#LocalFood systems in Europe – Case studies from five countries and what they imply for policy and practice

This report summarises the main findings, which are based on qualitative empirical research of 10 case studies, two in each of the countries, and it includes recommendations about policy changes that would be necessary to strengthen Local Food Systems in future. These changes include: support for setting up cooperative networks and infrastructure; greater knowledge exchange; more local sourcing in public procurement; more appropriate funding; and the more flexible adaptation of over-burdensome legal regulations (e.g. distinguishing rules for products for different markets); and ensuring that the Leader programme maintains its bottom-up character, along with a territorial approach linking urban consumers with rural producers. By recognising and valuing LFS and for their societal opportunities and benefits, authorities could take responsibility for improving and linking relevant policies.

DOCUMENT

source : FAAN

#Periurban agriculture and rural development strategies: a comment

Urban sprawl and new residential preferences in rural areas are the main driving factor of the increase of periurban spatial assets at regional level. In this sense “periurbanity” tends to be increasingly a stable and permanent condition of a territory, and not only a phase of transition between a rural to an urban condition. At the same time the agricultural activities located in these areas are assuming a more distinctive aspect from the ones located in the rural areas. The European regulation on rural development (Reg. CE 1698/05) seems to take into account this “new” territorial perspective. It gives to rural periurban areas an autonomous condition and it indicates for them specific strategies of intervention. In this paper it is briefly analysed the main features of periurban agriculture and the role they can have to enforce the efficiency and effectiveness of the rural development interventions for the 2007-2013 programming period.

source : econpapers

Call for a European meeting on Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) and other distribution systems for #Food #Sovereignty

Do you know about Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)? Are you involved in a CSA project, a Food Cooperative, a GAS (Italian solidarity purchasing group), an AMAP (the French name for CSA projects), a GASAP (the Brussels’ equivalent of AMAP), a Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) or any other food distribution system working to achieve Food Sovereignty? Are you interested in networking and exchanging on this topic at the European level?

Throughout Europe people from different cultures and backgrounds are already working towards the shared goal of redefining the way our society organises the production, processing and distribution of food, and are getting together to achieve Food Sovereignty in their local communities.

Reclaim the fields is calling for a meeting to identify a shared vision for food distribution systems committed to Food Sovereignty in Europe, define future thematic focuses and develop an organizational structure for a new European platform. Our aim is to create a decentralized platform where experience-sharing between food distribution projects can be achieved, independent from any central body or institution.

This meeting is part of the follow-up process to the Nyeleni-Europe Forum that took place in Krems last August. It will focus on the Axis 2 of the Action Plan: “Changing how Food is distributed“.

Topics we would like to address :

• What is our common ground? Reclaim the fields wants to define a shared vision and set characteristics for CSAs and other distribution systems for food sovereignty.
• How to decentralise the experiences, initiatives and share solutions? How to pool our resources efficiently?
• How to build alliances to follow up on Axis 2 of the Nyeleni-Europe Action Plan?
• What organizational and operating means and methods will best enable us to work together?

Reclaim the fields is happy to invite anyone who is interested in promoting deeper relations between small-scale producers and consumers in local food webs, short supply chains, and diversified local farmers’ markets based on solidarity and fair prices aimed at rebuilding and redefining our food systems to this working session on October, 10th- 12th, in Milan. This is the way to stop the monopoly of agribusiness and their dictatorship to farmers and consumers alike, and change the homogenisation of the global food systems that are destroying local small-scale producers and distribution systems and consumers interests! It is the way to build a sustainable local food system and solidarity economy instead.

Reclaim the fields isaiming to have a balanced representation from the different European regions and include as many actors as possible to jointly build our common struggle for Food Sovereignty as a reflection of its true European diversity.

Due to limited funding Reclaim the fields cannot provide travel reimbursement for everybody but Reclaim the fields will try to cover accommodation and food during the meeting. At the meeting we will announce a suggested financial contribution per day to cover the expenses for food. Reclaim the fields will organize interpretation according to the needs of registered participants. Please register before the 30th of June if you require interpetation support.

Registration is open until September, 1st, 2012.

Source : Reclaim the Fields

La PAC, para el que la trabaja

                               source

Por : Carmen Morán

El reparto de las ayudas al campo que da Europa disgusta a los agricultores. Entre un 75% y un 80% de los 5.160 millones que recibe España se queda en manos del 20% de los beneficiarios. Así, miles de pequeños agricultores reciben entre 500 y 1.000 euros anuales mientras que grandes productores, terratenientes o ganaderos, se reparten ayudas cuantiosas; entre ellos, grandes empresas de la alimentación reciben millones de dinero público. El sistema es legal, pero el reparto cada vez está más cuestionado.

