Ursula Hudson in Brussels at the Ninth Forum for the Future of Agriculture: “We Need an EU Common Food Policy”

The ninth Forum for the Future of Agriculture (FFA) is being held today in Brussels. In a letter to the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, Slow Food and more than 99 other organizations have called on the European Commission to conduct an assessment of the effectiveness of EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The introduction of sustainable agricultural practices are being discussed today at the FFA focus—solutions that can help tackle a host of worrying environmental challenges. Ursula Hudson, chair of Slow Food Germany and member of Slow Food’s Executive Committee, spoke on the topic of changing societal behavior in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Hudson called for an urgent evaluation of the current CAP. “Slow Food and many other organizations working in the areas of farming, environment, development, climate, animal welfare and food systems believe that the efficiency and effectiveness of the CAP must be urgently examined. It does not seem to overcome the challenges that Europe faces in the areas of farming, economics and the environment, and does not seem to be able to solve systemic problems. The loss of livelihood of many European farmers along with instability and crisis in the European market are causing further decline in biodiversity and limited natural resources, and are creating incentives for overproduction and food waste. These are just some examples of the negative consequences of the current food system, not to mention the impact on foreign markets.”

Slow Food has long believed that consumer awareness is fundamental to achieving a turnaround in agriculture and a sustainable food system. However, the political foundations must be present: “If we really want to work toward an ecologically sustainable food system in Europe, we must tackle the problem at the source and along the entire food chain. The fitness check of the CAP should get to the bottom of what kind of production the EU is financially supporting. One thing is certain: We need a food system that values the cultural, social and environmental aspects of food as well as the economic, and we need political will to support this. We need an EU common sustainable food policy,” Hudson concluded.

The letter to Jean-Claude Juncker can be viewed here in English.

For further information contact the Press Office of Slow Food International:

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Paola Nano, +39 329 8321285 [email protected]

Slow Food involves over a million of people dedicated to and passionate about good, clean and fair food. This includes chefs, youth, activists, farmers, fishers, experts and academics in over 160 countries; a network of around 100,000 Slow Food members linked to 1,500 local chapters worldwide (known as convivia), contributing through their membership fee, as well as the events and campaigns they organize; and over 2,500 Terra Madre food communities who practice small-scale and sustainable production of quality food around the world.