The European Parliament adopted by 460 votes to 126, with 20 abstentions, a resolution tabled by the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development on Milano Expo 2015: Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life.

Parliament considered that the theme of Milan Expo 2015 ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’ was an opportunity to recall the following vital points to meeting the food security challenge:

• a strong and sustainable agricultural and fisheries sector across the EU,
• a thriving and diversified rural economy,
• a clean environment,
• and family farms, supported by a robust, fairer, internationally sustainable and appropriately financed common agricultural policy.

Members called on the Commission and Member States to leverage the theme of Milan Expo 2015 ‘Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life’ to set commitments to fulfilling the right to adequate, healthy, sustainable and informed food consumption.

In addition, the ‘EU pavilion’ at Expo 2015 should raise awareness of the need to address urgent problems in the entire food supply chain, including the long-term sustainability of food production, distribution and consumption, to tackle food waste and to combat the problem of malnutrition, poor diets and obesity.

The Commission was invited, among others, to:

• ensure consistency between the political decisions of its directorates-general for trade, agriculture and fisheries, in order to ensure reciprocity in hygiene and sustainability standards;
• encourage more efficient agronomic practices, such as agroecological and diversification approaches and improved sustainable agriculture resource management;
• support research on the quality of coastal waters, land management and sustainable intensification by promoting a more efficient use of nutrients, water and energy;
• raise awareness among Member States and encourage them to use the land ‘resource’ with a view to sustainability;
• encourage the worldwide implementation of the UN-FAO Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests, both on the side of the investors and on the side of target countries;
• help achieve, at global level, the goals of the FAO in order to support the development of agricultural, environmental and social policies that encourage sustainable family farming;
• take steps towards the elimination of unfair trading practices and other market distortions in order to ensure a fair return for farmers, fair profits and pricing along the food supply chain;
• fight against food waste with ambitious, clearly defined, binding targets;
• promote healthy and mindful food, starting in schools at the earliest age.

Parliament also recalled the importance of:

• support for young farmers given the key role of rural development for the economic and social growth of the land;
• initiating a dialogue with stakeholders to ensure that unsold and safe edible food is systematically made available to charitable organisations;
• encouraging education about healthy, balanced nutrition and raising awareness of and promoting local products and traditional diets;
• promoting agriculture and fisheries in the developing world and the importance of allocating an appropriate share of EU overseas development assistance (ODA) to the agriculture sector.

The resolution finally underlined the importance of ending all forms of malnutrition by 2030.