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17 Jul 2001
Friends of the Earth today welcomed Margaret Beckett's commitment to reforming the Common Agricultural Policy because it is a "blunt, inefficient and ineffective instrument". However, FOE warned that reliance on free trade and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) was not the answer to tackle the decline in rural economies.
Friends of the Earth has long called for CAP reform because of its disastrous impact on the environment and UK farmland wildlife. But FOE warned that Mrs Beckett's commitment to look"closely at agriculture's relationship with wider society, in particular the consumer'' is not compatible with WTO rules.
Pete Riley, Friends of the Earth Real Food and Farming Campaigner, said:
"We welcome Mrs Beckett's commitment to CAP reform. We must stop subsidising farming methods that pollute water supplies, threaten the survival of plant and animal species and harm rural economies. But globalisation and free trade is not the answer. The WTO agricultural agreement destroys the livelihoods of small farmers around the world,including those in the UK. The Government must take action to create strong local markets for sustainably-produced UK food.”
Contact details:
Friends of the Earth
26-28 Underwood St.
LONDON
N1 7JQ
Tel: 020 7490 1555
Fax: 020 7490 0881
Web: www.foe.co.uk/feedback.html
Media team
