Common Agricultural Policy16 March 2012
The rules and funding for farming in the European Union are changing.
Factory farming in Europe is causing the destruction of the environment and rural communities at home and abroad. This spring there is an incredible opportunity to stop this.
The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a set of rules that cover farming, environmental measures and how Europe trades with other countries. And it's being overhauled.
About £4 bn of taxpayers' money is spent on UK agriculture through the CAP. We need to shift funding to reduce our dependence on rainforest-destroying soy and boost planet-friendly farming.
This reform has the potential to:
- Support farmers who grow alternatives to soy.
- Shift money from factory farms to small farms.
- Target taxpayers' money to planet-friendly farming.
Please take action
Your Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and the UK agriculture minister will play a part in crucial decisions on the CAP reform this spring.
They will have a big say in this. Please tell them to push for planet-friendly farming.
Lobby DEFRA minister Caroline Spelman
Our one year on report highlights how DEFRA have failed to make sustainable CAP reforms a priority.
Send our template letter to your MEP
Sign this petition and take it to local events and collect signatures
Read our planet-friendly farming action guide for more information
Further reading
Factory farming in Europe
The impacts and our demands of the Common Agricultural Policy
A short guide to the Common Agricultural Policy
What is the CAP? What would we like to see from the reforms? And how will the reforms happen?
How the CAP is causing deforestation in South America
The link between policies in Europe and forest destruction in South America
Public money for public goods?
Friends of the Earth Europe's brief on the Common Agricultural Policy.
A guide to lobbying your MEP
An extended guide to lobbying your MEP.
