Youth Advocacy for Sustainable Food Policy in Europe

Political participation of youth is crucial in making the transition to sustainability successful. We have seen in 2019 that the emergence of the Fridays for Future movement and youth climate protests across Europe contributed significantly to the launch of the European Green Deal (EGD) in the (then) upcoming political cycle. This has a significant impact on food policy too, which is the core interest of this study. As part of the EGD, the EU Farm to Fork strategy was also launched together with the EU Biodiversity Strategy, both with significant implications for food systems. By 2024 the political landscape changed again. Farmers’ protests just before the EU elections led to rolling back many of the important policies introduced under the EGD and it seems the political cycle 2024-2029 will be as important as the preceding five years.

In the new political cycle, youth will have an important role. While the incumbent European Commission (EC) still needs to reveal how they implement the von der Leyen requests for youth involvement, it is clear that with the Youth Policy Dialogues (YPD) and the EU Youth Check (YC) implemented, the young generation will receive an upgraded opportunity to shape policy.