Activities of Juan Ignacio ZOIDO ÁLVAREZ related to 2020/2260(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Farm to Fork Strategy (debate)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on a Farm to Fork Strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally friendly food system
Amendments (40)
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Stresses that farming accounts for 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions; calls on the Commission to step up trade policy with a view to improving cooperation with third countries and to undertake ambitious commitments similar to those established in the Farm to Fork Strategy with the aim of contributing to the global effort to combat climate change and keeping European farming competitive;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes that the EU internal market is the world’s biggest importer and exporter of agri-food products; is convinced that the EU should use this position to set the benchmark in terms of standards for sustainable food systems, based on the precautionary principle, environmental protection and animal welfare; stresses that an EU promotion policy that includes all agri-food products may actively help to set this benchmark with a view to improving the sustainability of production and global consumption;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the Commission to provide coherence and flexibility so that the measures and objectives set out in the Farm to Fork Strategy are tailored to the common agriculture and fisheries policies, trade policy, the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, and other related EU policies and strategies;
Amendment 42 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2b. Stresses that the Commission should base its legislative proposals on scientifically sound ex-ante impact assessments that describe the methods used to calculate the targets, along with the baselines and reference periods of each target, after consultation with the Member States; in this regard, the cumulative effects of the legislative proposals should be taken into account;
Amendment 48 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Believes that sustainable production should become a key characteristic of EU agri-food products, expanding the concept of quality to social and environmental aspects; acknowledges European farmers' commitment to offering the highest production standards in the world and also highlights the need for the EU institutions to provide them with the support that they need;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Believes that sustainable production should become a key characteristic of EU agri-food products, expanding the concept of quality to social and environmental aspects, along with the sustainability of farmers' income;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on the Commission to promote primary-sector access to new technologies as a fundamental factor in supporting the competitiveness of EU farming on the global market, along with maintaining high production standards;
Amendment 81 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Calls on the Commission, with a view to protecting animal and plant health in European farming and preventing pests and diseases entering the EU, to step up control mechanisms both at origin and at borders in trade with third countries;
Amendment 123 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses the risk of putting the EU agri-food sector at a competitive disadvantage in the absence of global convergence of standards, and of leading to increased costs for consumers, and of undermining the production model of 10 million European farms; calls on the Commission to present a comprehensive impact assessment of the targets envisaged in the Strategy, as well as proportionate measures to maintain the competitiveness of the EU agri-food sector and ensure reciprocity of standards;
Amendment 128 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Points out that trade agreements should ensure that the parties involved actively engage in the promotion of sustainable development principles; they should also ensure that international standards are in line with the EU's environmental and climate ambitions; what is more, to guarantee a global transition to sustainable food systems, these agreements should take account of the binding nature of compliance with the Paris Agreement on climate change;
Amendment 131 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Highlights the growing technological divergence between the EU and its main trade competitors with regard to biotechnology, genome editing and new breeding techniques (NBTs) as a result of the EU's regulatory restrictions; calls on the Commission to provide a technological level playing field that enables European businesses to compete on an equal basis on international markets;
Amendment 141 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Points out that the farming and fishing industries are vital to the development of sustainable economic activity in the outermost regions and highlights these sectors' contribution and added value with regard to food security and to responding to public demand for high-quality products; stresses the need to include those regions' situation in the long-term strategic vision set out in the Farm to Fork Strategy;
Amendment 152 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Champions European consumers' right to more information on the origin and treatment of the agri-food products that they consume; considers, further, that improving consumer information and traceability will harness the efforts of the sectors concerned to comply with the environmental and food security requirements of the newly reformed common agricultural policy and the Farm to Fork Strategy; highlights the importance of increasing the added value of European production in comparison with imports from third countries;
Amendment 153 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Stresses that in 2020, the EU's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) registered record numbers of imports of agri-food products that exceeded the maximum acceptable residue limit or had been treated with active substances that are banned in the EU; calls on the Commission to carry out checks more often and step up the minimum inspection thresholds to ensure that producers fully comply with EU law;
Amendment 237 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas Europe’s food system should deliver food and nutrition security in a way that contributes to social well- being and maintains and restores ecosystem health; whereas currently, the food system is responsible for a rangeinvolved in a series of impacts on human and animal health and on the environment, the climate and biodiversity; whereas the way in which we produce and consume food needs to transformfurther adapt in order to ensure coherence with the SDGs, the Paris Agreement, the Convention on Biological Diversity and EU policies, particularly in the areas of sustainability, the environment, climate, public health, animal welfare, food and economic sustainability for farmers;
Amendment 311 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the European model of a multifunctional agricultural sector, driven, among others, by family farms, continues to ensure quality food production, local supply chains, good agriculture practices, high environmental standards and vibrant rural areas throughout the EU;
Amendment 420 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the European food system has played a crucial role during the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating its resilience with farmers, cooperatives, producers' organizations, processors and retailers working together under difficult conditions, including lockdowns, to ensure that European consumers continue to have access to safe, affordable, and high quality products without impediment;
Amendment 440 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas European agriculture represents 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions; where as this sector has reduced CO2 and nitrate emissions by 20% and 18% respectively since1990 and the consumption of antibiotics by 20% between 2011 and 2016;
