Background and objectives
The high consumption of animal products, current land use and intensive livestock farming have a negative impact on environment, climate, animal welfare and human health. This has been proven by numerous studies. A profound change in the agricultural and food system is necessary so that we can sustainably feed ourselves within the planetary boundaries and achieve the socially agreed, and in some cases legally binding, environmental goals.
It is not enough to look at individual areas of the agricultural and food system in isolation from one another. Problem areas of agricultural production such as greenhouse gas emissions from livestock farming, nutrient losses and the use of pesticides are closely linked to each other and to our eating and consumption habits. Due to this systemic interconnectedness of production and consumption, it is essential to enable a transformation with long-term and coordinated political strategies.
The aim of the “ Food and Agriculture with a Future ” project is therefore to develop an overall strategy focusing on the key levers for transforming the agricultural and food system in Germany. To this end, short, medium and long-term political recommendations for action are being developed.
Research Questions
1. What quantities of meat, milk and eggs can be produced in German agriculture while complying with environmental targets?
Reducing livestock numbers is a much-discussed environmental and climate protection measure to which the German government is also committed. A concrete, quantitative target for a sustainable livestock population has not yet been derived from the environmental targets. The environmental goals to be achieved are in the areas of climate, biodiversity, air pollution control and water protection. Aspects such as animal welfare, competing uses and cycle-based livestock feeding as a contribution to nutrient cycles are taken into account in various scenarios. The aim is to create knowledge about the total quantities of meat, milk and eggs that can be produced in Germany in a climate and environmentally friendly way.
2. What is the composition of a sustainable diet in Germany?
The aim of the research question is to develop a deeper understanding of the composition of a healthy and sustainable dietary pattern in Germany. For this purpose, specific characteristics of the German food system such as growing conditions, imports and current dietary patterns are taken into account. Specifically, the Planetary Health Diet (PHD) of the EAT-Lancet Commission and the revised dietary recommendations of the German Nutrition Society (DGE) will be analyzed with regard to their sustainability effects and proposals for the further development and specification of these dietary recommendations will be developed.
3. What are suitable approaches for ecologically sustainable land use by agriculture?
The aim of the research question is to identify suitable approaches for ecologically sustainable agricultural land use based on a defined target state and a problem analysis carried out in selected agricultural regions in Germany. From this, recommendations are to be derived for an environmentally friendly crop production of the future with land use that is as multifunctional and regionally adapted as possible. With the model-based analysis using the APSIM (Agricultural Production Systems sIMulator) model, the contribution of selected measures of different cultivation concepts to achieving the environmental goals for the protected goods soil, climate, water, air and biodiversity in four agricultural regions in Germany is being investigated. In various scenarios, aspects such as diverse crop rotations, mixed and intercropping with legumes and landscape elements on the land are presented in terms of their environmental impact.
4. What does an effective mix of approaches for the transformation of the agricultural and food system in Germany look like?
The research question develops proposals on how coherent policy instruments that support the transformation of the agricultural and food system can be designed and, if necessary, combined. The qualitative and quantitative objectives identified in the first three research questions form the basis for the analysis. As part of this overarching objective, an in-depth analysis and - building on this - the further development of individual instruments is also required. In the area of agriculture, the focus is on the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, which is the defining instrument for agricultural production and has been undergoing reform again since 2025. In particular, the transformative potential of the CAP after 2027 and the possibilities for making the best possible use of it and increasing it will be examined. The aim is to integrate the highest possible level of climate and environmental protection into the CAP in line with the binding environmental targets. For the food sector, regulatory instruments such as mandatory quality standards in communal catering, economic instruments such as taxes and informational instruments such as climate labels will be examined in more detail. The aim is to integrate the highest possible level of climate and environmental protection into the CAP in line with the binding environmental targets. For the food sector, regulatory instruments such as mandatory quality standards in communal catering, economic instruments such as taxes and informational instruments such as climate labels are examined in more detail. The aim is for these instruments to be effective in terms of achieving the objectives, efficient in terms of the cost-benefit ratio, practice-oriented and coherent in their impact on each other. Short-, medium- and long-term policy recommendations for transforming the food system are derived from the mix of instruments. Communication to farmers, consumers and politicians, for example, is intended to be appropriate to the target group.
Key project data
The project is being carried out as in-house research by the Federal Environment Agency. It is divided into two phases that run in parallel. Phase I (research questions 1 and 2) started in December 2022, phase II (research questions 3 and 4) began in June 2023. Both phases will be completed in December 2026. An advisory board was set up to provide scientific support for the project, in which twelve external experts from various disciplines advise the Federal Environment Agency.
The final report is scheduled for December 2026.
Click to enlarge