Activities of Roberta METSOLA related to 2020/2260(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Farm to Fork Strategy (debate)
Amendments (25)
Amendment 553 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 f (new)
Paragraph 1 f (new)
1f. Urges the Commission to also focus on the importance of place when formulating the measures that will bring this strategy to life; whilst, it is essential that we reform our food system to bring it in line with our climate goals, we must remember that our food is our culture and heritage and that those who produce it must be supported through these reforms; urges the Commission to implement the reforms in a manner sensitive to our shared and diverse history and that respects the different geographic realities within the Union;
Amendment 777 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses that the reduction targets of the use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers need to be accompanied by an increase in research and development of alternative plant protection products and fertilisers, as well as application methods and technologies, if the EU truly wants to become the front runner in terms of sustainable and environmentally friendly agriculture; calls on the Commission to carry out an impact assessment and the Member states to offer farmers a tool box of alternatives for plant protection and fertilization in order to ensure the security of supply with high-quality and biodiversity-friendly produced food; calls on the co-legislators to take these targets duly into consideration in the upcoming legislative initiatives;
Amendment 779 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on the Commission to facilitate agricultural innovation and the access to these technologies for European farmers in the pursuit of further protecting biodiversity by incentivising technologies, including biopesticides and digital tools with a proportionate and evidence-based regulatory framework which can support the need for monitoring and decision-making;
Amendment 808 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Welcomes measures to reduce the use of pesticides, artificial fertilisers and antibiotics; however, emphasises that any innovative and less harmful products used in their place must be accessible for farmers in all Member States, in order to have the same toolkit across the Union;
Amendment 969 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the Commission to establish a plan for the compensation of the loss of income of farmers, which may result due to the set farm to fork targets and the interlinked decline in production;
Amendment 1192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Stresses that the farm to fork strategy should fully take into account the upcoming agreement on the CAP Strategic Plans and avoid additional legal burdens and uncertainty for farmers after the agreement of the new CAP;
Amendment 1195 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on the Commission to encourage Member State governments to expand or create systems which allow members of the public to rent and utilise derelict and unused government-owned land for food production;
Amendment 1196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7b. Highlights the importance of family-run, small to medium sized businesses and producers’ organisations in shortening supply chains; therefore, calls for specific support measures to have the capacity to sell directly to consumers, whether through assistance in setting up digital platforms, or increasing their physical premises; stresses that support for the survival and growth of these enterprises will not only mean support for local businesses but also for the local produce they grow and sell as well as other benefits such as less packaging waste and an increased understanding of the local food system; highlights that in supporting these enterprises the need for multiple links in the supply chain will be reduced;
Amendment 1202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 c (new)
Paragraph 7 c (new)
7c. Welcomes the goal of shortening supply chains; highlights however, the reality of island Member States and island territories, disconnected from mainland Europe, faced with issues of isolation and dependence on imports for necessary products, such as grains for animal feeds, which needs to be respected when implementing measures to reduce the dependence on long-haul transport and other measures which will shorten supply chains; highlights that without long-haul transport of certain foodstuffs the food security of these disconnected areas would be jeopardised;
Amendment 1233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls for CAP National Strategic Plans to ensure adequate financial support and incentives to promote new ecological ‘green’ business models for agriculture and artisanal food production, notably through fostering short supply chains and quality food production; as well as ensuring rights to food security in a manner best suited for the specificities of each Member State as well as adequate space and land for agricultural production;
Amendment 1329 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Calls on the Commission for a strategy on supporting local value chains as a key element for reaching the proposed targets; stresses that small- scaled agriculture and SMEs require additional support for realising the proposed targets;
Amendment 1438 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for primary producers, especially family-run and small businesses across the food system, to be supported in making the transition to greater sustainability through the encouragement of cooperation and collective actions as well as through competition rules and the enhancement of possibilities for cooperation within the common market organisations for agricultural, fishery and aquaculture products, and thus for farmers’ and fishers’ position in the supply chain to be strengthened in order to enable them to capture a fair share of the added value of sustainable production;
Amendment 1452 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Urges the Commission and Member States to reduce the administrative burden on small and medium sized participants in the food chain, through measures such as streamlining registration processes and making permit and licence and approvals more efficient and also by ensuring that relevant regulatory bodies are appropriately staffed, in order for small food producers to get their products to market as quickly and easily as possible;
Amendment 1475 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Urges the Commission to follow up on Directive (EU) 2019/633 on unfair trading practices22 and the EU code of conduct on responsible business and marketing practices by producing a monitoring framework for the food and retail sectors and providing for legal action if progress in integrating economic, environmental and social sustainability into corporate strategies is insufficient, and in so doing promoting and rewarding the efforts of sustainable agricultural producers while increasing the availability and affordability of healthy, sustainable food options and reducing the overall environmental footprint of the food system; stresses the importance of halting and addressing consolidation and concentration in the grocery retail sector in order to ensure fair prices for farmers; calls for safeguards for local food producers and their products should also be encouraged as support for local producers will reduce links in the supply chain and prevent further consolidation and concentration in the grocery retail sector which lacks obligations on country of origin labelling and supplying local produce when available; _________________ 22 OJ L 111, 25.4.2019, p. 59.
