CAP: Support small farms, not agribusiness!

Europe will vote on the Common Agricultural Policy on March 13, 2013. The proposal in question aims to place a limit of €300,000 on European aid contributions. In the 27 European countries, this would affect just 14,500 companies out of 13 million farmers that keep our countryside alive. This measure is just a cover-up that will not succeed in preventing hundreds of thousands of farmers from disappearing, nor will it stop 20% of agribusinesses receiving 80% of the subsidies.

We ask that the European Parliament exercises its power by limiting direct aid to €100,000 per farm. By doing so, a greater amount of money (almost €5 billion each year at the European level) will be available to support local, small scale agriculture, the only business that can be trusted by consumers. This money is essential for the survival of a network of small- and medium-scale farms and to support a short food chain that will let us know the nature of the food that ends up on our tables. We elected the representatives in the European Parliament, so they must listen to us.

If you agree, please sign the petition and pass it on.

http://www.avaaz.org/fr/petition/Limiter_les_aides_agricoles_a_100_000_euros_par_ferme

Slow Food along with more than 20 farmers’ and civil society networks from 10 countries have launched EU-wide action Go M.A.D. – Go Meet A Deputy, which calls on EU citizens to directly interact with their local Members of the European Parliament (MEP) and ask them how they will vote during the plenary decision on the CAP reform in March. We want to know which of the 754 MEPs will vote for a green, fair and local CAP!