural Development)

15 Dec 2025 · Presentation of the Partners for Plant-based Declaration

Response to Towards a Circular, Regenerative and Competitive Bioeconomy

23 Jun 2025

On behalf of the European Alliance for Plant-Based Foods (EAPF) we propose the following priorities and actions: 1. Boost competitiveness & innovation: Support scaling up of bio-based industries (including plant-based protein) through targeted R&I funding and regulatory incentives. For example, the Strategy should explicitly promote novel plant-protein foods and biomanufacturing (cellular, fermentation, etc.) that substitute fossil-derived materials. Barriers such as fragmented rules or high investment risk must be addressed: as noted in the Commissions analysis, start-ups face complex regulatory hurdles and insufficient funding, causing them to relocate outside the EU. Practical measures could include regulatory sandboxes for novel foods, harmonised standards (e.g. for novel protein approval), and public co-investment to de-risk high capital biorefineries. These measures will leverage the bioeconomys growth potential and create quality green jobs, especially for SMEs in rural areas. 2. Prioritise circularity and Food-First use: The Strategy must apply the cascading principle: biomass should first meet food and feed needs, then higher-value material uses. In practice, this means safeguarding biomass for human nutrition above all. We urge explicit mention of food-first priorities in policies that incentivise producing nutritionally rich crops for human consumption, using crop residues for animal feed, before diverting them to bioplastics or biofuels. This is consistent with bioeconomy sustainability principles and research calls emphasising cascading use of biomass or the food-first principle. The Strategy should also encourage circular design of products, valorising by-products (e.g. fruit pomace for food ingredients) and improving waste reduction. Such measures increase efficiency and extend value from each unit of biomass.3. Secure sustainable supply & fair transition: Strengthening primary producers is key. The Strategy should reward farmers and foresters for sustainable practices (e.g. growing legumes, cover crops, agroforestry) that enhance soil health and biodiversity. For example, CAP instruments already support protein crops and legume integration; the Bioeconomy Strategy can reinforce these efforts by promoting crop diversification and agroecological farming. Just-transition support is needed for livestock farmers shifting to mixed or plant-based production, reflecting the Councils fair-transition recommendation. The Strategy must reflect the economic benefits that farmers can derive from growing crops for human consumption (e.g. legumes and pulses), which have higher value than crops destined for animal feed and other applications. Enhanced producer income through biomass valorisation (e.g. producing food-grade plant proteins or bio-based materials) will create rural jobs and help meet climate goals. Crucially, land-use must respect ecological boundaries: the Strategy should ensure biomass harvest levels maintain carbon sinks and do not harm ecosystems. 4. Strengthen global leadership: The EU should position itself as a global leader in sustainable bio-based products and foods. The Strategy must leverage trade policy and international partnerships (e.g. under the EUs Global Gateway) to export EU biotechnologies and plant-based products. Noting that other major economies are launching bioeconomy plans, the EU should push for bioeconomy topics in multilateral forums and green diplomacy efforts. A coherent external strategy will multiply the benefits of the domestic bioeconomy. 5. Enhance policy coherence and implementation: The Strategy should link to existing policies. It should build on the Vision for Agriculture and Food objectives and CAP protein diversification efforts, ensuring that agri-environment payments favour crops for human consumption. This includes aligning with CAP tools that reward diversification and sustainable crop choices, such as legumes, in line with protein autonomy goals.
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Meeting with Christophe Hansen (Commissioner) and

30 Apr 2025 · Sustainable Protein Diversification for the Vision

Meeting with Ariane Vander Stappen (Head of Unit Health and Food Safety)

31 Mar 2025 · Discussion on the possible harmonisation of maximum permitted limits for vitamins and minerals in food

Meeting with Miguel Jose Garcia Jones (Cabinet of Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra)

4 Mar 2025 · Discussion on the role of plant base production and consumption to meet the Climate goals.

Meeting with Vilija Sysaite (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Stéphane Séjourné)

