By Caritas Europa
Food insecurity has been increasing worldwide, compromising chances of achieving SDG 2 – zero hunger – by 2030.
European leaders have repeatedly emphasised the impact of the war in Ukraine on food availability and prices worldwide and the need to increase food production, as they launched multiple initiatives in 2022 to address global food insecurity. However, they have not yet addressed structural issues undermining global food security, such as unjust international trade rules, a lack of political voice, and a lack of access to resources for small-scale farmers – issues where the EU has a vital role to play.
A recent Caritas Europa briefing paper analyses the initiatives launched by the EU in 2022 in light of the short-termism of the EU’s response to global food insecurity and the limited political attention and resources allocated to real solutions to the causes of food insecurity. As part of this analysis, Caritas Europa examines whether the initiatives have aligned with the urgent need to transition toward just and sustainable food systems.
Policy recommendations are laid out in the paper, which call on the European Commission and the European Council, for instance, to prioritise channelling humanitarian funds directly to local civil society organisations, to increase investment in agroecology, and to maintain Policy Coherence for Development principles, especially in the areas of climate, trade, and corporate due diligence.