The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, presented Spain’s sustainable food model as a strategic priority for the Spanish Government. Planas stressed that the Food Loss and Waste Prevention Law, approved in April of this year, “is a model for raising awareness across society about the value of food.” He described it as a pioneering law “focused on prevention, awareness and the training of all actors in the food chain.”
Luis Planas took part in the High-Level Ministerial Panel “Preventing Food and Water Waste – Protecting Our Future”, held in Istanbul and organised by the Zero Waste Foundation and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Türkiye, together with ministers from 15 countries across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. In his address, Planas explained that Spain has consolidated a food model recognised for its quality, safety and innovation, “but also for its ability to adapt to the challenges of the 21st century.”
In this regard, he highlighted the National Food Strategy (ENA), presented this year by the President of the Government, which represents the first long-term, comprehensive framework to guide agri-food and fisheries policies towards a more sustainable, competitive and healthy system.
Planas recalled that reducing food waste is a key pillar of this strategy. In 2024, Spain wasted a total of 1.125 billion kilos of food. This figure represented a 4.4% reduction compared to 2023 and an accumulated decrease of nearly 20% since 2020.
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“Food waste is an unsustainable practice from an environmental, economic and ethical perspective,” the minister stated. “There is no food more expensive than the food that ends up in the bin, especially when there are people suffering from hunger or malnutrition.”
Planas also underlined that Spain is convinced that international cooperation is essential to ensure a safe, sustainable and prosperous food future. “No country can face the food challenges of the 21st century alone. This is why we place our experience and knowledge at the service of the international community,” he said.
He also highlighted the importance of public awareness campaigns such as “Aquí no se tira nada” (“Nothing gets thrown away here”), which aim to turn households and hospitality businesses into active agents of change while promoting more responsible and conscious consumption.
