Activities of Michela GIUFFRIDA related to 2016/2223(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Resource efficiency: reducing food waste, improving food safety (A8-0175/2017 - Biljana Borzan) IT
Amendments (18)
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Stresses that food waste must be analyzed in a cross-cutting manner, as it affects several policies at the same time, including agriculture, fisheries, food safety, environment, social affairs and tax policy; insists therefore on the need to better harmonize the different policies and establish the reduction of food waste as a clear objective of existing policies;
Amendment 21 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 b (new)
Paragraph 1 b (new)
1 b. Calls on the Commission to carry out an impact assessment of the different policies to tackle food waste such as agriculture, fisheries, food safety, environment or tax policy;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Stresses the importance of bringing together farmers in cooperatives or professional associations in order to reduce food losses by strengthening their knowledge of markets, allowing more efficient programming, economies of scale and improving their capacity to market their production;
Amendment 96 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Notes that food waste is a problem at every stage of the chain, whether it is production, processing, marketing, transport or consumption; insists therefore on the need to improve communication between all actors in the food supply chain, in particular between suppliers and distributors, in order to match supply and demand, the discrepancies of which are one of the main causes of food waste;
Amendment 108 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Believes that farmer-led initiatives can offer viable economic solutions and provide value for products which might otherwise go to waste, by developing markets for products that would normally be excluded from the food chain, and highlights the potential of farmer-led social innovation projects such as gleaning and donation of excess foodstuffs to food banks;
Amendment 115 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7 a. Notes that the food industry has already taken initiatives to reduce food waste by strengthening cooperation with food banks throughout Europe; notes, however, that there are still barriers to donations, mainly of legal nature; calls on the Commission to clarify the interpretation of the legal provisions discouraging donations;
Amendment 119 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 b (new)
Paragraph 7 b (new)
7 b. Stresses that, in the context of food aid, VAT on food donations is due, but Member States may consider that the value used for the calculation of VAT is low or close to zero if the donation is made close to the recommended date of consumption or if the foodstuffs are unsaleable; notes that in practice VAT on food aid is treated differently from one Member State to another; calls, therefore, on the Commission to clarify the rules on the application of the VAT Directive in the case of food aid;
Amendment 121 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 d (new)
Paragraph 7 d (new)
7 d. Calls for the restoration of an effective policy to regulate agricultural markets in order to better match supply to demand and thus reduce food waste;
Amendment 128 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes that some wastage at farm level is also due to the role played by retailers in relation to retailer standards regarding product specifications, cancelled orders owing to changes in consumer demand, and over-production as a result of requirements to meet seasonal demands.; stresses the need to revise marketing standards for quality and aesthetics for classifying agricultural products;
Amendment 142 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Points out that Regulation 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council includes among foods even water 'intentionally incorporated into the food during its manufacture, preparation or treatment' and that water is a key strategic resource for the entire agri-food industry;
Amendment 143 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Highlights the findings of the Special Report No 34 of the European Court of Auditors "Combating food waste: an opportunity for the EU to improve the use of resources in the food chain"', stressing that Commission's action regarding food waste has so far been sporadic and fragmented;
Amendment 154 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Regrets that the implementation of the Member States' obligation to report on their food waste has been delayed by the Commission, as well as the Commission's deadline to adopt an implementing act laying down a common methodology for the evaluation of the food quantities.
Amendment 155 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8b. Stresses that food wastage, depending on the quality, type and quantity of water used for food production, also involves a substantial waste of water;
Amendment 159 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8 c. Regrets the lack of a common definition of 'food waste' at the European level, despite repeated calls from the European Parliament, the Council, the Committee of the Regions and the G20; calls, therefore, on the Commission to reflect on the establishment of such a definition.
Amendment 160 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8c. Points to the importance of improving water management in agriculture, developing 'water-smart' food production systems and increasing water and food safety and security in areas that are most at risk because of climate change;
Amendment 164 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 d (new)
Paragraph 8 d (new)
8 d. Stresses that the agriculture sector has a key role to play in reducing food waste and notes with concern that the Commission has never conducted a study to determine the impact of the different reforms on the volume of agricultural production and its effect on food waste; calls, therefore, on the Commission to integrate the issue of food waste into the next review of the CAP;
Amendment 166 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 d (new)
Paragraph 8 d (new)
8d. Reiterates the importance of the 'water footprint' concept for food and feed;
Amendment 168 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 8 e (new)
Paragraph 8 e (new)
8 e. Stresses the importance of the new "school schemes programmes" and in particular the introduction of compulsory accompanying measures, such as the promotion of conscious food consumption in education; stresses the importance of using these accompanying measures to convey educational messages about food waste and its prevention;