Mandatory contracts are already common in several Scandinavian and Northern European countries because the dairy farmers trade their milk through cooperatives and collectives, preventing them from being played against each other.
Afterwards
But in many Eastern and Southern European countries, the dairy market is in the hands of one or two large purchasing dairy processors, often privatized former state-owned companies. There, farmers just have to wait and see what they will get for their delivered milk at the end of the year. EU countries will soon be required to establish legal frameworks and publish them online for use in contractual agreements.
Small farmers
French MEP Céline Imart (EPP), who was the rapporteur on this file, said that in some former Eastern Bloc countries many small farmers still find themselves in an untenable position, even though their countries have long been part of the EU. She pointed out that as a result, in fact there is still no ‘level playing field’ in the European dairy industry.
Promotion
On Tuesday, the European Parliament in Strasbourg approved the so-called dairy and food omnibus to improve the entrepreneurial position of food producers. In many cases this concerned income-related matters, but also improving their position in the food chain 'from farm to fork'.
Meat and cultivated meat
Not only will there be more clarity about the impact of agricultural products, but also about various types of meat. The European Parliament now defines meat as ‘edible parts of animals’ and wants a list of terms exclusively intended for meat products.
This way the distinction is made between real meat and cultivated meat, which is grown in laboratories or artificially on cells. This should make it clearer what cultivated meat is and what animal meat is. The new rules also clarify the use of the terms ‘honest’ and ‘fair’ for the production of agricultural products.
Labels
Moreover, criteria will be introduced under which ‘regional labeling’ is permitted. For example, if a product contributes to the development of a region or rural area, or advertises a farmers’ organization, this may soon be indicated on the label.