Carrots, not sticks for sustainable farming

The EPP Group supports European farms and farmers to be sustainable so that they can guarantee high quality and healthy food for all Europeans at an affordable price. The European Parliament's Environment and Agriculture Committees vote today and tomorrow on their input to the so-called 'Farm to Fork Strategy', which is the European Commission’s plan on how to do just that.

"We must make sure European farmers can supply food without experiencing unfair trading practices. They should receive incentives and fair payments for products produced sustainably, instead of experiencing hurdles. We must make food security a priority", said Christine Schneider MEP, responsible for the file for the EPP Group in the Environment Committee.

"Without economic sustainability there is no environmental sustainability either", underlined Herbert Dorfmann MEP, the EPP Group's Spokesman in the Agriculture Committee and Parliament's lead negotiator on the file. "Instead of burdens, bureaucracy and blame for the farmers, we need to support innovation to offer solutions for a sustainable food chain. For the best and most efficient solutions against climate change, we need to take local conditions and different national approaches into account and fit the measures into those. One size doesn’t fit all", Dorfmann recalled.

For the EPP Group, it is important to listen to consumers. "If people buy local and sustainable food, this creates an opportunity for farmers. Farm to fork does not only mean eating healthier food, but it also means relying on everyone: consumers, farmers and nature. We believe that without that, we cannot secure European food production and farming", concluded Schneider and Dorfmann.