Belgium - 09/17/2012
On September 19, under the High Patronage of the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, Slow Food and ARC2020 are presenting civil society demands for a Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) that, among other things, supports real farms, reinvests public money in public goods, and combats food speculation at the European Parliament in Brussels.
In addition to President Schulz, Dacian Ciolos, European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, and Carlo Petrini, president of Slow Food, will participate, as well as representatives of other leading European civil society organizations involved in the CAP reform debate, and participants in the Good Food March, who will have the opportunity to join the discussion.
The CAP currently represents the largest spending chapter of the EU budget: about 43 percent of total resources, or 55 billion euros a year. However, these investments have not always had positive effects: 80 percent of European subsidies go to only 20 percent of farmers, and we have irretrievably lost about 70 percent of biodiversity. An estimated 250 million, or 50 percent of the European population, are overweight, while 42 million are undernourished due to poverty-related problems. And then the waste: in Europe we throw away 90 million tons of food a year, or 180 kg per person.
In Brussels, the fate of our food and agricultural policy until 2020 is being discussed. For the first time in history, CAP reform will be decided jointly by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union. Parliament's new involvement gives civil society a real opportunity to make its voice heard.
Carlo Petrini says: "We need to give agriculture back its dignity. Today there are only 11 million people employed in agriculture, which is less than 5 percent of the European population. Yet it is a matter of ensuring the food security of 27 countries, something that cannot be left in the hands of a few multinationals." Finally, he issues a warning: "It is imperative that the CAP change if agriculture in Europe is to become an attractive livelihood prospect for young people, a tool for the economic and social revitalization of rural areas, and an element of landscape and environmental protection."
Also speaking at the September 19 conference will be some of the participants of the Good Food March, an initiative of ARC2020, European Coordination Via Campesina, European Milk Board, Friends of the Earth Europe, IFOAM EU Group, Meine Landwirtschaft, PAC2013 and Slow Food. In total, more than 100 organizations from 19 countries and thousands of citizens, farmers and young people from across Europe are arriving in Brussels on foot, by bike or tractor to support the cause of a fairer and more sustainable CAP. The final part of this two-wheeled march will converge on Brussels from three parts: from Strasbourg through France, Luxembourg and Belgium; from Calais; and from Groningen through the Dutch plains and Flanders.
Stephanie Roth, Campaign Coordinator at ARC2020, says, "The Good Food March brought together people of all ages and backgrounds from all corners of Europe, together to redefine the boundaries and future of European agriculture. It showed the spirit of European cities, demonstrated the vitality of our countryside and unified for the same cause the diversity of our food and wine culture. At the same time, this diverse group of people sent a strong and clear message to the political class, at such a delicate time for the future of the Common Agricultural Policy. We absolutely must bring back democracy within the CAP."
