Archived press release

EU CAP reform plans unveiled

12 October 2011

Responding to draft proposals to reform the Common Agricultural Policy, published today (Wednesday 12 October 2011) by the European Commission, Friends of the Earth's food campaigner Kirtana Chandrasekaran said:

"The EU's proposals are too weak to tackle rising food prices and will keep us hooked on factory farming - with devastating consequences for the planet and the world's poorest people.

"Billions of pounds of taxpayers' money spent every year importing soy livestock feed and subsidising exports is trashing rainforests and undermining food supplies in the UK and abroad.

"Research shows British people want fairer funding for planet-friendly farming, but the UK Government's refusal to cap payments to big farms could leave smaller, greener farmers with scraps.

"The UK should push for reforms to the CAP that will boost British farming by supporting sustainable farms and local markets whilst cutting carbon emissions and protecting wildlife."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1.   The CAP spends more than 50 billion Euros of taxpayers' money a year in Europe, and about 4 billion pounds a year in the UK. It steers the direction of food and farming practices across the continent as well as their impacts on other parts of the world.

2.    Problems with the EU's proposals include:

•               Continued support for factory farming and subsidised food exports - this will have a hugely detrimental impact on the environment and on developing countries' food security;

•               Lack of support for planet-friendly farming - the Commission had promised to ensure that subsidies are paid only to farmers who protect natural resources and help tackle climate change, but such measures have been watered down;

•               The Commission has proposed capping very large payments to big farms but the UK Government has opposed  this (In Britain large farmers and landowners receive hundreds of thousands of farm payments without the need to demonstrate any public benefit);

•               Ineffective measures to tackle volatile commodity prices - high feed prices are putting farmers out of business and could lead to the loss of thousands of European farms;

•               Failure to mitigate climate-changing emissions from farming - 12 per cent of Europe's greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture and factory farming is the main contributor to this;

•               Lack of measures to reduce Europe's reliance on imported protein for animal feed - which is causing widespread deforestation in South America.

3.   Friends of the Earth is calling on the EU to ensure that reform of the Common Agricultural Policy:

•               Makes the subsidy system fairer by capping subsidies going to big farms and only rewarding planet-friendly farming;

•               Gives farmers environmental payments only if they rotate crops with proteins -  this will reduce the need for feed imports and cut costs for farmers, as well as protect natural habitats and prevent nitrogen pollution; farmers must also protect grasslands and grow more grass fed livestock;

•               Phases out export subsidies and indirect forms of export support by 2013, to stop Europe dumping food on developing country markets at very low prices thereby undermining domestic food security;

•               Includes strong measures to address food price volatility.

4.   Animal factory farming in Europe is responsible for 85 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture or 12.8 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions in the EU. Much of this caused by clearing rainforest in parts of South America in order to grow soy, which is used in UK animal feed.

5.   The livestock sector also uses up most of Europe's cereal supplies, which means less grain is available for bread, and other foodstuffs that feed people directly - increasing food prices in the UK and other parts of the world.

6.      Asurvey carried out by the European Commission earlier this year shows that, of UK respondents:

89% support the EU doing more to encourage local markets and distribution channels so that local agricultural products and foodstuffs are more readily available and that there are benefits to buying food from local farms 80% think small farms contribute to rural economies and social life in rural areas 71% want beneficiaries of CAP subsidies to be made public.

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust