Bucking US pressure, key European politicians pushing to make its farming policies a global green standard

sloevnia vi
The EU’s Farm to Fork strategy is facing scrutiny

Ahead of a much-anticipated ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy to accompany the EU Green Deal, some EU policymakers say Europe’s food should be protected from American pressure.

The aim is to make Europe’s food the global standard for sustainability, said European Commission official Lukas Visek….

“We’re not going to go down on our food standards,” Visek stressed. “The EU is the largest exporter and importer of food, we have the safest food in the world, we have a diversity of diets – there is no point lowering our standards,” he added, amid growing US pressure to force chlorine-washed chicken on EU markets.

Europe’s diverse culinary traditions are, indeed, a source of pride for many, and for many countries, food is a central part of their economy.

There are concerns that the EU is preparing to lower its food standards and put European farmers in a precarious position, as a result of free trade deals with Canada and Japan and those being considered with Brazil and the United States.

According to Olivier De Schutter, former UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food and co-chair of the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems, citizens will not understand the EU call on preserving biodiversity, reducing pesticide use or even a move toward agroecology in Europe, while importing massive amounts of soybeans and beef from other countries which don’t take this into account.

Read the original post

{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.singularReviewCountLabel }}
{{ reviewsTotal }}{{ options.labels.pluralReviewCountLabel }}
{{ options.labels.newReviewButton }}
{{ userData.canReview.message }}
screenshot at  pm

Are pesticide residues on food something to worry about?

In 1962, Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring drew attention to pesticides and their possible dangers to humans, birds, mammals and the ...
glp menu logo outlined

Newsletter Subscription

* indicates required
Email Lists
glp menu logo outlined

Get news on human & agricultural genetics and biotechnology delivered to your inbox.