CUES European Policy Dialogue: Empowering Consumers — Bridging Information and Food Choices

How can European policy empower consumers to make healthier and more sustainable food choices – not only by providing better information, but by creating food environments in which those choices are genuinely accessible, affordable and desirable?

On 3 December 2026, CUES will convene a high-level European Policy Dialogue in Brussels, bringing together EU-level policymakers, researchers and key stakeholders to discuss how current and forthcoming policies can better support consumers in making sustainable and healthy food choices.

Many consumers care deeply about what they eat and want to make more sustainable choices. Yet a persistent gap remains between intention and behaviour. Consumers are confronted with increasingly large amounts of information about the nutritional, environmental and social impacts of food, but this information can be complex, fragmented or difficult to interpret.

At the same time, information is only part of the picture. What consumers choose is strongly influenced by the food environments around them: what is available and affordable, what is promoted in shops and online, and the social and cultural norms that shape what feels normal or desirable.

The CUES European Policy Dialogue – “Empowering Consumers: Bridging Information and Food Choices” will examine these two interconnected dimensions and consider what they mean for European policymaking.

Drawing on research, evidence and practical intervention results from CUES and sister projects, the dialogue will provide a space to:

• strengthen understanding of the real dynamics shaping consumers’ food choices;
• discuss how existing and forthcoming EU measures can better enable healthier and more sustainable choices; and
• translate research and practical evidence into concrete insights relevant to policymaking.

At the heart of the discussion is a broader understanding of consumer empowerment: one that goes beyond information provision and asks whether consumers have genuine agency and choice within real-world food environments, including retail, procurement and digital spaces.

The detailed programme and speakers will be announced shortly.accessible and desirable.

Registration closes on 20 November 2026. Registrants will receive confirmation of their participation by email. Registrations received after the deadline may not be considered.