Europa está ahora redefiniendo la figura del agricultor, para frenar determinadas prácticas, pero no es fácil. El Tribunal de Cuentas Europeo alertó el año pasado de que el criterio de reparto permitía que se beneficiaran quienes “no desempeñan actividad agrícola o lo hacen de forma insignificante”.
El objetivo es vetar las subvenciones a los "agricultores de salón"

La UE también ha mostrado su preocupación por el reparto de los subsidios entre aquellos que el comisario de Agricultura, Dacian Ciolos, ha denominado “agricultores de salón”. La Política Agraria Común (PAC), ha dicho en alguna ocasión, "no tiene intención de pagar a agricultores de sofá". El objetivo ahora, según Ciolos, es evitar que sigan recibiendo ayudas, entre otros, aeropuertos y campos de golf e ir poniendo un tope al dinero que perciben los grandes productores agrícolas.

La propuesta europea que se discute estos días veta la concesión de los llamados pagos directos a aquellos perceptores que no alcancen a ingresar por esta vía ni un 5% de su renta total. Se entiende que así quedarán excluidos los que se dedican mayoritariamente a otras actividades que nada tienen que ver con la agricultura o la ganadería. Este límite no se aplicaría a aquellos que hayan percibido menos de 5.000 euros anuales porque pueden estar complementando su actividad habitual con alguna pequeña explotación agraria.

Pero la propuesta no convence a todos. El Tribunal de Cuentas Europeo considera que ese tope dirigido a excluir a “aeropuertos, compañías ferroviarias, inmobiliarias y empresas de gestión de instalaciones deportivas” de los que perciben estas ayudas, “no impedirá que aquellas personas que no ejercen, o solo marginalmente, una actividad agraria se beneficien de los pagos directos”.
El 75% del presupuesto se lo lleva un 20% de los beneficiarios

La Unión de Pequeños Agricultores y Ganaderos (UPA) también matizaría este nuevo criterio. Cree que el tope debería establecerse de otra manera, con la vista puesta en la producción: “No deberían recibir ayudas aquellos que ingresen con la venta de sus productos agrícolas menos del 25% de su renta total”. Considera que de esa manera los agricultores de verdad quedarían distinguidos del resto. La organización agroganadera Asaja tampoco está de acuerdo con ese límite del 5% de ingresos que propone Europa, pero por otros motivos. “Puede dejar fuera a algunos agricultores por el hecho de percibir rentas mayoritarias de otros sectores productivos”, dice Ignacio López, director Internacional de Asaja. 

                                               el país

López explica que “no debería importar la persona que lo percibe, sino quién genera empleo en este sector, produce y cuida el medio ambiente”. La UPA comparte solo una porción de este razonamiento y pide que en la reforma haya “un filtro para las ayudas a las hectáreas no productivas”.
No es poca cosa ese filtro, porque la reforma que ahora se plantea desvincula de nuevo las ayudas que se perciben de la producción agrícola que se desempeña para relacionarla, sin más, con las hectáreas que se poseen. El miedo de premiar con ayudas la producción agrícola parte de los años setenta y ochenta, cuando el campo y la ganadería fueron excedentarios. Producir más de la cuenta salió caro. Por eso, las reformas posteriores relacionaron los subsidios con las hectáreas declaradas en años precedentes, sin vigilar si después se abandonaban los cultivos (por resumir un sistema que es enormemente complejo). La filosofía era premiar también al agricultor como guardián de espacios verdes, no solo como productor. De ahí los campos de golf y otros pastos.

Con la reforma que ahora se propone no importará siquiera si se cultivó alguna vez. Se tomará un año de referencia, 2014, y las hectáreas de campo que se acrediten entonces. En España hay 38 millones de hectáreas que podrían, de esa forma, percibir fondos. En 2009, optaron a estas ayudas 21 millones de hectáreas y en 2011 casi 25 millones. Europa da fondos para 17 millones de hectáreas en la actualidad. “Con el nuevo sistema cualquiera que tenga una hectárea, haga lo que haga con ella, podrá beneficiarse y eso no puede ser, porque las ayudas se quedarán en manos de quien tenga capacidad de jugar en los mercados, de especular y no entre los agricultores”, dicen en la UPA. “Si el temor es que la producción se dispare, que lo regulen, que lo inspeccionen, pero no se pueden desligar las ayudas de los productores”, afirma el secretario general de la organización, Lorenzo Ramos. Además, dice, “si todo se deja a las hectáreas que se poseen, como el 66% de las tierras están en arrendamiento y no se necesitan referencias de usos históricos, las hectáreas las cobrarán los propietarios”.

