Strategic Dialogue: Farmers and NGOs reach historic consensus on sustainable transition for EU food and farming
The new report of the Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture published today [1] marks the end of seven months of debate between stakeholders (including green NGOs, consumer groups, farmers’ unions and industry actors [2]) to reach a consensus on the future of EU agriculture [3]. TAPP Coalition contributed to this process, and we are encouraged to see our request to the Chair and the stakeholders to place an Agri-Food Emission Trading Scheme (Ag-ETS) in the centre of climate policy for the sector, was discussed, with recommendations for further assessment. Many other recommendations also reflect TAPP Coalition Positions from the past.
The outcome is a collective call for change, stating clearly that “business-as-usual is not an option”. It also sets out concrete recommendations including “substantially increasing funding” for nature and climate-friendly farming, and “supporting trends towards rebalancing diets towards more plant based proteins”. The report recommends: 'The European Commission and Member States should provide fiscal tools that seek to foster coherent price signals, in form of tax reduction, for consumers, such as VAT reductions on more sustainable products'. It recommends to upgrade the EU school schemes for free milk anf fruit towards more healthy and sustainable food and "the launch of a European wide campaign to raise awareness about the importance of healthier and sustainable choices".
"The EU and Member States should ensure coherence between its agri-food promotion policy and other policy objectives such as healthy eating guidelines and sustainability objectives'. This means: not promoting red and processed meat anymore.
Also recommended: 'The European Commission should develop, by2026, an EU Action Plan for Plant-based Foods to strengthen the plant-based agri-food chains from farmers all the way to consumers'. In EU Public Procurement laws, a 'removal is needed for Member States to use the lowest price criterion alone as the determining criterion for the award of tenders'. There are also some good recommendations for animal welfare while 'true pricing' is also mentioned in chapter 7.2: "The true costs of food and feed production
are hidden but should be better reflected in market prices. While price remains a key factor in consumer decisions, promoting quality and sustainability is equally important. Consumers should be in a position to easily access and choose sustainable food. For this, they need to be able to recognise the true value of food, including its positive and negative externalities. Improving food environments and enhancing consumer awareness and access to information can help stimulate demand for more sustainable options, thereby incentivising farming models with low negative and high positive externalities'. Chapter 7.4 mentions: "(New) Markets alone will not be able to internalize negative externalities without affecting consumer prices and food affordability. Therefore, society must be prepared to mutualise the cost of the transition through the mobilisation of public resources to pay for the provision of public goods, such as positive environmental, health, and animal welfare externalities. It should, however, be guaranteed that European citizens are not paying twice for the transition, a first time as taxpayers and then again as consumers. It should also be borne in mind that the transition will help alleviate public costs through the reduction of environmental and health-related expenditure on negative externalities". The report stresses 'to reward farmers for additional sustainability investments' and does several proposals how.
Climate policies and Agri-Food Emission Trading Scheme ETS?
On climate change the group agreed to "a coherent mix of policies, combining incentives and regulatory measures". On an Agri-Food Emission trading system (AgETS) the stakeholders agreed "there is a clear need to reduce GHG emissions in the sector and that a strong policy in place is needed. But it is premature for definitive conclusions on AgETS. It calls on the European Commission to further work with stakeholders and experts to assess the feasibility and relevance of such a system, mentioning specific fundamental concerns and aspects" to be taken in account. The stakeholders agreed that 'the revenues generated by a potential AgETS should solely be earmarked to support less affluent households, investments in the
transition of agri-food sector actors, and the nature-based restoration of carbon sinks'.
The stakeholders agreed on guiding principles in part B of the document. Principle 7 says: "Markets should drive sustainability and value creation across the chain and better internalize externalities". Principle 9 says: "The shift towards balanced diets that are
healthier and more sustainable is essential for a successful transition". On diets/consumption the report explicitly mentions that current animal proteins consumption exceeds dietary guidelines and calls for supporting trend towards rebalancing diets towards more plant based proteins. it also refers to food environment and make the sustainable food choice the choice by
default. Another recommendation is a new Agri-food Just Transition Fund next to the CAP agriculture subsidies. It address the problems caused by animal farming including by reducing livestock impacts in the regions with high livestock concentration via different tools including voluntary buy out schemes.
