Posted on March, 06 2017

We, the undersigned organisations, believe that the European food and farming system is broken: that it is working for the interests of a few to the detriment of the majority of people, farmers, and the planet.

Europe’s food and farming system directly contributes to a wasteful use of finite global resources and damages the environment by contributing to climate change, biodiversity loss, depletion of fisheries, deforestation, soil erosion, water scarcity, as well as water and air pollution.

Factory-style farming – largely dependent on imports and a major contributor to antimicrobial resistance – has been promoted at the expense of viable incomes for farmers and jobs in rural areas in Europe, as well as human rights, decent work, and livelihoods in developing countries. Farmers are facing a flawed choice between bankruptcy and further intensification.

Farmers practising credible alternatives like organic and agro-ecological agriculture remain on the fringes in favour of business as usual. At the same time, high levels of undernourishment, the rapid rise in obesity and unhealthy diets are among the main causes of death and disease both in Europe and worldwide.

The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has contributed to this broken food and farming system through the promotion of agro-industrial farming methods and global commodity chains. In order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and its obligations under the Paris Climate Agreement, the EU must carry out a radical reform of the CAP and related policies. A fairer, more sustainable and resilient system is urgently needed. The undersigned organisations call for a major transformation of Europe’s food and farming system on the basis of the following principles:

• Fair and diverse food and farming economies: ensure a fair income and decent work conditions for farmers and farm workers; facilitate access to farmland for sustainable peasant farming; encourage short supply chains and sustainable public procurement policies; grant fair access to high quality products for all consumers; prevent negative impacts on people’s right to food and on the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in the global south.
• Healthy environment and a food and farming system that respects animal welfare: ensure the end of harmful subsidies; reward and incentivise the delivery of positive environmental and social outcomes; restore and prevent further loss of biodiversity; encourage conservation and active use of genetic diversity; ensure agricultural production is free from synthetic chemical pesticides and mineral fertilisers that harm the environment; prevent and minimise food waste throughout the food chain; halt food and feed imports linked to deforestation; ensure that animal health and welfare are effectively respected; replace the current industrial livestock system with extensive alternatives where animals are not treated as mere commodities and the balance between livestock and land capacity is ensured, while the overuse of antibiotics prevented; radically reduce emissions from farming and ensure a transition towards a resilient food and farming system.
• Support for citizens’ health and well-being: ensure our food and farming system fosters healthy, nutritious, seasonal, local, culturally appropriate and affordable diets; encourage lower levels of animal product consumption; raise citizens’ awareness of the impacts of consumption on their own health, on farmers, animals and the environment; prevent negative impacts of agricultural methods on the health of farmers, farm workers and rural populations.
• A publicly accountable food system with participatory governance, citizens’ empowerment and democracy: involve citizens in transparent decision making processes; prevent corporate capture of decision making; empower local communities to lead the transformation.

We are committed to achieving a real transition by working in partnership with farmers, citizens and policy-makers. Therefore, we urge the European institutions and national policymakers to rethink the role and direction of European agriculture policies and use the principles presented above as a basis for the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy reform process.

List of organisations supporting the statement/ March 2017

EU and International organisations

• ACT Alliance
• EU ActionAid
• Agricultural and Rural Convention
• Arche Noah
• Bee Life European Beekeeping Coordination
• BirdLife Europe & Central Asia
• CEEweb for Biodiversity
• ClientEarth
• Climate Action Network
• Europe Compassion in World Farming
• Corporate Europe Observatory
• Euro Coop
• Eurogroup for Animals
• European Coordination Via Campesina
• European Environmental Bureau
• European Public Health Alliance
• Fair Trade Advocacy Office Fern
• FOUR PAWS / VIER PFOTEN
• Friends of the Earth Europe
• Greenpeace
• Humane Society International/Europe
• IFOAM EU – International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements EU
• Pesticide Action Network Europe
• Slow Food
• Urgenci
• WWF

Austria

• DKA Austria Hilfswerk der Katholischen Jungschar
• Grüne Bäuerinnen und Bauern Österreich
• Slow Food Pinzgau
• Slow Food Vorarlberg
• Umweltdachverband
• Welthaus Diözese Graz-Seckau

Belgium

• BioForum Vlaanderen
• Carbon Market Watch
• Natuurpunt
• Oxfam-Solidarity
• Slow Food Metropolitan Brussels
• Voedsel Anders

Bulgaria

• Association of Slow Food in Bulgaria
• BIOSELENA Foundation for organic agriculture
• BSPB/BirdLife Bulgaria
• Bulgarian Organic Products Association
• Europe and We
• Za Zemiata - Friends of the Earth Bulgaria

