On World Food Day, Copa and Cogeca underlined in Brussels the crucial role of EU farmers and cooperatives in producing sustainable food supplies to help fight hunger and malnutrition across the world.
Copa-Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen said “Eradicating global hunger by 2030 is a driver for European farmers and cooperatives. We export quality food supplies, respecting some of the highest environmental, animal welfare and social standards, which serves as an inspiration for other countries around the world. We also have good labelling and nutrition requirements in place to inform consumers of the quality produce they are eating. But communication and promotion measures need to be stepped up to make consumers more aware of the products on offer and of the good job farmers and cooperatives do”.
“We are also delivering in the fight against climate change. But this must be done in a balanced way as stipulated in the Paris agreement on climate change so that we ensure safe food supplies to a growing world population set to grow by 60% by 2050. We want a stronger, simple, stable and climate proof EU agricultural policy in the future which enables us to produce in an increasingly sustainable way so that we can contribute to one of the biggest challenges over the next decade: produce more with less to feed a growing world population. Sustainable production contributes also to manage waste at farm level but more efforts need to be done at consumer and retail level to enhance their contribution to the global reduction of food waste” he added.He continued: “The European farming community is part of the solution in tackling climate change. Innovative solutions that reduce the climate footprint whilst also increasing the output of food, feed and bio-based products can
serve as a model and inspiration for farmers and their cooperatives all over the world. We must therefore support efficient farmers and avoid squeezing them between the adverse effects of climate change and the potential negative impact of legislation. We also need to build in resilience and efficiency as stated in the Paris Agreeement as farmers are often affected by adverse climate conditions. Food security and climate change is a global challenge, and this is why there will be a global stock-take of the climate action at UN level. In Europe, we must contribute by promoting our high efficiency and by avoiding carbon leakage. This is valid for agriculture, forestry and the fish sectors in Europe. Global food security is inextricably linked to the rural economies and we must acknowledge that investments and the right tools for farmers are needed to improve that link”.
He continued: “The European farming community is part of the solution in tackling climate change. Innovative solutions that reduce the climate footprint whilst also increasing the output of food, feed and bio-based products can serve as a model and inspiration for farmers and their cooperatives all over the world. We must therefore support efficient farmers and avoid squeezing them between the adverse effects of climate change and the potential negative impact of legislation. We also need to build in resilience and efficiency as stated in the Paris Agreement as farmers are often affected by adverse climate conditions. Food security and climate change is a global challenge, and this is why there will be a global stocktake of the climate action at a UN level. We in Europe must contribute by promoting our high efficiency and by avoiding carbon leakage. Global food security is inextricably linked to the rural economies and we must acknowledge that investments and the right tools for farmers are needed to improve that link.
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