The Association of Balkan Eco-innovation joins forces with 19 other European partners in an ambitious EU-funded project FOODTURE to revolutionize the agri-food sector’s sustainability practices.
Last week marked a significant milestone in European agricultural innovation as FOODTURE project launched at the University of Vic (UVic-UCC). The project, coordinated by the BETA Technological Centre of UVic-UCC, brings together a diverse consortium of 20 partners spanning across Spain, France, Norway, Belgium, Denmark, Serbia, Italy, Switzerland, and Peru.
The initiative arrives at a critical juncture for European food systems. With the EU’s 447 million citizens consuming 1.6 billion tonnes of food and drink annually, the scale of our food system’s environmental impact is significant. Agriculture alone contributed 11% of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions in 2021, while the production of cereals, meat, dairy, and fisheries poses mounting environmental, economic, and food security challenges. In this context, the need for sustainable transformation has never been more pressing.
Against this backdrop, the FOODTURE results should help drive changes to move towards a more sustainable, resilient and circular European agri-food system, through the advanced use of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and in close collaboration with the different actors in the sector.
Towards a more sustainable and transparent agri-food system
FOODTURE is set to revolutionize our understanding of European food systems through the development of comprehensive data inventories and enhanced Environmental Impact Assessment methodologies. The project will break new ground by incorporating critical factors often overlooked in current assessments, such as biodiversity impact and human health implications.
At its core, FOODTURE takes a holistic approach by analyzing environmental, economic, and social impacts to identify effective strategies for sector-wide transformation. To bridge the gap between research and implementation, the project will deliver practical tools, sector-specific training programs, policy recommendations, and open-access digital platforms designed for professionals and decision-makers.
A key innovation lies in FOODTURE’s commitment to Agriculture 4.0 technologies. By integrating geographic information from Copernicus satellites with drone-collected data, the project will establish new benchmarks for data collection and analysis. This advanced approach ensures sustainability metrics capture the entire food value chain, from farm to fork. Through rigorous testing and scalable innovative solutions, FOODTURE aims to set new standards of excellence in European food system management, paving the way for a more sustainable agricultural future.
Keywords: FOODTURE
Meta description: New Horizon Europe project FOODTURE revolutionizes food sustainability through advanced data collection, environmental impact assessment, and innovative solutions