Más información : El país Sociedad
Fuente :  El país

Food security must be on the table at Rio+20 - Joint opinion article: FAO, IFAD, WFP and Bioversity

by: José Graziano da Silva, Director General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO; Kanayo F. Nwanze, President, International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD; Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director, World Food Programme, WFP; Emile A. Frison, Bioversity International

They struggle to make crops grow in the parched earth. They watch in despair as their seedlings and livestock are washed away by flash floods. They stand quietly in the markets and watch others buy food that has become too expensive for them to afford.

Who are they?  They are the hundreds of millions of people who strive – and often fail – to get enough nutritious food each day to lead a healthy life. Hunger is the world’s greatest solvable problem. And solving it is the basis for sustainable development.

It’s a tragic irony that many of them could have better access to food, but don’t. They are smallholder farmers who barely manage to grow enough to feed their families, they are the landless and they are poor urban dwellers that live in communities where plenty of food is available. Their children are often malnourished, facing chronic illness, stunted physical and cognitive growth and reduced life expectancy.

Their experience proves a central truth that must be accepted by all participants in Rio+20, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development:  There can be no sustainable development if billions live in poverty and hunger.

The theme of Rio+20 is “The Future We Want.”  For many of the 1.3 billion people who live in extreme poverty, the future they want could be within their grasp. But this can only be achieved if governments and their citizens, civil society and the private sector, accept that it is the right of every person to be free from hunger, and are willing to act to make this happen. To do this we need to improve people’s access to food in their communities, increase production by 60 per cent by 2050, drastically reduce huge losses and waste of food and manage our natural resources sustainably, so that it flourishes for future generations.

The people who work on the world’s 500 million small farms are the drivers of rural economies and the custodians of a much of our natural resources and agricultural biodiversity. They have enormous potential as entrepreneurs, but lack the means needed to build their businesses, and their own food security and that of others.

When people have access to nutritious food and when they can support themselves and their families, the wider community feels the impact.  Productivity increases, incomes rise and access to healthcare and education improves.

Rio+20 is a chance to rise to the challenge. We need to work together to implement policy reforms, create the incentives, invest in research and innovation, build human capacity and expand market opportunities for farmers and their families and small agribusinesses. We need to reform our food production and consumption systems using scarce resources more responsibly. Unless we sustainably manage land, water, fisheries, forests and biodiversity, we cannot achieve long-term agricultural growth.

Sustainable solutions must also be equitable solutions.  A large number of smallholder farmers are women. For lasting development in agriculture and food security, women must have the same access as men to resources and the same participation in community decision-making.

Long-term improvement in the lives of millions of people depends on supporting their resilience through climate-smart agriculture and safety net programmes that strengthen their ability to withstand and recover from shocks like extreme weather, market downturns and food price spikes.  It also depends on agriculture that provides more diverse foods for healthy diets and on using what we have more wisely by reducing losses and waste in the food supply chain.

As world leaders meet in Rio, we are at a crossroads. In one direction is the path to further environmental degradation and human suffering; in the other direction lies the future we all want. The Rio summit offers a historic opportunity we cannot afford to miss. Achieving healthier food for all and healthier ecosystems can be done. We know how to end hunger and manage the earth’s resources in a more sustainable way.   But we need a stronger political will to do it. 

We should look to Rio+20 as the beginning of a new process and not the end. The target date for the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is within sight. And we must redouble our efforts to meet those goals.  Rio must be our stepping stone from the MDGs and their target date of 2015 to a new set of goals. This is our opportunity and we must seize it while we can.

From : Bioversity International

Rio+20 should prioritise sustainable agriculture, says Caroline Spelman

 

 Everywhere in the world, wherever farmers farm, should be put on a sustainable footing,' Spelman told a debate on Wednesday. Photograph: Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images

The UK secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs says the challenge for the UN Earth summit must be how to 'green' the world economy

Sustainable agriculture should be the UK's key objective for Rio+20, according to the UK secretary of state for the environment, food and rural affairs, Caroline Spelman, who will be attending next month's UN conference on sustainable development with the deputy prime minister Nick Clegg.

