Every day, Slow Food Europe advocates for Good, Clean and Fair Food for All on the EU stage, and it pays off!

2021 was an eventful year for EU food policies! Two major battles were won in the EU institutional arena: the European Commission committed to take actions towards a ban of cages for farmed animals in the EU, and the European Parliament voted in favor of the EU Farm to Fork Strategy, which aims at accelerating the transition towards sustainable food systems in Europe.

Meanwhile, the ECI coalition to “Save Bees and Farmers, for which Slow Food campaigned until the end, gathered around 1.2 million signatures across Europe to support their call to achieve a complete phase-out of the use of synthetic pesticides by 2035.

Missed some of these great news? We have cooked up for you this recap of Slow Food Europe’s impact throughout the year.

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FEBRUARY

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Slow Food Launches the “No GMOs in our supermakets” Campaign

In January 2021, the UK government launched an open consultation, as a first step to deregulate the rules on GMOs in the country. Led by Slow Food in the UK and Beyond GM, and supported by Slow Food Europe and Slow Food international, a coalition of organizations ran the campaign “No GMOs in our supermarkets”, targeting large supermarkets, to get them to take a stand against GMOs.

As a result, the CO-OP supermarket chain released a statement, saying that it would not stock products made from untested and unregulated ‘gene-edited’ organisms.

• Read our press release
• Read our recap article on the campaign 

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APRIL

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Another Animal Farming in Europe is Possible (it already exists)

Last year, the EIP-AGRI Focus Group[1] on sustainable beef production, set up by the European Commission, called for applications from experts, researchers, farmers and NGOs, to get their input on how to help the grass-based[2] beef sector to address the current challenges and become more economically, environmentally and socially sustainable.

Slow Food farmer Jacopo Goracci was selected to be part of the focus group. When the final report got published, including some of Slow Food’s views on the matter, we seized that opportunity to ask some questions to this passionate farmer, actively engaged in the transition towards sustainable farming.

• Read our interview of Jacopo Goracci

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MAY

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End of the Cage Age Hearing: the EU Parliament Supports the End of Animal Caged Farming in Europe

With 1.4 million signatures from more than 18 member states, campaigners for the “End of cage age” met the requirements and are now waiting for the Commission’s response.

During the public hearing, agriculture commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski appeared to be the most enthusiastic, promising campaigners “to work intensively” to put the initiative into legislation.

• Read article
• Letter from civil society organizations to support the European Citizens Initiative “End the Cage Age”

EU Decision Makers Head Towards a Deal Against Exploitation in the Fields

The EU Parliament has put forward a new proposal designed to link Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments to farm workers working conditions. A decision most welcome by Slow Food, which co-signed an open letter addressed to the EU institutions last month, asking for farm workers’ human and social rights to be ensured. Every year, thousands of them still fall prey to outrageous exploitation…

• Read article

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JUNE

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Members of the EU Parliament Take a Stand for Biodiversity in Europe 

The EU Parliament’s environment committee voted in favor of binding policies to protect and restore wildlife in Europe. As a long-time advocate, Slow Food welcomes this resolution and invites everyone interested to read its new position paper on biodiversity.

• More information on the EU Parliament’ vote
• Keen to know more about Slow Food’s stand on biodiversity? Read our position paper !

The EU Parliament Sends a Strong Signal to End Caging of Farmed Animals

In 2019, Slow Food campaigned to help the ECI “End the Cage Age” reach 1 million EU citizens along with 170 other organizations. Thanks to this great citizens’ mobilization, the EU Parliament adopted a resolution to ban the caging of farmed animals.

• Learn more about the EU Parliament’s resolution.

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JULY

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EU Commission Announces Historic Commitment to Ban Cages for Farmed Animals

Last June, the EU Commission responded to the ECI End the Cage Age, for which Slow Food campaigned, committing to phase out cages in animal farming across the EU by 2027, making history for farm animals.

• Find out more about the EU Commission’s decision.

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SEPTEMBER

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The “Bees and Farmers” Tour Meets Pope Francis

On September 8, representatives of the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) “Save Bees and Farmers” met with Pope Francis in Rome, thus concluding their week-long “Bees and Farmers” tour in 8 different Italian cities, to promote the initiative to save pollinators, biodiversity and those who cultivate it.

• Read our article on this incredible tour!

The European Court of Auditors Denounces the CAP’s Unsustainability

For years, Slow Food along with other organizations have asked for a sustainable new EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), denouncing the EU’s lack of environmental ambition. This summer, the European Court of Auditors confirmed that CAP money has not made EU farming fit to help tackle the climate crisis.

• How come? Read the summary of the European Court’s conclusions to find out !

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OCTOBER

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1,2 million European Citizens Call for the End of the Pesticides Era

Over 1 million EU citizens signed the European Citizens Initiative “Save Bees and Farmers”, for a pesticide-free agriculture in the EU! The coalition of organizations is now officially handing over the signatures to the national authorities to be validated. Stay tune for further updates about our work on pesticides!

• Visit the ECI webpage for more information on what’s next!

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NOVEMBER

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Thousands of People Respond to the EU Public Consultation on New GMOs

Thank you! We are more than 69,000 asking the EU Commission to apply the EU’s GMO regulations to all GMOs, because we want food producers and consumers to keep their right to choose GM-free food. We say YES to Freedom of Choice!

• Check out our page dedicated to our campaign against the deregulation of new GMOs.
• Want to dig into this issue further? Have a read at our policy brief on new GMOs.

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DECEMBER

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Members of the EU Parliament Stand up Against the Export of Banned Pesticides

Last year, 60 organizations including Slow Food sent a letter to the EU Commission, asking for the end to the export of pesticides that are banned in the EU, due to health and environmental reasons. Last week, Members of the EU Parliament sent their own letter to that same Commission, demanding them to speed up the process to end this shameful practice.

• Read their Letter

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[1] EIP-AGRI Focus Groups are temporary groups of selected experts focusing on a specific subject, sharing knowledge and experience. Each group explores practical innovative solutions to problems or opportunities in the field and draws on experience derived from related useful projects.

[2] “beef produced based on the agroecological principles of environmental, economic and social sustainability; and for cattle which is predominantly grass-fed and grazed on pastures where possible given the soil and climate conditions.” https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/sites/default/files/eip-agri_fg_sustainable_beef_final_report_2021_en.pdf