The entire European Parliament will vote this week on the new European food policy, the Farm to Fork strategy. The main question will be whether a majority of the full Parliament agrees with the expansions and tightening measures introduced under the leadership of the ENVI environment committee in the original proposal from the European Commission.
The strategy, presented in May 2020, is part of Commission President Von der Leyen's flagship, the Green Deal of Climate Commissioner Frans Timmermans. This Green Deal not only includes environmental measures to combat pollution of air, soil, and water but also aims to improve biodiversity and food quality.
As a result, almost all commissioners must also implement climate and environmental measures in their policy areas.
This also applies to agriculture, livestock farming, and animal welfare. For example, the use of pesticides must be reduced by 50%, nutrient losses must be cut by 50%. This will among other things reduce the use of fertilizers, including agricultural manure, by 20%.
Additionally, the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry must be halved, and the percentage of land used for organic farming is expected to increase from about 8% to 25% across the entire EU.
The crucial question this week in Strasbourg is whether the members of the European Parliament will follow the recent vote of the European Parliament's Agriculture and Environment Committee. In September, the ENVI environment committee and the AGRI agriculture committee welcomed the objectives of the Farm to Fork strategy. Their report was adopted with 94 votes in favor, 20 against, and 10 abstentions.
Furthermore, they supported the recommendations of their two rapporteurs, the Dutch Anja Hazekamp (Party for the Animals) and the Italian Christian Democrat Herbert Dorfmann. According to their report, the measures proposed by the EU Commission should not be too voluntary and must be made mandatory in the EU countries.
The report was fully adopted, including 48 compromise amendments, several of which have led to strong reactions from the agricultural community.
One of these is the emphasis on the need for a "binding nature" of reduction targets for pesticides, nutrient losses, and fertilizers. Especially the âmandatory incorporationâ of environmental measures in agricultural policy is fiercely opposed by agricultural EU countries and farming organizations.
âClosing mega farms and reducing the number of animals in livestock farming brings enormous climate gains and is good for nature, good for our health, and good for animals. It is a breakthrough that a majority of the European Parliament now realizes this and actually wants to take action to achieve a healthier food system,â said Hazekamp.
Hazekamp's report also advocates reducing pesticide use. The European Commission previously announced the ambition to reduce the use of agricultural chemicals by 50% by 2030. This reduction must be binding, according to Hazekampâs report. Additionally, the EU must be stricter in approving toxic substances.
The debate takes place on Monday, the vote on a resolution will be held on Tuesday, and the outcome will be announced Wednesday morning. The European Commission will then present a series of legislative proposals until 2024 to translate the greening of the food chain into European laws.
The recommendations made by the European Parliament in Hazekamp's initiative report are not binding, but the Parliament â as well as the 27 EU countries â must approve the final legislative proposals. Consequently, the European Commission will have to take the recommendations into account if the majority of the EP supports them.