"Everywhere in the world, wherever farmers farm, should be put on a sustainable footing," she told a Faith in Rio debate in London on Wednesday, organised by the NGOs Cafod, Christian Aid, Tearfund and Progressio. "Just imagine if we could move farmers from subsistence to sustainability," she added, citing some farmers' inability to store produce and water as an example of where low-key technology could make a real difference in developing countries.

Spelman gave her support to the creation of a set of sustainable development goals, which have been suggested both as an aim for Rio+20 and to inform the debate on objectives for development post-2015, when the millennium development goals, which Spelman described as "a very good model of how to drive action forward", expire. She said the UK delegation "want to come away [from Rio] with a statement of intent and a plan of action".

Outlining the challenges facing policymakers in Rio, and perhaps the failures of the UN Earth summit 20 years ago, which, for the first time sought to address concerns about environmental protection and social and economic development, Spelman claimed that "the poorest 20 years ago are still the poorest today", and warned that "sustainability is not fully integrated into economic decision-making. The world's economy needs to be greened. A green economy can't be a subset."

Water, land and energy should form the nexus of the SDGs, Spelman said, echoing the sentiments of the European Development Report published last week. She called for a small number of goals focused on the most critical sustainability issues. She added: "SDGs have to be relevant to individuals and meaningful at a local level. It isn't all about carbon. The worthy and wordy zero document [the draft outcome document for Rio+20] is not going to save the planet; 400 paragraphs is not the answer."

But Peter Price, the bishop of Bath and Wells, warned the debate that the SDGs would be "voluntary" and "aspirational" with "not very much legal pressure" to bring them into force.

Despite concerns that the non-committal attitude of the US president Barack Obama to Rio+20 will prevent any meaningful outcomes for the summit, Spelman said there was "recognition by superpowers that power is on the move. The distinction between developed and developing has begun to slip away. The economic crash has not distracted from our will to make progress on sustainable development."

She said she was "encouraged" by the attitudes of China, Brazil, India and Russia to put growth on a sustainable footing, citing China and India's desire for a water sustainability goal to emerge from Rio to avoid conflict over water resources, particularly in the Himalayas.

Spelman encouraged the business community to put sustainability at the heart of their decision-making and drive a green economy, saying: "Companies are asking for governance. Companies have a very good reason to put sustainability at the heart of their operations – to show, above all, that business wants this … after the disastrous consequences of unsustainable growth. The exciting thing is that businesses want to do this."

Her view was echoed by UK insurer Aviva's chief responsible investment officer Steve Waygood, whose company is asking world leaders at Rio+20 to commit to a convention on sustainable reporting, claiming that the Brazil gathering will be the first time corporate social responsibility has been discussed at a global summit since the 1992 summit's declaration on CSR, which lasted only two years.

Waygood called on companies to "embed sustainability in their disclosures to the market". The Rio+20 zero draft document calls for greater corporate responsibility, and Aviva – in coalition with NGOs, the FTSE, investment management companies and others is calling for a "report or explain" standard for companies to declare their sustainable business practices to allow consumers and investors, whether large corporate investors or individuals with pension funds, to make informed decisions about how their money is used.

"If we want responsible capitalism … so that the right companies are getting the capital, there is a massive data gap," he said. He called on Rio+20 to deliver a mechanism to require large and listed companies to declare their thinking on sustainability, and, if they have done nothing, to explain why not. "We need a regulatory or policy vehicle to prevent us having the same conversation with different companies," he added.


From :   Penny Woods, guardian.co.uk, Thursday 24 May 2012 15.38 BST   

Local Food and Short Supply Chains

Food’s important role in EU rural development is highlighted by the European Commission in its policy emphasis on promotion of farm products. Proposals to update this policy were put forward in 2011, which draw attention to the fact that the, “EU has a culinary heritage of great diversity that should be exploited to the full.”

Partnership approaches for strengthening local food markets have been shown to be effective as rural development tools. Outcomes from such local food projects can help to underpin core elements of the rural economy in sustainable ways. For example, by working together, businesses participating in local food projects can find new ways of selling more of their products and attracting new types of customers. Stronger connections can be established between local agricultural, tourism and food supply sectors.

In addition, consumption of local food products in rural areas leads to reduced food transport. This can create economic, environmental and social benefits such as transport cost savings, fewer emissions, less wear and tear on rural roads, reduced traffic congestion and associated improved road safety.

