Law & Policy Active Updated Sep 23, 2026
The EU's food procurement rewrite
Where it stands, Sep 23, 2026 More than 90 organizations, including Lidl, Ahold Delhaize, Nestle, Danone and Oatly, published a policy brief urging EU institutions to adopt a Food System Action Plan built on the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission findings.
The European Commission's proposed Public Procurement Act gives food its own article for the first time, letting public buyers weigh animal welfare, nutrition and supply-chain transparency when awarding roughly 50 billion euros a year in school, hospital and care-home food contracts. Advocates like ProVeg International say the text only grants permission, not an obligation, since sustainability criteria stay optional as the proposal heads into negotiation with the European Parliament and Council.
The story so far
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Sep 23, 2026 Latest
More than 90 organizations, including Lidl, Ahold Delhaize, Nestle, Danone and Oatly, published a policy brief urging EU institutions to adopt a Food System Action Plan built on the 2025 EAT-Lancet Commission findings. Public procurement was the only one of six proposed policy packages every stakeholder group agreed on, with the coalition proposing voluntary Planetary Health Diet criteria for school, hospital and prison food contracts.
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Sep 14, 2026
The European Commission presented its Public Procurement Act on September 9, giving food its own article and letting public buyers weigh nutrition, animal welfare and supply-chain transparency in roughly 50 billion euros a year of food contracts, vegconomist reported. ProVeg International said the text grants permission rather than an obligation, since sustainability criteria stay optional and comply-or-explain clauses remain, as the proposal moves to the European Parliament and Council for negotiation.
This fight, in numbers
Every sourced figure the brief has published on this storyline, newest first.
- 90+ organizations contributed to the brief, though contributing doesn't mean endorsing every recommendation in it
- 15 million premature deaths a year could be prevented by a shift toward fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts and whole grains, per the EAT-Lancet science the brief translates into policy
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