Croatia

• Association Kinookus

Czech Republic

• Czech Society for Ornithology/Birdlife
• Slow Food Palava

Denmark

• DOF / BirdLife Denmark
• NOAH Friends of the Earth Denmark
• Økologisk Landsforening / Organic Denmark
• The Danish Society for Nature Conservation

Finland

• Finnish Association for Organic Farming – Luomuliitto
• The Finnish NGDO Platform to the EU Kehys

France

• Compassion In World Farming France
• Ecologie Développement Durable Démocratie
• Fédération Nationale d’Agriculture Biologique
• Générations Futures
• la ferme Bio de l’Estuaire
• Le Ruban Vert
• LPO France (BirdLife France)
• Mouvement d’Agriculture Biodynamique
• WWF France

Germany

• Bioland
• BUND - Friends of the Earth Germany
• Demeter e.V.
• Deutscher Naturschutzring
• Die Freien Bäcker e.V.
• ECOVIN Bundesverband Ökologischer Weinbau Wormser
• Institut für Welternährung- World Food Institute eV. Berlin
• NABU Naturschutzbund Deutschland e.V.
• Naturland
• Slow Food Deutschland e. V.
• Slow Food Youth Deutschland

Greece

• ANTIGONE - Information and Documentation Center on Racism, Ecology, Peace and Non Violence Argos Animal Welfare Thessaloniki
• Ecological Movement of Thessaloniki
• Eptapsyhes-Nine Lives
• Hellenic Ornithological Society/BirdLife Greece
• NatureFriends Greece
• No Border Workshop
• PROSKALO
• Single Ecological Metamorphosis and Mesogeion

Hungary

• Magyar Biokultúra Szövetség
• MME/BirdLife Hungary
• Slow Food Heves-Mátra
• Slow Food Nagykoru

Ireland

• BirdWatch Ireland

Italy

• Aam Terra Nuova Compassion in World Farming Italy Consorzio
• Compassion in World Farming Italy Consorzio della Quarantina
• DEAFAL ONG - Delegazione Europea per l’Agricoltura in Asia, Africa e America Latina
• Federazione Pro Natura
• FederBio - Italian Federation of Organic And Biodynamic Agriculture
• Legambiente Onlus
• Lipu - BirdLife Italy
• Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Italy
• Slow Food Italia
• Soleterre ONLUS
• Unaapi- Unione Nazionale Associazioni Apicoltori Italiani
• WWF Italy

Latvia

• Latvian Fund for nature

Luxembourg

• Action Solidarité Tiers Monde
• ASTM Attac Luxembourg Bio-Lëtzebuerg - Vereenegung fir Biolandwirtschaft Lëtzebuerg asbl
• Caritas Luxembourg
• Catholic Church in Luxembourg
• etika Initiativ fir Alternativ Finanzéierung
• Centre for Ecological Learning Luxembourg
• Frères des Hommes Initiativ Liewensufank asbl
• Mouvement Ecologique natur&ëmwelt a.s.b.l.
• SOS FAIM
• TERRA - Transition and Education for a Resilient and Regenerative Agriculture

Malta

• Breeds of Origin Conservancy
• Last Friday of the Month Gourmet
• Slow Food Malta

Netherlands

• Compassion in World Farming Nederland
• Museum Geelvinck
• Natuurmonumenten
• Slow Food Nederland
• WWF Netherlands

Poland

• Compassion in World Farming Poland
• Slow Food Warsaw
• Slow Food Youth Wrocław 

Portugal

• LPN - Liga para a Protecção da Natureza
• SPEA - Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves

Romania

• Asociația Mai bine
• Fundatia ADEPT Transilvania
• Slow Food Bucuresti Valahia Gusturilor
• Slow Food Tara Silvania, Salaj, Romania
• Slow Food Tarnava Mare

Slovakia

• Agro-Eko forum
• CEPTA - Centre for Sustainable Alternatives Ekotrend Slovakia
• Permakultúra SK
• Raptor Protection of Slovakia Slow Food Pressburg
• Slow Food Youth Slovakia SOS/BirdLife Slovakia

Slovenia

• DOPPS-BirdLife Slovenia
• Inštitut za trajnostni razvoj - Institute for Sustainable Development
• Movement for Sustainable Development of Slovenia – TRS
• NEC Notranjska ecological centre, Cerknica
• Society for conservation, research and sustainable development of the Dinaric ecosystems – Dinaricum
• Umanotera, The Slovenian Foundation for Sustainable Development
• Zavod Svibna

Spain

• Asociación Valor Ecológico, CAAE (ECOVALIA)
• SEO/BirdLife
• WWF Spain

Sweden

• Swedish Society for Nature Conservation

United Kingdom

• Friends of the Earth ENWI
• Slow Food England
• Slow Food in the UK
• Soil Association
• Sustain: the alliance for better food and farming