Activities of Benoît BITEAU related to 2020/2260(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Farm to Fork Strategy (debate)
Opinions (1)
OPINION on a Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system
Amendments (34)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 (new)
Paragraph -1 (new)
-1. Whereas FAO estimates that about 75 % of plant genetic diversity has been lost worldwide; whereas wide-scale genetic erosion increases our vulnerability to climate change and to the appearance of new pests and diseases;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1 a. Whereas industrial agriculture and breeding are driving habitat loss and creating conditions for viruses, such as Covid-19, to emerge and spread;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 b (new)
Paragraph -1 b (new)
-1 b. Whereas consolidation of the food sector, including through patenting, is driving a reduction in seed and livestock genetic diversity;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 c (new)
Paragraph -1 c (new)
-1 c. Whereas farmers’ rights were established under the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture in 2004, but whereas Intellectual Property rules have often worked in contradiction to them, putting local, traditional and indigenous seed systems at risk;
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines that the disruptions triggered by COVID-19 have shone a spotlight on the vulnerabilities of the global food system; but recalls that family farmers and smallholders have demonstrated their ability to provide diversified products and to increase food production sustainably; accordingly, urges a shift away from trade- oriented agricultural policies and towards support for food sovereignty and local and regional markets; recalls that agroecology’s capacity to reconcile the economic, environmental and social dimensions of sustainability has been widely recognised in landmark reports, notably from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) and the World Bank and FAO-led global International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD);
Amendment 25 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Insists that EU funding for agriculture must be in line with Agenda 2030Stresses that short supply chains hold major potential to address current food system failures; and recalls that climate-friendly agriculture entails i.e. to reducing dependence on fossil fuel energy, including the use of chemical pesticides and fertilisers; but notes with concern that most agricultural development funding in Sub-Sahara Africa still supports Green Revolution approaches, where the use of public finances to unlock private investment opportunities (e.g. PPPs, blended finance models) mostly target export commodity production and agropoles, and is increasingly conductive to food system industrialisation, while smallholders, and particularly women, struggle in the meantime to access the credit and financial support[1]; insists that EU funding for agriculture must be in line with Agenda 2030, the Paris Climate Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity and prioritise investments in agroecology, agroforestry and crop diversification; stresses the importance of preserving agricultural biodiversity, local animal and plant breeds and local varieties;recalls that agricultural expansion and unsustainable agricultural intensification practises are major causes of biodiversity degradation worldwide, including genetic erosion of crop and livestock varieties; therefore, stresses the importance of preserving agricultural biodiversity, local animal and plant breeds and local varieties to secure nutritious, safe, affordable and high quality food throughout the year, preserve biodiversity and increase climate resilience; [1] Sources: International Panel of Experts on SustainableFood Systems - IPES Food, « The added value(s) of agroecology : Unlocking the potential for transition in West Africa”, July 2020.
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Recalls that the majority of smallholder farmers in developing countries are women, and that the promotion of a long term strategy of conservation, improvement and management of genetic resources diversity for food and agriculture requires the recognition of their role and knowledge as food providers and producers; urges the EU and its Member States to strive, notably through development aid, for their active participation as decision makers, and to help addressing the discriminations they face, notably regarding access of women farmers to land, productive resources and financial services;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Regrets that increasing vertical and horizontal concentration in the agri-food sector, reinforces the industrial food and farming model; believes that the Green New Deal requires the creation of a new anti-trust environment; , at the expense of small farmers and breeders in Europe and abroad; highlights that industry consolidation enhances the risks of human rights abuses along their supply chains; reminds equally that while the livestock industry experiences further vertical integration, zoonotic and food- borne disease risks to proliferate; in contrast, stresses that development and dissemination of livestock species are maintained by small-scale producers and pastoralists; against this backdrop, believes that the Green New Deal requires the creation of a new anti-trust environment, where the impacts of concentration on production and processing activities are assessed and monitored, including on social, environmental and public health;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Recalls that seed diversity is vital in building resilience of farming to climate change; calls for the EU to support intellectual property rights regimes that enhance the development of locally adapted seed varieties and farmer- saved seeds;
