58 Amendments of Asger CHRISTENSEN related to 2022/2183(INI)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas farmers, sustainable use of nature resources, nature and biodiversity are the foundations of foodagriculture and food production and, without strong political action to conserve and restore nature and biodiversity, food security and the right to food will be irreversibly endangeredon cutting red tapes, enhancing competitiveness, supporting the European agriculture in being even more sustainable, decreasing the dependency on fossil inputs as well as our dependency on a small number of suppliers, together with minimising the negative impact on nature and biodiversity, the food security will decrease;
Amendment 24 #
Draft opinion
Recital A c (new)
Recital A c (new)
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas on 24 February 2022 the Russian Federation illegally in, the Russian's full scale invasion of Ukraine has seriously aggravadted Ukraine and, as a result, severely disruptedan already difficult and challenging situation in the agri-food sector, which is still recovering from the consequences of the COVID pandemic and is suffering from the on-going climate crisis, leading to an increase in global food insecurity;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas the effects of the crisis caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine have put food security and the resilience of the global food system at the center of the political agenda; whereas food security, in terms of political importance and urgency of response, is now placed on an equal footing with energy security, defence and the fight against climate change, both at the EU and international levels;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas the war against Ukraine has brought about an increase in food, energy and input prices and has a severe impact on consumers and the most vulnerable strata of society;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Supports the just transition to agro- ecological and organic farming; reiterates its support for the ambitions, targets and goals ofn more sustainable and circular agriculture, using less fossil inputs and antimicrobials; reiterates its support for an impact assessment on the targets in the farm to fork, biodiversity and zero- pollution strategies; welcomes, especially in the light of Russia’s illegal invasion and war in Ukraine; notice their published and announced legislative proposals, including those related to the reduction in the use of pesticides and their associated risks and the setting of EU food waste reduction targets;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas, as a result of the war against Ukraine, bottlenecks in critical agricultural infrastructure, in particular transport and storage infrastructure, is hampering the movement of food, feed and other agricultural products;
Amendment 69 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas food security goes beyond agriculture and food production and has impacts on several areas, not only on primary producers and consumers, but also on the wider economy, trade, development and humanitarian efforts and on social and regional cohesion;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
C b. whereas food security is a complex and multifaceted subject and it requires a cohesive and integrated approach. Considering and dealing with these challenges from different perspectives: economic, trade, environmental, regional and the prism of international development;
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas, as a result of the global supply crisis, the FAO estimates that international food and feed prices have continued to rise significantly above their already high levels; whereas, in order to identify and prevent food speculation, operators need to become more transparent with regard to their share of value added throughout the food supply chain; whereas it would also be necessary to assess the reasons why the prices of agricultural inputs have increased and what effect they have on the increase in food prices;
Amendment 93 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 f (new)
Paragraph 1 f (new)
1f. Underlines the need for flexibility in the short-term providing support and exceptional and temporary measures in times of crisis to avoid distortion on the market;
Amendment 96 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls for the strict application of the One Health principle in all policies that affect the availability and accessibility of food; stresses that food safety must never be jeopardised; reiterates the 50 percent reduction target of the usages of antimicrobials in agriculture and asks the Commission to evaluate how Member States have implemented the Veterinary Medicinal Products Package, especially the ban on the preventive use of antibiotics in groups of animals, the ban on the preventive use of antimicrobials via medicated feed and the import ban on meat that have been treated with antimicrobials for growth promotions;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
F a. whereas the EU has to invest in the resilience of the agri-food sector; whereas this resilience can be partly achieved through the implementation, in a coherent manner, of the Green Deal, the Biodiversity strategy and the Farm to Fork strategy, which will contribute to the transition towards more sustainable agriculture, strengthening long term food security and could constitute and alternative source of income for farmers;
Amendment 121 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights that the avproduction of sustailnability ofle plant proteins, if consumed directly, is more than sufficient to meet global protein needs; acknowledges the positive impact that plant-based diets have on humans, animals, the planet and food security; stresses that reducing the number and density of farmed animals can effectively combat the climate and biodiversity crises, decrease the risk of zoonotic diseases and contribute to food security in the short and long terms for food and feed in Europe need to increase in order to reinforce the food security; thinks that support for research and innovation, training and advisory and up-scaling of innovative projects, among others, are important the increase the protein production in Europe;