A variety of development benefits can also be gained for rural businesses from ‘short-supply chains’. For instance, reducing the number of businesses involved in a supply chain between the producer of a raw material and the final customer can increase the share of the final price received by those involved. Fewer links can also provide cost savings for customers and makes it easier for everyone to know where the raw materials come from. Direct sales (from original producer to final customer) are the shortest supply chains.

Financial measures in the EAFRD’s support toolkit contain options for facilitating short-supply chains. These are relevant for the agri-food sector and can also apply to other rural businesses.

Further information sources: ENRD

"Local agriculture and short food supply chains"

(Brussels, 20/04/2012)

The CAP reform proposals for post 2013 adopted by the Commission on 12 October 2011 envisage a number of new possibilities for the economic development of small-scale farming with a local market orientation. In addition, other CAP policies and EU legislation on food hygiene are important for growth on such holdings. The focus of the conference was on the use of policy instruments, facilitating access to markets as well as reinforcing links between farmers and consumers, and improving the implementation of relevant hygiene legislation applying to short food supply chains.

In particular, the following issues have been addressed:

•the implementation of adequate CAP support;
•opportunities in local food systems, short marketing chains (including direct sales) by increasing consumer awareness of local farm products;
•the need to better use the existing provisions of  relevant EU  legislation adapted to small-scale food operators and direct sales; cooperation of farmers/small food business operators with competent authorities responsible for hygiene.

Some extraits of the speech of M. Dacian Ciolos, Member of the European Commission, Responsible for Agriculture and Rural Development: 

The fact is that the demand is there, but it is not structured well enough, it has not been sufficiently well identified, and it is not accessible enough. There is a lack of research, which is something that will probably come up repeatedly in the discussions. Nonetheless, all the available studies concur that there is high consumer demand for local products. This was highlighted once again by surveys conducted in the UK and Germany as recently as last year.

According to a Eurobarometer survey, one in two consumers regret that local products are hard to find and difficult to distinguish from other products. Yet, there is a structural failure to meet these concerns and certain political and business circles harbour deep-rooted prejudices against this type of marketing.

Short supply chains have too long been overlooked. Yet, available data show that already, despite the lack of recognition and support, 15% of EU farms sell more than half of their produce locally.

I have to say, since I took office as Commissioner, I have often been asked: ‘Why do you talk about short supply chains? You promote small and uncompetitive farms that cater to the richest consumers’. I am sure that this conference will enable us to demonstrate the opposite, to break down these prejudices, to create a new approach to short supply chains and to find effective solutions to end the contradictions that I have just highlighted.

At least, this is what I hope, because I am convinced that ‘local food supply services’ have tremendous potential.

They present a modern view of our relationship to food as well as a certain vision of the economic competitiveness of farming and its social and environmental efficiency.

Not only do they eliminate the need for long-haul transport, they also boost local economies and empower consumers to play an active part in the economic development of their local area.

More info: Europa website

Promoting the tastes of Europe

The European Commission has today adopted a Communication entitled 'Promotion measures and information provision for agricultural products: a reinforced value‑added strategy for promoting the tastes of Europe'. The Communication is the second stage of the promotion policy reform process launched in July 2011, which aims to make the agriculture and agri‑food sector more dynamic and more competitive and to promote sustainable, intelligent and inclusive growth.

On this occasion Dacian Cioloș, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, said: 'The European Union has a good hand to play to make its economy more dynamic and boost growth and jobs by further optimising the benefits of its agricultural and agri‑food products, both on the European market and world markets. Exports in this sector already represent more than €100 billion. In an increasingly open world, the success of European agriculture also depends on its capacity to strengthen and develop its position. This entails new ambition for our promotion policy and putting in place a real Community strategy for optimising the use of our products.'

This new ambition is expressed in the key objectives set for the future promotion policy, centred around four themes:

•     real European added value;
•     more attractive programmes with a bigger impact;
•     simpler and more effective management;
•     new synergies between the different promotion instruments.

This Communication reflects the in‑depth consideration launched in July 2011 by the adoption of a Green Paper about the policy of information and promotion for agricultural products which was a leading initiative to strengthen the competitiveness of EU agriculture and which generated a broad public debate, as well as the information in the report on the external evaluation carried out in 2011 on the present promotion policy.

This document opens the debate on the content of the future promotion policy at interinstitutional level. Once these discussions have been concluded, the Commission will present legislative proposals before the end of the year.

Source and more info: European Union

Feeding the world summit: Focus on 2050 again

The world’s population has now surpassed the seven billion mark and is predicted to reach nine billion by 2050. With a billion people already hungry, this raises the question– how can we feed them and the billions still to come?