Amendment 1514 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Urges the Commission to examine the ways in which mandatory country-of- origin labelling could be implemented and enforced to combat food fraud, support local food producers that are best placed to meet the targets set in the Biodiversity Strategy 2030 and protect cultural heritage whilst not distorting the internal market;
Amendment 1667 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls for measures to reduce the burden that highly processed foods with high salt, sugar and fat content place on public health; regrets that the introduction of nutrient profiles is greatly delayed and stresses that a robust set of nutrient profiles must be developed to restrict or prohibit the use of false nutritional claims on foods high in fats, sugars and/or salt; calls for a mandatory EU-wide front-of-pack nutrition labelling system based on independent science which is easy for consumers to understand, easily legible and does not over-burden food packaging businesses and unions;
Amendment 1772 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the fact that the strategy rightly recognises the role and influence of the food environment in shaping consumption patterns and the need to make it easier for consumers to choose healthy and sustainable diets; reiterates the importance of promoting sustainable diets by raising consumer awareness of the impacts of consumption patterns and providing information on diets that are better for human health and have a lower environmental footprint as well as a clear label of origin; underlines that food prices must send the right signal to consumers; welcomes, therefore, the strategy’s objective that the healthy and sustainable choice should become the most affordable one; stresses the importance that is necessary to ensure a fair income for farmers;
Amendment 1776 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Welcomes the fact that the strategy rightly recognises the role and influence of the food environment in shaping consumption patterns and the need to make it easier for consumers to choose healthy and sustainable diets; reiterates the importance of promoting sustainable dietsand safeguarding sustainable diets which are sensitive to the diverse cultures and heritage within the EU, by raising consumer awareness of the impacts of consumption patterns and providing information on diets that are better for human health and have a lower environmental footprint; underlines that food prices must send the right signal to consumers; welcomes, therefore, the strategy’s objective that the healthy and sustainable choice should become the most affordable one;
Amendment 1876 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Highlights the recognition in the strategy that Europeans’ diets are not in line with recommendations for healthy eating, and that a population-wide shift in consumption patterns is needed towards more healthy and plant-based foods and less red and processed meat, sugars, salt, and fats, which will also benefit the environment; emphasises that EU-wide guidelines for sustainable and healthy diets would bring clarity to consumers on what constitutes a healthy and sustainable diet and inform Member States’ own efforts to integrate sustainability elements in national dietary advice; calls on the Commission to develop such guidelines and specific actions to effectively promote healthy plant-based dietsguidelines which are targeted at segments of the population with the unhealthiest eating practices and suggest specific actions to promote diets and practices which are healthy, sustainable and sensitive to the diverse cultures within the EU;
Amendment 1898 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Highlights the recognition in the strategy that Europeans’ diets are not in line with recommendations for healthy eating, and that a population-wide shift in consumption patterns is needed towards more healthy and plant-based foods and less red and processed meat, sugars, salt, and fats, which will also benefit the environmentfood, towards more sustainable and regional products; emphasises that EU-wide guidelines for sustainable and healthy diets would bring clarity to consumers on what constitutes a healthy and sustainable diet and inform Member States’ own efforts to integrate sustainability elements in national dietary advice; calls on the Commission to develop such guidelines and specific actions to effectively promote healthy plant-based diets;
Amendment 2020 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Reiterates its call to take the measures required to achieve a Union food waste reduction target of 30 % by 2025 and 50 % by 2030 compared to the 2014 baseline; underlines that binding targets are needed to achieve this and that it should also be tied to the Unions circular economy objectives with food waste acting as a source of material for energy production as well as for use in the large scale production of compost;
Amendment 2058 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Welcomes the proposed revision of EU rules on date marking; stresses that any change to date marking rules should be science based and should improve the use of date marking by actors in the food chain and its understanding by consumers, in particular ‘best before’ labelling, while at the same time not undermining food safety or quality; calls on the Commission to consider animal protein that is treated appropriately and that would otherwise be discarded, as an alternative feed for omnivorous animals; this would reduce waste as well as reduce the reliance on an external supply of grain for feed;
Amendment 2075 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24 a (new)
Paragraph 24 a (new)
24a. Calls for aquaponic, hydroponic and aeroponic agriculture methods to be included in the strategy due to their potential to contribute to the shortening of supply chains as well as their role in expanding agricultural output in urban areas; calls for a revision of the Commission’s requirements for plant growth in the soil ecosystem to be classed as organic as this disincentivises investment in these innovative methods;
Amendment 2138 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Highlights in this regard the importance of agricultural internships supported by Erasmus+;
Amendment 2200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Recalls the global responsibility of European food systems and their key role in setting global standards for food safety, environmental protection and animal welfare; calls on the Commission and the Member States to ensure that all food and feed products imported to the EU fully meet relevant EU regulations and standards and to provide development assistance to support primary producers from developing countries in meeting those standards; welcomes the Commission’s intention to take the environmental impacts of requested import tolerances into account; highlights that viable EU- produced alternatives to imports from third countries must be available and accessible to all the Union’s food producers to avoid increased costs if tariffs are imposed or if the food and feed products are no longer available;