A new food policy coherent with the goal of achieving sustainable food systems implies changing visions and radically revising the understanding of the system on which agricultural and food-related policies act. This paper identifies and discusses the policy processes that contribute to sustainable food systems in Europe. Based on a conceptual framework that links the policy cycle approach to transition theories, we (i) assess the evolution of policy cycles of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to highlight how the food and nutrition concepts have evolved and have been reframed throughout five phases of the CAP, (ii) map and classify available policy instruments to assess potential synergies and gaps in view of a reorganization and (iii) indicate and discuss strategic tools for sustainable food policies. This contribution goes beyond the current literature by highlighting the obstacles which hinder the transition to a policy regime that embodies the nexus among food and nutrition security, natural capital preservation and climatic and social justice, and proposes new avenues for food policy studies.