This was the question being addressed last week at Economist Conferences ‘Feeding the World’ summit in Geneva, Switzerland on 8th February. The day saw some of the most respected names from agribusiness, Government, international agencies and the scientific community come together to generate fresh solutions to critical food security challenges.

Some of the key discussions at the summit centered around the role of public-private partnerships as a key mechanism for advancing agriculture to meet global challenges in food security. Developing new crops and increasing crop yields through innovative research and technology will also play a crucial role in increasing agricultural productivity.

More Info and Source: World Poultry

Framework programme: Short chain delivery of food for urban-peri-urban areas

The rapid urban growth no longer supports the traditional divide between "urban" and "rural". In Europe, a significant share of agricultural activities take place in highly urbanised settings, producing food and public goods (such as recreation, landscape management) and confronted with particular pressures on land resources as well as opportunities. There is a growing trend in the urban population to consume fresh and local products, demand short chain food delivery and to request more transparency on the origin of the products. Citizens are increasingly calling for the creation of a regional urban-focused food system and for support to small farmers in rural peri-urban areas, in order to increase availability and accessibility to food. Moreover, both technological and social innovation in urban peri-urban agriculture can play an important role in mitigating climate change, closing nutrient cycles and prepare effective tools for adaptation and building more resilient urban areas.

More info and Source: 2020-horizon

Saving farmers, saving food

Farmers’ incomes are falling while food prices are rising and more and more food is being bought and then thrown away. On 19 January, MEPs looked at food from two different angles: on one hand they propose helping farmers earn a decent income and preventing them from being squeezed between high raw material prices and low farm gate prices and on the other called for a stop to the enormous food wastage in the EU.

Raw material costs for EU farmers climbed an average of almost 40% between 2000 and 2010, while farm gate prices increased on average by less than 25%. Farmers are being "squeezed" between low farm gate prices due to the strong position of processors and retailers, and high raw material prices due to an increased concentration among producers of things like fertilizer, fuel and farm machinery.

Improving negotiating power

MEPs suggest that farmers should get together to improve their bargaining power and call on competition authorities to tackle abuses by dominant agribusiness traders, retailers and  raw material producers.

They also want the European Commission to evaluate what impact EU legislation on food safety and environmental protection, which can increase the cost of food production, is having on the sustainability and competitiveness of European agriculture. 

Learn More: European Parliament

Grundtvig Course: Maintaining our health through sustainable food systems

The workshop is addressed to people from Italy, Denmark, Switzerland and Germany, who are interested in reflecting their habits of eating. We will start an exchange about the theoretical background of food production as well as our own role in maintaining it and possible alternatives.

We would like to initiate intercultural and cross-generational learning and hope to invite a group that is as diverse as possible regarding their social and cultural backgrounds, their ages and their living and eating  habits.The foundation of the workshop is to learn about diet and nutrition and their effects on both the health of the consumers and producers. Theoretical and practical learning will come together throughout the course. To introduce one another the workshop will begin with a cooking activity. Everybody will create a specialty from their home country and share about their cultural cooking and eating habits. After this we will focus on a theoretical exploration of food related social topics (i.e. food scandals, additives, Genetic Engineering, factors of production within the EU, basic principles of organic farming). Equipped with this knowledge we will start an exchange with “experts“ from Berlin and the surrounding countryside. The program includes a visit to an organic farm and a Community Supported Agriculture project as well as a meeting with the NGO “foodwatch“ and a field trip with a medicinal herb specialist. You will also learn practical skills in the community garden that belongs to the KuBiZ-center and is used for organic cultivation of fruits, vegetables and herbs. The culinary recipes (like all other outcomes from the workshop) will be recorded on a CD and continue to inspire you back home. Additionally there will be sufficient space during the week for the exchange of individual experience and knowledge about food.

Date of the Workshop: 21/04/2012 - 29/04/2012
Workshop Organiser: solar e.V.
Contact details: Bernkasteler Str. 78 13088 Berlin DE-GERMANY
Tel.: 0049 (0) 30 96201345 // Fax: 0049 (0) 30 9251295
E-mail: solar@kubiz-wallenberg.de // www.kubiz-wallenberg.de

European Parliament: Avoiding food waste

Besides the election of a president and vice-presidents for the Parliament, one of the main subjects being debated during this session will be the food chain – imbalances in the food supply chain, the distribution chain for agricultural raw material and also food waste. Italian MEP, Salvatore Caronna (S&D) wrote a report on the latter which focused on how to avoid food waste.

