Insight Foresight Institute (IFI) is a partner of the Consumer Observatory of the EIT Food, supported by the European Union. The Consumer Observatory is considered Europe’s central hub for current and future consumer insights on agrifood topics. IFI coordinated a foresight exercise that explored the future of food consumption and the agrifood ecosystem in Europe in 2035, with a particular focus on emerging technological opportunities and on the spectrum of (un)sustainable and (un)healthy consumer choices.
Exploring alternative scenarios broadens one’s perspective, extending it further into the future and revealing potential threats and opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked or dismissed as improbable. While scenarios often include both a future end-state and the pathway leading there, in this case, the narratives (written in the present tense, as if already set in the future) each portray a different day in the year 2035. During the summer and autumn 2024, Insight Foresight Institute organised online workshops to develop four alternative future scenarios:
- Scenario A: Green and me – A day in the European high-tech food ecosystem in 2035.
- Scenario B: Frugal and local – A day in a European localised food sector driven by community values in 2035.
- Scenario C: Cost and control – A day in a European decayed food ecosystem focused on industrial efficiency in 2035.
- Scenario D: Highs and lows – A day in a European unequal high-tech food ecosystem in 2035.
The analysis of the four scenarios for food consumption led to the identification of a number of issues that could be relevant for today’s decision-makers.
- Guiding consumers towards one-health choices.
- Embracing innovative (new and ancient) mood-related food ingredients.
- Prioritising animal welfare.
- Mainstreaming precision nutrition.
- Scaling up localised food systems.
- Embracing soilless agriculture.
- Empowering farmers and prosumer communities.
- High-tech risks.
- Balancing global vs local dynamics.
Additional information
Totti Könnölä, Insight Foresight Institute. “Futures of Food Consumption in 2035 in Europe: On Sustainability, Health and Technology”- EIT Food Consumer Observatory, co-funded by the European Union. Published in August 2025.