Amendment 142 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Emphasises that biofuel production negatively affects food security; denounces, moreover, the focus on short- tsustainable crop- based biofuel and biogas production have positive synergies with food security, as the production generate fertiliser, food and feed co-products essential for the food chain, as well as it decreases our dependency on import of fossil inputs; welcomes, moreover, the ongoing projects that can decarbonise the fertiliserms policy measures for example, on fertilisersroduction; underlines that closing the nutrient loop by reusing more high quality nutrients from different, streams, such as waste streams, sewage sludge and wastewater, is a further solution, that will allow to diversify fertilisers input, increase the sustainability of agriculture and the movement towards a more circular economy;
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas generational renewal is one of the biggest challenges for a resilient agricultural sector in the EU; whereas young farmers in particular are innovative and, if properly remunerated, motivated and empowered, are willing to make investments that may increase the sustainability of agriculture and the same time maintain EU’s production capacity and competitiveness;
Amendment 150 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Notes that the war in Ukraine has further exposed that food production in the EU is dependent on inputs from outside the Union; emphasises in that regard that to ensure food production in the long term, resources that are readily available and produced within the EU should be utilised and developed to the fullest, such as organic fertilisers and low-risk or organic plant protection products;
Amendment 158 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Reiterates its position on new genomic breeding techniques1 ; regrets the biased nature of the current impaunderline the need for new genomic breeding techniques as it can decrease the need of inputs such as plant protection products assessment and calls onnd fertiliser, and in the same time increase the yields and profitability; ask the Commission to restput forwartd the process in an inclusive mannerlegislative proposal on new genomic breeding techniques as soon as possible; __________________ 1 Resolution of 20 October 2021 on a farm to fork strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system. OJ C 184, 5.5.2022, p. 2.
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I
Recital I
I. whereas the sharp rise in global fertiliser prices, together with the sharp rise in other input costs for farmers, threatens food security; whereas in September 2022 the prices of nitrogen fertilisers increased by 149% on the EU fertilizers market compared to the previous year;
Amendment 171 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
I a. whereas, due to the nature of food security, the costs are higher to react post facto than to intervene earlier on; whereas if the EU wants to avert destabilisation in other countries, food poverty, famine, social and political unrest, the Union has to come up with a vision to ensure food and nutrition security, both in the EU and at the international level;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)
Recital I a (new)
I a. Considering that an estimated 20% of all food produced is lost or wasted, and that more than 36 million people cannot afford a quality meal every other day, and considering that the neediest population is increasing as a result of the current economic crisis.
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital I b (new)
Recital I b (new)
I b. whereas food security is a key element for ensuring the strategic autonomy and prosperity of the European Union;
Amendment 201 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Considers it irresponsible that the EU continues to support environmentally harmful and cruel practices under the common agricultural policy and common fishalls on Member States to develop and deploy, under the common agricultural policy, eco-schemes with support for practices that enable synergies policy.between environmental performance and food production;
Amendment 206 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Notes that the COVID-19 pandemic and the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine have once again demonstratedexposed structural problems faced by the European agricultural sector, namely the need for the EU to strengthen its food security and, reduce its dependence on imports from outside the EU; welcomes the adoption, due to the exceptional current circumstances, of temporary meaith regard to critical production inputs and raw materials, and ensures to increase EU production during the 2022/23 harvest season, which will contribute to food securithe smooth functioning of the internal market, therefore increasing the EU's strategic autonomy;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1 a. Underlines the need for flexibility in order to increase the adaptation capacity in the short-term for the agricultural sector; welcomes the adoption, due to the exceptional current circumstances, of temporary measures to increase EU production during the 2022/23 harvest season, which will contribute to food security;
Amendment 222 #
1 b. Is in favour of establishing a priority package of legislative actions within the framework of the Farm to Fork strategy, in order to accelerate the most urgent measures aimed at ensuring food security in view of the risks of hardship resulting from the current war in Ukraine; considers it essential to compensate any action that could lead to a reduction in the European production with the parallel introduction of other actions that would provide viable alternatives;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission to take the necessary measures to provide farmers with planning security and guarantees, making it possible to maintain and, if necessary, increase food production in the EU; calls on the Commission to ensure that farmland is used primarily for the production of food and feed and take this into account in the upcoming legislative proposals;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Notes that the European Green Deal could be a milestone in the EU transition to a greener and, more sustainable economy, while pointingand resilient economy, which can be partly achieved through the implementation, in a coherent manner, of the Green Deal, the Biodiversity strategy and the Farm to Fork strategy; points out that manysome of the resulting measures might have adverse effects, which have not yet been properly assessed, on EU farms and, food security, including global food security; calls on the Commission to carry out a comprehensive assessment ofto support the feasibility of the targets proposed and the cumulative impact of Green Deal legislative proposals on the EU farming sector; calls on the Commission to note the importance of active training of farmers and support regarding new agriculture practices;