The Strategic Dialogue was announced by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in September 2023 and started just as farmer protests were spreading across Europe [4] and scientists issued yet another warning of the need for urgent action to address the rapidly growing climate risks facing EU food and farming [5]. The EU’s agri-food system is the single largest cause of nature loss in the EU [6], as well as being associated with human rights abuses and driving an epidemy of diet-related diseases.
Jeroom Remmers, Director of TAPP Coalition, focusing on fair food prices, said: "We are glad with the report and we are willing to contribute to the next phase of policy design, including assessments and developing an AgETS model that takes all concerns into account. We believe an AgETS for retail companies (or slaughterhouses and dairy factories) can do so [7]. This option is supported by most EU stakeholders in a survey and is recommended by many food companies and NGO's represented by signatories of a letter to Ursula von der Leyen about such an AgETS [8}.
We agree about recommendations of how to use revenues from a potential AgETS, but we also mention international climate finance commitments made by the EU Commission, for the Loss and Damage Fund as one of the options for using AgETS revenues". He also said: “Today marks a pivotal moment for the future of EU food and farming. This report shows that there is broad consensus on the urgent need to transform how we produce and consume food to respect planetary boundaries. Now we call on the President of the European Commission to uphold her promises and incorporate the collective recommendations into her Vision for Agriculture and Food within the first 100 days ensuring urgent action that is truly fit for purpose.”
Faustine Bas-Defossez, Director of EEB where TAPP Coalition is a member, said: "While the compromise falls short on some aspects – for example containing only timid language when addressing the need to move away from industrial animal farming and reducing overall animal numbers in the EU – it is a leap in the right direction and consistent with the direction of travel set out in the Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy" [9]. Marco Contiero from Greenpeace Europe, who was one of the negotiators said today to Jeroom Remmers: "The dialogue ended the polarisation. We can find solutions together if we keep talking to each other. On AgETS we still need to understand the implications better and avoid problems we had with ETS1. We need to also avoid that actors in the food chain can continue to pollute by buying carbon credits elsewhere but giving a price to carbon in the agri-food sector will happen'.
[ENDS]
Contacts
Jeroom Remmers
Director TAPP Coalition
https://tappcoalition.eu
info@tappcoalitie.nl
Notes for editors
[1] Report
[2] List of Strategic Dialogue members and their organisations: Leo Alders (Fertilisers Europe), Lili Balogh (AgroecologyEurope), Faustine Bas-Defossez (European Environmental Bureau), Kristjan Bragason (EFFAT), Ariel Brunner (BirdLife Europe & Central Asia), Marco Contiero (Greenpeace European Unit), Christel Delberghe (EuroCommerce), Thierry de L’Escaille (European Landowners Organisation), Michael Gohn (Euroseeds), Monique Goyens (BEUC), Thibaut Guignard (LEADER), Nelli Hajdu (CELCAA), Sjoukje Heimovaara (Wageningen University & Research), Dirk Jacobs (Food Drink Europe), Christiane Lambert (Copa), Joseph Lechner (GEOPA), Philip Lymbery (Compassion in World Farming), Peter Meedendorp (CEJA), Marta Messa (Slow Food), Lennart Nilsson (Cogeca), Spyros Papadatos (Rural Youth Europe), Jan Plagge (IFOAM Organics Europe), Rocco Renaldi (Food Service Europe), Claire Skentelbery (EuropaBio), Geneviève Savigny (European Coordination Via Campesina), Nina Schindler (European Association of Co-operative Banks), Uno Svedin (Stockholm Resilience Centre), Jacques Vandenschrik (European Food Banks Federation), Gelsomina Vigliotti (European Investment Bank).
[3] European Commission website on the Strategic Dialogue
[4] META: “Greenlash”: The truth behind the farmer protests
[5] EEA EU Climate Risk Assessment
[6] IUCN
[7} 7 Advantages of an AgETS for retail companies
[8] Letter on AgETS for slaughterhouses and dairy factories
[9] BirdLife Europe & Central Asia press release on the Strategic Dialogue Report
Press releases from other stakeholders on the report:
strategic dialogue on the future of agriculture – Euractiv
Dutch newsarticle Foodlog with attachment: list of English publications about the deal