The EU Food Policy Coalition is calling on the next European Commission to make the transition to a sustainable food system a high political priority.
The coalition is made up of 22 organisations, including the organic food and farming movement, IFOAM Organics, Greenpeace, Compassion in World Farming and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
It has written an open letter to EU Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic and EU commissioners Stella Kyriakides, Janusz Wojciechowski and Virginijus Sinkevicius.
Food system
The coalition wrote: “In the next mandate, the commission must uphold a holistic food systems approach to policy-making, relying on a multi-DG [department for growth] governance structure, and bring forth the long-awaited proposal for a legislative framework for sustainable food systems.”
It said that the EU Commission had reacted to ongoing farmer protests in Europe by “opting to roll back sustainability policies instead of adopting necessary long-term measures”.
The coalition said that this approach “fails to respond to farmers’ demands for fair prices and a viable future”.
“This approach will only put at risk the sustainability of farming in Europe, and exacerbate global crises that jeopardise the well-being of citizens, including farmers, and future generations.
“It also undermines the credibility and ‘raison d’être’ of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture which you established to overcome polarisation and shape a shared vision for the future of the EU food and farming system,” it said.
The coalition said that the strategic dialogue can help to build a consensus on how to achieve the transition to a sustainable EU food system and inform comprehensive policy action of the next commission.
“The consequences of inaction in light of today’s unsustainable food systems, and climate, biodiversity, health and cost-of-living crises, are socially, environmentally and economically prohibitive.
“We therefore call on you to recommend making the necessary food system transformation a priority for the upcoming Commission,” it said.
In the letter the EU Food Policy Coalition requested an urgent meeting to discuss the current approach the EU Commission is taking to address farmers’ concerns.