Amendment 287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Points out that sustainability and food security are interlinked and should go hand in hand. Believes that measures foreseen in the Green Deal, in the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies could provide an alternative perspective for farmers and ensure stable income resources, for example through carbon farming and eco-schemes; underlines that these have to be longer-term measures in order to ensure the predictability of income for farmers;
Amendment 296 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3 b. Calls on the Commission to not let the impact of the war in Ukraine change our ambition on sustainability, but rather promote policies that result in synergies for food security, production and sustainability; Underlines that it is necessary to have flexibility in the short- term, but in the long-term, the Union has to continue with an updated agenda on sustainability;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3 c. Underlines that agri- environmental-climate practices such as agroecology, agroforestry, organic farming, precision and carbon farming have the potential to address climate, biodiversity, environmental, economic and social challenges; highlights that while ensuring sustainable production of goods and provisions of ecosystem services, these practices have the capacity to reduce the use of pesticides, fertilisers, antimicrobials and consumption of gas and to limit soil degradation, increase carbon sequestration, and promote more healthy, quality food production and long- term sustainable, resilient and future- proof production;
Amendment 301 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 d (new)
Paragraph 3 d (new)
3 d. Stresses the importance to make efficient and well-targeted investments in mitigation, as well as adaptation measures in order to reduce risks and avoid significant costs in the long-term, at the same time taking advantage of opportunities; while underlines that the increase of the climate resilience of the European agriculture industry will allow agricultural sector to remain competitive in global markets, providing employment and economic growth;
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to present a comprehensive EU protein strategy that, on the one hand, focuses on domestic production in order to fully exploit its potential, based on the Report on Development of plant proteins in the European Union; the strategy should on the one hand, focuses on domestic production in order to fully exploit its potential, looks into possibilities to tap into different industrial side streams to increase protein availability and reduce dependence on imports from third countries and, on the other, further safeguards income from sustainable production;
Amendment 320 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 4 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Considers that the Commission should assess the potential of maximising the synergies with EU renewable energy production to increase the availability of high-protein content feed;
Amendment 340 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 4
Subheading 4
New cultivation methodgenomic techniques
Amendment 346 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls for the EU to speed up the adoption of legislation on the use of new cultivation techniques in order to increase yields and make crops more resilient to climate change and new pathogens, particularly in view of the droughts and water shortages that are afflicting an increasing number of EU Member States; points out that new cultivation targetechniques can promote sustainable agriculture, which is not possible without innovation; reminds of the importance of research and that the research results are brought into farming practices;
Amendment 352 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls for the EU to speed up the adoption of legislation on the use of new cultivationgenomic techniques in order to increase yields and make crops more resilient to climate change and new pathogens, particularly in view of the droughts and water shortages that are afflicting an increasing number of EU Member States; points out that new cultivation targetgenomic techniques can promote sustainable agriculture, which is not possible without innovation;
Amendment 377 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Emphasises that digital technologies and precision crop management can provide forward-looking solutions to the challenges arising when it comes to monitoring deforestation, the use of pesticides and fertilisers or water consumption for agriculture and increase the yield; calls on the Commission to step up and accelerate the use of digital innovation to modernise EU agriculture, with solutions which can be taken into use at reasonable investment costs, enabling farmers to realise their full production potential and safeguard their incomes in the context of green transition;
Amendment 386 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Points out that, while that space data and AI technologies can be a source of much valuable information for agriculture and for the whole food chain, i.e. technology enables the movement of information from the producer to the consumer and vice versa, improves the operation of the entire value chain, reduces wastage, lowers logistics costs, just to name a few, it can still only be put to very limited use, as in most cases it is not freely available or is too complex to be processed by farms or local authorities; calls for increased use of such data and technologies to help farmers through the green and digital transitions, while ensuring the resilience of EU agriculture;
Amendment 397 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on the EU to recognise regional diferences and to take into account sparsely populated areas and their needs; Calls on the EU to recognise the strategic importance of logistics centres as an integral and complementary part of primary agricultural production, without which farmers and transport companies would be unable to ensure consistent supply in line with the needs of consumers; calls for investment in infrastructure for the more sustainable transport of fresh farm products;
Amendment 428 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Notes that the war in Ukraine has further exposed that food production in the EU is dependent on inputs from outside the Union; Emphasises in that regard that to ensure food production in the long term, resources that are readily available and produced within the EU should be utilised and developed to the fullest, such as organic fertilisers and low-risk or organic plant protection products.
