The Commission has published an analysis of the main factors affecting food security. The analysis looked at the impact on food security of factors such as climate change, environmental degradation, the economic consequences of COVID-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Food availability is not currently under threat in the European Union. There is a problem of accessibility to healthy, sustainable food, especially in the context of rising prices.

In the analysis, the Commission points out that „Globally, diets and eating patterns are increasingly shifting towards diets high in animal products and processed foods, with environmental, economic and social/health consequences. Shifting to a plant-based diet has the potential to reduce land use for agriculture by up to 75%, thereby contributing to global food security (Ritchie H, 2021). Shifting to more plant-based diets in line with dietary guidelines has also been linked to better health and environmental outcomes compared to interventions focused solely on food security issues (Springmann et al., 2018)). Increased use of a plant-based diet has been associated with better health, improved air quality, reduced premature mortality, and significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and ammonia emissions (Himics et al., 2022).”

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