SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS IN THE LIGHT OF THE LEGAL AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS OF THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL POLICY

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to formulate a preliminary assessment of the selected solutions of the Common Agricultural Policy as to whether they are adequate from the perspective of the objectives of the SFS. Sustainability of food systems has become a complex process, dependent on a number of environmental, economic, and social factors. The authors assess that the instruments for supporting Sustainable Food Systems included in the national strategic plan are adequate to the goals of these systems, but some reservations can be raised about them. In particular, in addition to measures that are certainly beneficial and consolidating (e.g., supporting the reduction of antibiotic use in livestock production and pesticide use in crop production), the national strategic plan lacks larger-scale instruments (important from the point of view of the big picture) to support, for example, the introduction of resource-efficient and climate-resilient production, the promotion of a healthy and sustainable diet, the wider introduction of quality food (not only organic), the reduction and combating of food waste, the proper storage of food, or the reduction and management of waste generated in the food chain. The relative nature of the conditionality mechanism remains a shortcoming.