The environmental protection organization World Wildlife Fund (WWF) believes that agriculture in the European Union makes only a limited contribution to the global food supply. The EU is not a granary but an expensive supermarket, the organization states in the report ‘Europe eats the world’.
The background to the WWF conclusion is, among other things, that the EU mainly exports high-quality food products such as chocolate or meat, but imports cheap products like cocoa or animal feed. “In many countries around the world people need grain, not corned beef and chardonnay,” says WWF reporter Tanja Dräger.
The report published on Monday emphasizes that EU countries imported more calories and proteins – also in the form of animal feed – than other countries. They take 11 percent of the calories and 26 percent of the proteins away from other markets.
The environmental activists call for a reconsideration of European agriculture. Only a more sustainable food system can guarantee food security both domestically and abroad. Currently, for example, at least half of the EU’s grain production ends up as animal feed in the trough.
WWF believes the EU must produce and consume differently. For instance, the livestock population should be reduced and a larger share of arable land should be used for human food, not animal feed.