According to a European Commission study, food waste in the 27 Member States of the EU has risen to 89 million tonnes (i.e. 179kg per person). By 2020, this figure is expected to have risen by a further 40% reaching 140 million tonnes. This waste includes an ever-increasing amount of foodstuffs that are still edible. However, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, by reducing post-harvest crop losses (about 14%) along with losses at distribution and consumption level, it would be possible to fulfil 3/5s of the requirements for increased cereal production needed globally by 2050.

In order to raise awareness among citizens and national governments, the Council and the European Commission have decided to act. This report recommends making the subject of food waste one of the priorities on the European policy agenda. It also suggests declaring 2013 “European Year against food waste”.

With the aim of halving food waste by 2025, this report highlights the steps to be taken to reduce it across all stages in the food chain, while keeping a close eye on the areas that will be affected – the climate and the economy to name but two.

Read More: The European Parliament  in Action

Data collection - processing - reporting for agri-environmental policies (EUROSTAT)

This document is the result of the DireDate project's task 6. DireDate stands for 'Direct and indirect data needs linked to the farms for agri-environmental indicators'. The DireDate project is a study financed by Eurostat, European Commission, and undertaken by a consortium led by ALTERRA (NL) (Service
Contract 40701.2009.001-2009.354).
The general objective of DireDate is “to create a framework for setting up a sustainable system for collecting a set of data from farmers and other sources that will serve primarily European and national statisticians for creating the agreed 28 agri-environmental indicators (AEIs) and thus serve policy makers, but as well agricultural and environmental researchers, observers of climate change and other environmental issues linked to agriculture”.

You can read the study for more information

Commission proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on public procurement

The Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth [COM(2010) 2020] is based on three interlocking and mutually reinforcing priorities: developing an economy based on knowledge and innovation; promoting a low-carbon, resource-efficient and competitive economy; and fostering a high-employment economy delivering social and territorial cohesion.
Public procurement plays a key role in the Europe 2020 strategy as one of the market-based instruments to be used to achieve these objectives by improving the business environment and conditions for business to innovate and by encouraging wider use of green procurement supporting the shift towards a resource efficient and low-carbon economy. At the same time, the Europe 2020 strategy stresses that public procurement policy must ensure the most efficient use of public funds and that procurement markets must be kept open Union-wide.
This proposal has two complementary objectives:
• Increase the efficiency of public spending to ensure the best possible procurement outcomes in terms of value for money. This implies in particular a simplification and flexibilisation of the existing public procurement rules. Streamlined, more efficient procedures will benefit all economic operators and facilitate the participation of SMEs and cross-border bidders.
• Allow procurers to make better use of public procurement in support of common societal goals such as protection of the environment, higher resource and energy efficiency, combating climate change, promoting innovation, employment and social inclusion and ensuring the best possible conditions for the provision of high quality social services.

For more information, please read the proposal.

Reform of the European Common Agricultural Policy

Proposals Lack Ambition to Mainstream Sustainainability Says IFOAM EU Group



      On October 12, 2011, the European Commission unveiled its proposals for the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2014–2020. The lacks ambition where substantial commitments are needed to shape future farming to ensure the delivery of tasty food and a clean environment says the European group of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM EU Group) in a recent press release.

      According to the group's president, Christopher Stopes, "this CAP reform comes at a time of scarce public funding and austerity discussions - which should be a reason to clearly re-focus funding towards measures that deliver to societal needs". Furthermore he adds "Society wants tasty and healthy food, clean water, diverse landscapes and vibrant rural economies.

      We also need to ensure biodiversity and food security for future generations, and food producers have to deal with climate change. All this cannot be obtained by continuing with business as usual – but although we can see some new greening attempts, the Commission proposals are much too close to that."

See more here.

EU scientists vet food marketing's health claims

      The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has published its scientific evaluations of 2,758 of health claims for the marketing of foods. Only one fifth of these claims were ultimately approved. The evaluations form part of the EU's strategy for encouraging consumers to make informed choices in their diet.
    
      Rejected claims include those where beneficial effects to humans lacked evidence, such as some foods claiming "antioxidant properties" or easing "renal water elimination". Similarly, vague claims such as assertions of added "energy" and "vitality" were rejected.

      But not all food products marketed as good for health fall in this category. Professor Albert Flynn, who chaired the panel in charge of reviewing the claims, said in a press release that EFSA's independent evaluation had concluded that a considerable number of claims made on foods "are backed by sound science, including claims related to a wide range of health benefits."

