The European Union
FOOD SOVEREIGNTY & THE EU
Let us apply to the European Union the principle of food sovereignty* to achieve a legitimate, sustainable, and supportive CAP.
The following must be done:
- To develop sustainable family farming in Europe, which gives priority to the supply of Europe’s internal market.
- To recognise the work of farmers through farm prices linked with production costs.
- To organise the supply management of agricultural production.
- To develop sustainable (socially and environmental) production methods.
- To recover a better European anatomy regarding animal feedstuffs, especially for vegetable proteins and oilseeds.
- To support and favour the regional markets and the local processing of products.
- To supply quality and safe agricultural products.
- To develop a lively countryside based mainly on small and medium-sized farms
- To give priority to the settlement of young farmers.
- To replace competition by solidarity as an economic and social principle of the EU.
- To negotiate new rules for dumping-free international agricultural trade.
We should campaign together to force our governments and our international authorities to change the EU agriculture policy and to enter into mutually supportive agriculture and trade policies.
MORE INFORMATION
In order to keep a policy for food security, we need to make producing food a paying enterprise. We would not then need to consider GM crops. Council owned farms should be transferred to a farming company to stop councils being able to sell them off. Some large farm holdings could also be transferred to the company as an alternative to inheritance tax. The company would create tenancies for new farm entrants.
We need to make policies of fair trade against free trade. A fair and sustainable food system is required.
In many places, masses of cheap European imports threaten to swamp African small holders out of their own markets. More than three quarters of the worlds hungry live in rural Africa. The rules of the Economic Partnership Agreements that the EU want to pursue will destroy African farmers.
EU payments should only be paid on land up to the first 300 acres.
The Planet and People Coalition
Registered Company Number 11199364.
Registered Office: Cortlandt, George Street, Hailsham, East Sussex BN27 1AE
Visit: www.landandleisurecoop.co.uk
