FoodPaths Festival: three days to rethink food in Europe
From 20 to 22 May 2025, the FoodPaths Festival will bring together a diverse range of stakeholders committed to more sustainable food in Brussels. This event is a direct continuation of the discussions initiated at the SIAL Talks 2024, in particular through the round table organised by the ANIA on the FOODpathS project.
The FoodPaths Festival, organised as part of the European FOODpathS project (funded by Horizon Europe), aims to co-build the foundations of a European Partnership for Sustainable Food Systems (PEFSD). This partnership, which is currently in the early stages, aims to bring together the different links in the food chain – from producers to consumers – around a shared, fair and innovation-oriented governance model.
Over three days, conferences, collaborative workshops, testimonials and discussions will explore concrete solutions to major food challenges: sovereignty, relocation, nutritional security, social justice, climate adaptation, etc. A rich programme designed to bring together scientists, institutions, businesses, local authorities, NGOs and citizens.
From SIAL to FoodPaths: continuing a collective commitment
This festival follows on from the SIAL Talks 2024, which had already placed sustainability at the heart of the debate. The ANIA (National Association of Food Industries) organised a round table discussion entirely dedicated to the FOODpathS project, entitled: ‘Paving the way for a European partnership for sustainable food systems’. This session set out the challenges for the future partnership, emphasising the importance of a European framework to structure the transition.
The FoodPaths Festival is now taking up this momentum and giving it concrete form, moving from the reflection stage to that of co-construction. It is thus a natural extension of the discussions initiated at SIAL, in an open, experimental and resolutely action-oriented framework.
Imagining, experimenting and structuring together
In Brussels, participants will be invited to test new formats for dialogue, governance and collaboration. Topics will include agroecological transition, access to healthy food, responsible innovation, waste reduction and social inclusion. All of the work will contribute to the structuring of the future European Partnership for Sustainable Food Systems, whose roadmap will be shared at the end of the event.
More than just a meeting, the FoodPaths Festival marks a founding step in rethinking our food system on a continental scale. It symbolises a new way of working together, in a network, at the crossroads of research, politics, economics and civil society.
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Image credit: Tangerine Newt
