Common Agricultural Policy 2013
We think that Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform is important because agriculture accounts for about half of the European land area and farming is a key activity for addressing some of this century’s greatest challenges. Stemming the collapse of biodiversity, mitigating and adapting to climate change, providing an affordable healthy diet and maintaining plentiful, clean water resources require profound changes to the ways in which land is managed. We believe that organic farming can play a key role in addressing these challenges.
The EU are looking to make CAP as climate friendly as possible, and officials in Brussels are interested in making CAP work from a climate change perspective to reduce Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) from agriculture. At the same time Brussels will have to cope with a whole range of national political agendas for agriculture. For example Defra have told us that they are committed to agriculture having multi-functional objectives which include biodiversity and water. So an effective policy for CAP reform will be one which stresses the effectiveness of support for farming which delivers a range of outcomes.
We are campaigning for Defra and Brussels to recognise the huge advantages in terms of cost effectiveness and reliably delivered, multiple outcomes, of supporting the system of organic farming.
What you can do
Good Food March 2012 – we’ll take your message to Brussels!
Join people from across Europe to ask the EU parliament for better food and farming.
High levels of public money are spent each year on the Common Agricultural Policy, and a big reform of the policy is currently taking place. The way this money is spent makes a huge impact on the type of farming we see in Europe. Over the past 60 years we have seen a move to a greater intensification of agriculture, with a detrimental impact on the environment and animal welfare. We want to see a move to support for a better farming system.
We are campaigning for Defra and Brussels to recognise the huge advantages in terms of cost effectiveness and reliably delivered, multiple outcomes, of supporting the system of organic farming. See here for more details on the Soil Association’s position.
There is an opportunity to have your voice heard and change the CAP for the better.
Help us ask for a better farming system
We want you to tell us what you want to see from the reformed Common Agricultural policy. One simple action you can take is to send in a photograph of yourself with your ask (like Emma from the Soil Association policy team, pictured) and email it to us at responses@soilassociation.org. Your ask will then form part of a giant photo album to be given to members of the EU parliament on the 19th September. For some suggestions of the types of asks, see these inspiring examples from across Europe.
You can also take part in the march from various points across Europe, and attend a rally in Brussels on the 19th September, followed by a conference in the European parliament. For full details of the march click here.
Write to your MEP
You might also like to consider writing to your MEP on CAP issues. For advice on this approach, click here.