The background
The right to adequate food is already recognised under international human rights law. Yet, the latest FAO estimates suggest that global hunger stood at around 8.2% in 2024 – well above the last pre-pandemic level of 7.5% recorded in 2019. This means that around 673 million people suffer from undernourishment. Such a trend points to a sustained and alarming increase in the number of people affected by undernourishment compared to the pre-pandemic period.
The intrinsic link between the right to adequate food and other fundamental human rights – such as the right to health, human dignity and equality – is firmly established in the international human rights standards and United Nations frameworks. It requires that food be available and economically accessible to all people on a regular basis, without forcing individuals or households to sacrifice other basic needs such as housing, healthcare – or education. Access to healthy and affordable food is therefore inseparable from human dignity, equality, and the right to health. Yet inequitable food systems exist and disproportionately impact low-income communities, rural populations and future generations.
Why EAEA supports the initiative: realising the right to food through upskilling in the agrifood sector
While the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) is essential to ensuring fairer access to food and systematic recognition of the impacts of climate change on food systems, realising the right to food in practice depends on the capacity of those who produce it. The future of the agrifood sector relies on farmers, researchers, educators, and learners having access to the skills and knowledge required to adapt to environmental, technological, and economic change. Investing in upskilling across the agrifood ecosystem is therefore a necessary public investment that supports resilient livelihoods, sustainable production, and affordable food access for present and future generations.
A pivotal initiative EAEA is involved in is the EU-funded TWIN IN project, coordinated by the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Promoting responsible twin transitions in European agrifood systems through innovation and learning alliances – TWIN IN. By developing new models for education and training that support sustainability related knowledge, entrepreneurial capacity, and digital skills, the project demonstrates how skills development can translate policy commitments into practice. Evidence from TWIN IN highlights that agrifood transitions are most effective when learning, innovation, and participation are treated as systemic responsibilities rather than individual burdens. Begun in 2025, the project has published a report on best practices in the twin transition in the agrifood industry which emphasises the need to consider food systems on a global scale and to share good practices across continents and borders.
About the initiative
This ECI seeks to move from recognition to implementation, ensuring that this right not only is upheld in EU policies but actively implemented by governments and citizens. The initiative proposes a set of 16 calls for action from the European Commission, including: recognising smaller farms and guaranteeing decent working conditions for small-scale producers; committing to gender equality with access to land; proposing a directive for sustainable water management in agricultural production and sustainable fisheries and recognise the structural nature of food loss and waste, and adopt to this effect a directive containing appropriate regulatory and policy measures and mandatory targets for reduction in the whole food chains.
Join EAEA in supporting the future of our food systems: sign the ECI today!
We need one million signatures in at least seven Member States before 1 January 2027 to trigger the formal examination process and pave the way for concrete change.
Read more about the proposal on the Good Food 4 All website.
Text: Charlotte Ede, Greta Pelucco