Amendment 442 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes the inclusion in the Commission communication on ensuring the availability and affordability of fertilisers (COM(2022)0590) of a strategy to help farmers cope with exceptionally high costs; considers, however, that while it contains manysome valid medium and long- term policy recommendations, it fails to provide adequate supportmeasures for farmers in the current crisis, which could have very serious implications for food security;
Amendment 445 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10 a (new)
Paragraph 10 a (new)
10 a. Calls on the Commission to set up a truly long - term vision for a strategic autonomy for fertilizers. A strategy which will incentivise the industry to reorient to more sustainable production;
Amendment 457 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Commission to raise the limits for the use of nitrogen fertilisers derived from animalenable the safe use of processed manure, e.g. RENURE2 , in line wiabove the the limits currently applicable to fertilisersreshold established for Nitrate Vulnerable Zones by the Nitrates Directive; calls on the Commission to consider a temporary exemption to bring down the cost of fertilisers for now, while seeking the introduction of long-term framework provisions to promote a circular economy on farms and reduce dependence on third- country resources; _________________ 2 RENURE: REcovered Nitrogen from manURE
Amendment 461 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 7 a (new)
Subheading 7 a (new)
International dimension
Amendment 462 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Amendment 466 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11 b. Underlines that to this end, the EU should support partner countries to set high environmental objectives, as well as assist and guide them in this transition when needed; highlights that due consideration should be given to partners from developing countries and countries in a fragile situation regarding food security for whom special and differentiated treatment would be required;
Amendment 468 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 c (new)
Paragraph 11 c (new)
11 c. Stresses that humanitarian and development funding to address hunger and malnutrition needs to be dramatically scaled up to properly address the impact of the war in Ukraine on global food security;
Amendment 473 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 8 a (new)
Subheading 8 a (new)
Notes that, while an estimated 20% of the total food produced is lost or wasted, 36.2million people cannot afford a quality meal every second day[1].Reducing food waste is a shared responsibility and food producers, processors, distributors, retailers and consumers must contribute to it.[1] 1(Eurostat, 2020).
Amendment 491 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Stresses that the member states should also improve measurement of food waste, to monitor the food waste across the supply chain and implement effective food waste prevention programmes;
Amendment 499 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission to develop a realistic biofuel production scenario, since the discontinuation thereof would also eliminate protein-rich, taking into account EU’s protein strategy, by- products, thereby significantly exacerbating rather than helping to alleviate the food crisis;
Amendment 519 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14 b. i) Stresses the need to address the generation renewal and the demographic vitality of agriculture through adequate supports
Amendment 522 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Paragraph 15 – subparagraph 1 (new)
Farmers and the future of the Common Agricultural Policy
Amendment 523 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point a (new)
Paragraph 15 – point a (new)
(a) Calls on the Commission to set up a policy that will integrate in a coherent way food production and food safety, while at the same time ensuring the coherence with trade policy, environmental policy, humanitarian and international development policies;
Amendment 524 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point b (new)
Paragraph 15 – point b (new)
(b) Calls on the Commission to review the CAP budget in the MFF to secure both food security and green transitions providing the necessary leverage for investments;
Amendment 525 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point c (new)
Paragraph 15 – point c (new)
(c) Highlights the importance of ensuring that farmers have a predictable source of income and can make a living from their activity;
Amendment 526 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point d (new)
Paragraph 15 – point d (new)
(d) Stresses the importance of active training of farmers and support regarding new mitigation and adaptation agriculture practices;
Amendment 529 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 – point g (new)
Paragraph 15 – point g (new)
(g) Emphasizes that the Commission must take additional measures to introduce a more sustainable, transparent and fairer food chain in order to strengthen producer’s position to enhance EU’s current security of supply and food security;