Amendment 51 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Notes with concern that EU free trade agreements (FTAs) require Parties to ensure the protection of plant varieties in accordance with the revised 1991 International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), which is incompatible with the provisions of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), which safeguards the rights of farmers to maintain genetic resources for purposes of food security and climate change adaptation; reminds that farm-saved seeds are estimated to account for over 80% of farmers’ total seed requirements in some African countries; therefore, urges the EU to refrain from influencing seed law reform, notably in Africa, through the adoption of 1991 UPOV provisions;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3 c. Calls on the EU to support developing countries to adopt appropriate national legislation with the view to protect threatened genetic resources for food and agriculture, guarantee their continued use and management by local communities, indigenous peoples, men and women, and ensure the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from their use;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3 d. Highlights the risks relating to the development of genome editing on small farmers and breeders; calls for a global moratorium on gene drive research linked to the development of applications and on releases of gene drive organisms into nature, including field trials, and to uphold the precautionary principle, as enshrined in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) as well as the Convention on Biological Diversity;
Amendment 55 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 e (new)
Paragraph 3 e (new)
3 e. Recalls Europe’s dependence on overseas land for its livestock and aquaculture production; acknowledges the devastating environmental impact of genetically modified (GM) soya for animal feed; stresses that transgenic crops are not compatible with agro-ecological and organic agriculture, as they are, almost without exception, either herbicide tolerant (including to glyphosate) or produce their own toxic insecticides, or both; but recalls that more diverse farming systems based on agro-ecology provide a natural defence against pests; calls on the Commission to no longer authorise Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) crops that are either herbicide tolerant or which produce their own pesticides, either for import or cultivation in the EU, due to biodiversity damage and health risks;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 f (new)
Paragraph 3 f (new)
3 f. Urges the Commission to set up a European vegetable protein production and supply strategy, with the view to become less dependent on genetically modified (GM) feed imports and to create shorter food chains and regional markets;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Stresses that the EU-Mercosur Agreement is inconsistent with the Farm to Fork Strategy, in particular its objectives of reduction of dependence on animal feed (including soybeans grown on deforested land), and the shift to a more plant-based diet and shorter supply chains and to become global standard for sustainability; deplores, in particular, that it boosts embodied deforestation; facilitates the importation of genetically modified foods containing residues pesticides, the production and/or use of which is prohibited on European soil and provides for the removal of barriers to trade in chemical pesticides;
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that EU free trade agreements (FTAs) should not disrupt local agriculture, damage small producers or exacerbate dependency on food imports; calls into question international trade rules which allow dumping through the WTO green box; welcomes the Commission’s commitment to compliance of EU trade agreements with the Paris Agreement,more specifically, calls on the EU to embark on a modification of the current WTO definition of dumping, with the aim to cover cases where subsidies enable export sales to take place at below the costs of production; welcomes the Commission’s commitment to compliance of EU trade agreements with the Paris Agreement by turning it into an “essential clause”; stresses that to be enforceable, environmental objectives set in EU FTAs must be clear, measurable, verifiable and include sanctions for non-compliance; and calls for market access in FTAs to be conditional on compliance with process and production methods criteria, with reference to environmental sustainability and climate change;
Amendment 74 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Highlights that trade agreements can have a negative impact on food security in developing countries; recalls as well that EU consumption represents around 10% of the global share of deforestation, through its high import dependency of agricultural commodities such as palm oil, meat, soy, cocoa, maize, timber, rubber; in addition, notes with concern that biodiversity of cultivated crops and farmed animals has decreased because of international trade, while specialisation in agriculture has a downside negative effect for ecosystem, that are less diverse, and therefore less functional and less resilient;
Amendment 77 #
5 b. Urges the EU to guarantee the coherence of European agricultural and trade policies in line with the commitments to Policy Coherence for Development (PCD); calls for a fully- fledged sustainability ex ante and ex post impact assessment of EU free trade agreements (FTAs); more broadly, calls for the EU to support developing countries’ demands to protect their food production and to safeguard their population from the potentially destructive effects of cheap imports, notably through the revision of their common external tariffs within the remit of revised economic partnership agreements (EPAs); which shall support effectively the integration of regional market;
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Denounces the EU’s double standards on pesticides, which allow the export from the EU of hazardous substances banned in the EU.Recalls that “Farm to Fork” strategy aims to gradually ban hazardous pesticides from agriculture and promote alternative practises; denounces the EU’s double standards on pesticides, which allow the export from the EU of hazardous substances banned in the EU. recalls EU’s commitments towards the “do-not-harm principle”; demands the modification of the current EU rules to eliminate this legal incoherence, in line with the Rotterdam Convention of 1998 and the Green Deal;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 12 a (new)
Citation 12 a (new)
- having regards to Directive 2001/18/EC on the deliberate release into the environment of genetically modified organisms,
Amendment 88 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Recalls that progress still needs to be made for Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements to become truly sustainable, highlights that these agreements must be in line with best available scientific advice and must neither threaten the small-scale fisheries sector in third countries nor undermine local food security;
Amendment 390 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas genome editing methods have a high technical potential to make the whole genome available for genetic changes, very often resulting in complex patterns of genetic change (genotypes) and profound intended changes in the biological characteristics (phenotypes), even if no additional genes are inserted; whereas organisms derived from genome editing are covered by the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol of the Convention on Biological Diversity;