Amendment 460 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E b (new)
Recital E b (new)
Eb. whereas the Farm to Fork Strategy should reward farmers, agro-cooperatives and other operators in the food chain who have already undergone the transition to sustainable practices, enable the transition for the others, and create additional opportunities for their businesses;
Amendment 471 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E c (new)
Recital E c (new)
Ec. whereas the Farm to Fork Strategy must take into account all three pillars of sustainability (economic, social and environmental) in this broader discussion;
Amendment 646 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Underlines that the Commission should base legislative proposals on scientifically sound ex-ante impact assessments, describing the methods of calculation of the targets and the baselines and reference periods of each individual target after consultation with the Member States; the cumulative effects of the legislative proposals should be taken into account;
Amendment 729 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the decision to revise the directive on the sustainable use of pesticides and the reduction targets for pesticides, fertilisers, and antibiotics; emphasises the importance of pursuing these targets through holistic and circular approaches, such as agroecological practices; insists that each Member State should establish robust quantitative reduction targets, accompanied by well- defined support measures ensuring accountability at all levels to help reach these targets; reiterates its call for the translation into legislation of the above targets and objectives, as well as support for implementation at farm level and further research and development for innovative farming solutions; reiterates its call for the translation into legislation of the above targets and objectives; acknowledges that these targets could have significant negative impact on the sustainability of the sector, farmers income and food security and should therefore be subject to an impact assessment prior to setting any targeted reduction; and calls on the Commission to clarify how it will deal with individual Member States’ contributions to Union-wide targets and to clarify the baselines for these targets;
Amendment 800 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on the Commission to ensure that these targets are EU targets to which all Member States must contribute through action at national level; underlines in this context that successes already achieved, as well as Member States' different starting points, circumstances and conditions are to be taken into account, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity;
Amendment 972 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Emphasises that EU agriculture is the only major system in the world that reduced significantly greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions;
Amendment 1118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Welcomes the notion of rewarding carbon sequestration in soils; stresses, however, that intensive and industrial agriculture and farming models with negative impacts on biodiversity should not receive climate funding or be incentivised; calls for the proposals to be in line with the environmental objectives and the ‘do no harm’ principle of the Green Deal;
Amendment 1170 #
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 particular New Breeding Techniques (NBT) 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 1227 #
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; stresses that regional marketing of agricultural products and partnerships play an important role in the promotion of sustainable supply chains; acknowledges that when local production is not available, imports are needed;
Amendment 1458 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Underlines that cooperation is the tool allowing interactions with other key systems (e.g. energy system, manufacture system, transport systems etc.), and boosts the uptake of digital solutions and novel technologies in the primary production sector;
Amendment 1462 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12b. Highlights that agro-cooperatives require in this respect a supportive legislative environment to further develop innovative business models that can deliver on the objectives of the farm to fork strategy and contribute to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals;
Amendment 1496 #
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 ifto stimulate 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; _________________ 22 OJ L 111, 25.4.2019, p. 59.
Amendment 1582 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Amendment 1640 #
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; stresses the urgency to apply a nutrition labelling system which integrates dietary guidelines to support consumers to make healthier food choices and that provides them with better, more detailed and easier to understand but not over simplistic information about the food they consume, also taking into consideration the level of processing of food and the benefits of low-processed high-quality food at the base of traditional European diets and consumption patterns;
Amendment 1693 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Calls the Commission to guarantee, through the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), a common European nutrition labelling system based on the most complete and recent scientific evidences, integrating the different values of quality and processed food on determining healthy diets; stresses the need for monitoring actions by the EFSA to supervise and insure the commonly agreed correct application of the labelling system by the national agencies for food safety, taking into account the diversity of traditional products coming from different European countries;
Amendment 1727 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Welcomes the Commission’s commitment to revise the EU legislation on food contact materials (FCM) in order to support the Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP); reiterates its call to revise the legislation on FCM in line with the regulation on the registration, evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemicals (REACH), as well as classification, labelling and packaging regulations, and to insert, without further delay, specific provisions to substitute endocrine disrupting chemicals; while not affecting the packaging role in preserving food safety or quality and incentivizing the development of sustainable packaging solutions;
Amendment 1771 #
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; 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 that price incentives should prioritise fiscal advantages and public investment over additional taxation;
Amendment 1821 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
Amendment 1889 #
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 environmentlifestyles; 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 1992 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls for a revision of public procurement legislation, including minimum mandatory criteria in schools and other public institutions to encourage organic and local food production and to promote more healthy diets by creating a food environment that enables consumers to make the healthy choice;
Amendment 2146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 a (new)
Paragraph 25 a (new)
25a. Underlines that we cannot afford to lose time by refraining from using cutting edge technologies such as new animal and plant breeding techniques, artificial intelligence and digital technologies; in particular, new breeding techniques (NBTs) could improve the tolerance of plant varieties to water stress and pests, as well as the disease resistance of animals; each NBT should be analysed and discussed by experts on a case by case basis and according to strict scientific criteria;
Amendment 2175 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25 b (new)
Paragraph 25 b (new)
25b. Calls the Commission to include the areas of integrated production in the EU's 25% organic farming area target, taking into account that these alternative environmentally friendly production methods are nationally regulated by Member States;