The article explores some of the most debated challenges that EU food and agricultural law is facing. Firstly, the analysis focuses on the newly reformed EU rules on the protection of geographic terms, as a powerful means to safeguard cultural and historical heritage of local and rural communities. Secondly, the paper investigates the role played by private and public technical standards on the global foodstuff market. Finally, the problem of agricultural soil consumption is addressed, being it a threat to EU as a whole. The three selected topics combine to sketch a promising scenario for the future of food policies in the EU, even if threats to important non-market values are still far from being properly addressed.