      Claimed that were approved by EFSA as scientifically-grounded included those on certain fibers and blood cholesterol, walnuts and improved functioning of blood vessels, and the enhanced sports performance through carbohydrate-electrolyte drinks.

More information here.

Climate Change and Sustainable Development: Ethical Perspectives on Land Use and Food Production

From 30th May to 2nd June 2012 the 10th Congress of the European Society for Agricultural and Food Ethics (EurSafe) which will be held in Tübingen (Germany). The conference theme is Climate Change and Sustainable Development: Ethical Perspectives on Land Use and Food Production.
Climate change is one of the major framing conditions for sustainable development of agriculture and food production. This is connected to ongoing changes in and of land-use practices which are related to local, regional and global scales, often dubbed as ‘glocal’ situations. That characterisation also applies to the closely related land and waters use domains of forestry and fisheries.
Agricultural and food ethics and its adjacent fields need to address well known, but aggravated ‘old’ problems. These are, among others, desertification due to temperature increase, changing precipitation regimes, unsustainable and/or unfair land-use and water regimes, pressure on arable land due to the loss of coastal areas, soil degradation and suburban sprawl, and the strain placed on both environment and animal welfare as a consequence of a growing worldwide demand for animal products. Also the manifold socio-economic implications on justice and fairness have to be investigated from different ethical perspectives.
At the same time, however, climate change creates specific effects: There are and will be new irreversible changes of natural and anthropogenic systems. Mitigation and adaptation measures to counter or slow down climate change have already resulted in considerable changes in agri- and silvicultural land-use. This is mainly but not only due to the significant increase in growing plants for energy supply (“biofuels”). Another perspective is the purchase or long-term tenancy of arable land or of water rights in the countries of the global south by wealthy nations and by transnational enterprises. In the case of animal production, specific dilemmas arise when a narrow focus on carbon efficiency favours intensive production systems which are decoupled from many traditional agricultural considerations.
These issues are only some of the many dimensions which demand reflection from an agricultural and food ethics perspective and thus examination by the community of scholars involved in EurSafe. The 10th EurSafe Congress will address the topic of climate change and sustainable development under four main perspectives: (1) food production, (2) preservation of natural resources, (3) lifestyles (4) general philosophical and historical issues of climate change, sustainable development and food ethics. There are overlaps, so sessions within the programme will examine different foci providing a stimulating and challenging array of contributions to the Congress.

More information about the 1oth EurSafe Congress can be found at the Congress website.

Source: Sustainable Food Blog

Ombudsman: Commission clarifies permitted food contamination levels after Fukushima nuclear accident

The European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, has welcomed the European Commission's clarifications concerning the maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination for foodstuffs in the EU, following the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan. The Ombudsman had asked the Commission for these clarifications after several citizens complained about a lack of information concerning changes made to the maximum levels. In its opinion, the Commission explained that, immediately after the Fukushima nuclear accident, the maximum radiation levels permitted in foodstuffs imported from Japan to the EU were higher than those permitted in Japan itself, but were lowered to the Japanese levels a few weeks later.

Complaints about lack of information concerning contamination levels

In March 2011, an earthquake and tsunami damaged the nuclear power plant in Fukushima, Japan, which led to increased radioactive contamination in the surrounding area. In the weeks following the accident, the Ombudsman received several complaints from citizens suggesting that there was a lack of information about changes made to the maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination for foodstuffs, imported from Japan to the EU.

The Ombudsman opened an inquiry to obtain precise information on the maximum permitted levels before and after the Fukushima accident. In its opinion, the Commission explained that immediately after the accident, the EU activated the emergency mechanisms it had adopted in the wake of the Chernobyl accident. These included maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination for foodstuffs, such as baby food or dairy products, as well as for feed. These levels were higher than the Japanese levels. In April 2011, therefore, the Commission decreased the maximum permitted levels to bring them into line with the Japanese levels.

The Ombudsman commended the Commission's detailed explanations which he considers useful for European citizens. In the interest of providing citizens with a maximum of information on the matter, he decided to publish the Commission's opinion together with his decision. Both documents are available at: http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu/en/cases/decision.faces/en/10827/html.bookmark

The European Ombudsman investigates complaints about maladministration in the EU institutions and bodies. Any EU citizen, resident, or an enterprise or association in a Member State, can lodge a complaint with the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman offers a fast, flexible, and free means of solving problems with the EU administration. For more information: http://www.ombudsman.europa.eu