21 Feb 2025 · Plant-based products and links to various initiatives

Meeting with Ricard Ramon I Sumoy (Acting Head of Unit Agriculture and Rural Development)

3 Feb 2025 · Exchange of views on the Vision for Agriculture and Food

Meeting with Claire Bury (Deputy Director-General Health and Food Safety)

29 Jan 2025 · The European Alliance for Plant-Based Foods (EAPF) Plant-Based Action Plan.

Meeting with Valérie Hayer (Member of the European Parliament)

29 Oct 2024 · Plant Based foods

Meeting with Joanna Stawowy (Cabinet of Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski)

22 Aug 2023 · The sustainable food systems (SFS) and the upcoming framework, as well as EAPF position on it.

Meeting with Tom Vandenkendelaere (Member of the European Parliament, Shadow rapporteur)

27 Apr 2023 · European protein strategy

Meeting with Tilly Metz (Member of the European Parliament)

7 Dec 2022 · Transition to plant-based diets

Meeting with Alina-Stefania Ujupan (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager)

7 Jun 2022 · Research & Innovation, Horizon Europe.

Response to Review of the EU school fruit, vegetables and milk scheme - EU aid

27 Jul 2021

Schools are at the heart of children’s life and a pillar in their education, including with regard to nutrition. In this respect, the EU school fruit, vegetables, and milk scheme (hereafter EU school scheme) plays a valuable role in ‘[reconnecting] children with agriculture’ and educating them about healthy and sustainable eating habits: An important mission of the EU that the European Alliance for Plant-based Food (EAPF) fully endorses. EAPF supports a revision of the EU school scheme to enhance its contribution to sustainable food production and consumption, while raising awareness among younger generations about nutrition and farming. In our views, the scheme should be more inclusive (food-wise), promote food products responding to children’s needs – as diverse as they are-, and enable the shift to sustainable plant-based diets, in line with the EU Farm to Fork Strategy and Beating Cancer Plan. This is not the case of the current scheme, 40% of which is dedicated to milk and milk products (€ 100 million/school year, out of the total 250 million/year). That encourages misconceptions among children according to which cow milk and milk products are necessarily good for their health and the only available source of essential nutrients to their development. The milk component of the scheme disregards the environmental impacts of dairy, the diversity of food sources for essential nutrients, and the disadvantage of crop farmers who do not benefit from the scheme. EAPF thus calls on the European Commission and Member States to revise the EU School Scheme and to integrate plant-based foods as part of eligible products. We particularly encourage the EU needs to promote: 1. Food products enabling the shift to healthy and sustainable plant-based diets; 2. Schools as agents of change; 3. A level playing field for plant-based food products on the EU agri-food market.
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Response to Setting of nutrient profiles

2 Feb 2021

The European Alliance for Plant-based Foods (EAPF) welcomes the European Commission's ambition to further strengthen consumer information and protection. Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (FIC Regulation) has been instrumental in establishing a harmonised framework for food labelling in the EU. It has also significantly helped consumers make better-informed choices, setting up clear rules for providing nutritional information about food products. Owing to its positive impacts on consumers and on the EU food market, the European Alliance for Plant-based Foods (EAPF) supports the European Commission’s ambition to further strengthen the FIC Regulation and align it with the objectives of the EU Farm to Fork Strategy for a transition to healthy and sustainable food systems. EAPF welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the public consultation on the Inception Impact Assessment (IIA) on the proposal for a revision of the FIC Regulation. While we deem existing legislation fit for purpose, some of its initial dispositions have not been addressed up to now and deserve policymakers’ attention. In this paper, EAPF provides its views on: • Front-of-pack nutrition labelling – as part of the key aspects considered for revision; • Information related to the suitability of foods for vegetarians and vegans (Art. 36(3)(b). For more information, please see our position attached.
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Meeting with Lukas Visek (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

13 Nov 2020 · Sustainable diets