On 17-18 April 2007 the Directorate-General for Research of the European Commission organised a major Conference on the future research and competitiveness aspects of the European food industry.
The overall purpose of the Conference was to anticipate research needs by 2030 and develop coherent actions in view of the diverse and increasingly important changes that the European food industry will have to face. New challenges induced by globalisation require a good understanding of the triggers of future changes, the inter-relationship between such triggers and their potential impact on major European sectors such as the food industry in order for Europe to remain competitive worldwide and to overcome merging threats.
Against this background, and at the outset of the new Food, Agriculture and Biotechnology Programme of FP7, this conference on Perspectives for Food 2030 provided the opportunity to assess how the food industry and consumer demand may evolve over the next 25 years and to consider what implications this may have for food, agriculture, fisheries and biotechnology research.
The conference brought together major actors from the fields of food technology, retailing, consumer science/behaviour, economists, etc. to gather visions of the future.