There is an objective need to address the challenges of the right to food, malnutrition, poverty, rural development, climate change. The challenges facing modern food systems are complex, unpredictable and specific. This requires that the transition to sustainable food systems be implemented in a coherent manner in accordance with national contexts and capacities. This paper analyses the food system challenges in the world, the European Union and Bulgaria. Achieving an effective transition towards food system sustainability will require significant collaboration between different actors and at different levels of governance, encompassing, among others, policy makers, the many industries in the food chain, land managers, academics, educators and civil society. Based on critical factors for the development of the food system, the need to implement modern practices to ensure sustainability in the food supply is highlighted in the context of the EU's Farm to Fork Strategy and Green Deal.