Amendment 796 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Urges the Commission to strengthen Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market, by means of more comprehensive, rigorous and independent scientific assessments covering all the substances contained in the commercial product for which a marketing authorisation application has been made, and a more transparent procedure not subject to any conflicts of interest;
Amendment 1164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Underlines the importance of seed security and diversity, notably of promoting EU-grown plant proteins to deliver locally sourced food and feed stuffs with high nutritional value while granting farmers access to quality seeds for plant varieties adapted to the pressures of climate change, including traditional and locally-adapted varieties, while ensuring access to innovative plant breeding in order to contribute to healthy seeds and protect plants against harmful pests and diseases; raises awareness of the potential negative effects of concentration and monopolisation in the seed sector;
Amendment 1189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Recalls that the precautionary principle in regard to GMOs has to be applied in accordance with the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of 25 July 2018 in Case C-528/16, which includes the need for companies to provide methods to identify the relevant organisms as well as mandatory approval process, including risk assessment and labelling.
Amendment 1268 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Considers that an ambitious plan for European organic farming is needed to achieve a successful transition, meet growing consumer demand for organic products, take more effective action for the climate and environment, and improve farmers’ incomes and regional economies; suggests that the targets for organically farmed land should be set at 30% by 2030 and 100% by 2050, and that the simple announcement of the Commission’s future action plan, which is expected in the spring, is not sufficient to explain how those targets will be achieved; notes that it would be highly desirable for the targets for organically farmed land to be clearly set out in the CAP National Strategic Plans that are currently being prepared, and that the Commission should ensure that those targets are met and that the European and national budgetary resources needed to develop organic farming as a whole are sufficient and considerably increased so as to support as many conversions as possible and invest in small processing and marketing structures, advice, research, promotion among European consumers, and food education;
Amendment 1441 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls for primary producers to be supported in making the transition to greater sustainability through the encouragement of cooperation and collective actions bas well as through competition rules and the enhancement of possibilities for cooperation within the common market organisations for agricultural, fishered on the consolidation of production, and the adaptation of competition rules applied within the common market organisation (Single CMO) in order to strengthen their market power, generate value based on sustainability and aquaculture products, and thus for farmers’ and fishers’ position lity, and better share that value within the food supply chain to be strengthened in order to enable them to capture a fair share of the added value of sustainable production; calls for the same type of approach to be used for fishers, too;
Amendment 1450 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Believes that it is necessary to create a regulatory environment that encourages the development of sectors in which everyone involved in the food chain is jointly committed, in the long term, to achieving the transition and supplying healthy and sustainable food to all consumers, while reinforcing the resilience of our food system, particularly during times of crisis, as well as our food sovereignty and farmers’ incomes;
Amendment 1610 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recalls the need to promote effective Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS), enabling all food chain actors to become sustainable by speeding up innovation and accelerating knowledge transfer; recalls, in addition, the need for a farm sustainability and farm and food ‘general accountancy’ data network to set benchmarks for farm performance and document the uptake of sustainable farming practices, while allowing for the precise and tailored application of new production approaches at farm level by providing farmers with access to fast broadband connections;
Amendment 1664 #
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; calls for product labelling to inform consumers, in bold type, of the number of ingredients that products contain; 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;
Amendment 1763 #
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; calls, for public health reasons, for all raw and processed foods to have labels indicating the presence of pesticide residues; 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 1792 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Believes that it is essential to respond to the growing demand of consumers, relayed on numerous occasions in European Parliament resolutions, for better information about the origin of all of the food products that they purchase by introducing mandatory labelling, including for seafood and ingredients used in processed products; considers that, with regard to processed products, the number of parties involved in their preparation is also information that should be provided to consumers, given their interest in short supply chains;
Amendment 1870 #
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; calls for food product labelling to list natural ingredients separately from artificial ingredients (produced in laboratories or industrially manipulated); 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 2211 #
26. Recalls the global responsibility of European food systems and their key role in setting global standards for food safety, environmental protection, social and labour law, fair trade 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 providehibit them from accessing the EU market if they do not; calls, too, for 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;