Begun in January 2020, this paper is an EU-wide investigation aimed at uncovering and discussing the blockers that prevent, and the enablers that facilitate, the consolidation of Fair, Accessible, Sustainable and Short (FASS) food chains or systems.​

The project brings together food actors, policy makers, civil society organisations and academics. Three pilots and Brussels-based multi-actor meetings constitute the backbone of the project. The key is the combination of bottom-up understanding of FASS-food chains with the ‘top-down’ vision of the European policy-maker and other EU-level actors.

The FASS Food research project Consolidate and scale up Fair, Accessible, Sustainable and Short Food chains for the EU is carried out by the Institute of Development Policy (University of Antwerp), World Fair Trade Organisation-Europe and the Fair Trade Advocacy Office and financed by the University of
Antwerp with an IOF SEP fund for socio-environmental valorization.
​