Dear Candidates,
The upcoming European elections come at a crucial time in terms of planning for our future. The current crisis is not simply financial, but far more complex. It begs for a paradigm shift, one that must start with restoring the centrality and value of food.
In order to respond to this crisis, Slow Food wants to see a Common Sustainable Food Policy in Europe. This policy must:
• take a holistic approach to the food system
• strive for a transition towards a system of production, distribution and consumption of food that is good (reflecting health, culture and the tastes of local communities), clean (respectful of the environ- ment) and fair (mindful of the rights of those who cultivate, raise and produce food products, as well as of those who purchase and consume)
• be based on the preservation of biodiversity (plant varieties, native livestock breeds, artisan foods) and on the role of small-scale producers and consumers
• put in practice these same principles in all negotiations and relations with other countries (e.g. TTIP) Slow Food asks you to promote a Common Sustainable Food Policy by making a concrete commitment to
the following themes:
RIGHT TO FOOD
• Secure fair access to sustainably produced and healthy food for all, in particular vulnerable groups.
SUPPORT FOR SMALL-SCALE PRODUCERS
• Simplify EU hygiene rules and apply exemptions, in order to safeguard and promote small-scale tra- ditional products that are marketed locally or sold directly. These products risk extinction due to standardized bureaucratic and hygiene regulations that do not differentiate between agroindustry and small-scale artisanal production.
CONSUMER INFORMATION
• Promote mandatory origin labelling for all unprocessed meat and other products like milk, unprocessed foods and meat used as an ingredient
• Allow the addition of the following information to what is legally required on labels: varieties and animal breeds, cultivation and processing techniques, characteristics of the environment and local area, animal wel- fare.
FOOD WASTE
• Promote policies that tackle food waste, by raising awareness of the value of food in all phases of the food supply chain (production, distribution, and consumption)
SEEDS
- Guarantee the right (and the duty) of farmers to produce seeds, to certify the seeds themselves (guaran- teeing traceability and attesting to their health) and to sell them
- Encourage the registration of native varieties in public catalogues, as a means to culturally and commer- cially safeguard seeds, and thus biodiversity as a whole
- Guarantee the free exchange of seeds
GMOS
• Promote the ban on the cultivation of any GMO crops in Europe
• Encourage the use of GMO-free food and animal feed
• Reinforce the risk assessment of GMOs and ensure its transparencyPESTICIDES
• Limit pesticide use as much as possible
• Encourage agricultural management systems (e.g. organic agriculture and agroecology) based on crop rota-tion, crop diversification, and the protection of beneficial insects that protect biodiversity
ANIMAL WELFARE
• Introduce a maximum travel time from farm to abattoir
• Drastically reduce the use of antibiotics in breeding and rearing • Prohibit the sale of meat from cloned animals or their offspringIf you are willing to commit to a Common Sustainable Food Policy based on these measures, please contact us at [email protected]
For further information: www.slowfood.com/sloweurope/
Slow Food Executive Committee