How do we accelerate the shift toward sustainable food systems across Europe? That question brought ABE to Brussels, where our colleagues Maja, Sara and Davide represented the association at the joint final event of the ENFASYS and VISIONARY projects. The event marked the close of years of research, workshops and collaboration and, just as importantly, the start of how that work will live on.
Bringing Europe’s food-system actors together
After years of case studies, workshops and online meetings that are hard to tally, partners, policymakers, researchers and practitioners from across Europe finally met face to face. The day opened by connecting systems thinking with behavioural research, a pairing that helps make sense of the complex pressures facing food and farming, and one that runs through everything both projects set out to do.
Why policy must target systems, not just individuals
A dedicated policy session gathered experts from the European Commission, the EU CAP Network, COPA-COGECA, WWF and academia to ask how policy design can better support sustainable food system transformation. A few themes kept returning: the role of trust, the need for long-term policy stability, and meaningful engagement across the entire agri-food chain.
One insight stood out for our team. Lasting change rarely comes from targeting individuals alone. It comes from designing policies around relationships, incentives and governance structures. In other words, policies that shape systems, not just behaviour.
Practical pathways to sustainable food systems
In the afternoon, interactive breakout sessions dug into the practical side: green payment schemes that actually shift behaviour, progress in organic food and farming, sustainable agri-food value chains and consumer behaviour. Drawing on real examples from across Europe, participants mapped the everyday barriers and the openings for enabling sustainability transitions at local, regional and national levels.
A legacy that stays open and useful
The closing session focused on what ENFASYS and VISIONARY leave behind: the tools, frameworks and research outputs developed over the life of both projects. The emphasis was on keeping these resources accessible and genuinely useful, so that policymakers, businesses, civil society organisations and researchers can keep drawing on them long after the projects formally end.
Not an ending, but a foundation
Sustainable transitions are never driven by a single policy, a single project or a single organisation. They happen when people connect, learn from one another and work toward a shared vision. For ABE, the days in Brussels were not a conclusion but a foundation — another step toward more sustainable and resilient food systems in Europe.
