This report presents findings from a project examining efforts to transform food systems across seven European countries and at EU level, and asking where research and funding could help speed up change. It brings together interviews and workshops with people working to change the food system, alongside a mapping of existing research, a researcher survey and an AI-assisted review of recent academic evidence.

The findings show broad agreement that shifting towards healthier and more sustainable diets is a key priority for food system transformation. Much of the work already underway focuses on changing the environments in which people choose and buy food, through public procurement, local food initiatives, retail and food service, product innovation and reformulation, taxes and subsidies, and marketing rules. However, progress remains slower than needed. Key barriers include powerful interests resisting change, difficult policy environments, polarised public debate, poor coordination, and research that does not always provide practical answers about how change can be achieved.

The report argues that change can be better enabled by supporting and developing research on what works, what is economically viable and what is politically possible; involving changemakers more closely in research; funding longer-term collaboration and coordination; and improving research translation and the narratives used to communicate evidence. It identifies areas where investment could support action now, alongside more politically difficult areas requiring further investigation and longer-term work on wider social, economic and political transformation.

The UK National report, authored by TABLE and partners under this same project, can be found here.