The European Commission publishes its Vision for Agriculture and Food
20 February 2025
On 19 February, the European Commission published its long-term “vision” for the EU agriculture and food policy laid out by Commissioner Christophe Hansen.
SAFE welcomes the talk of measures of direct support for vulnerable households, so that people in need aren’t pushed towards poor food choices by their economic constraints. We support both direct support and incentives for sustainable farming and smaller farms. This will reward the investments they have undertaken so far to protect consumers’ health and the environment. This is a necessary transformation and it cannot be rolled back.
We support the aim to re-establish the link between food and territory. This can be a big contribution in the fight against food loss and waste. Legal obstacles to food donations in the EU must be removed through a legislative framework.
The European Commission is right to want to clear out environmental claims and sustainability labels. 85% of European consumers consider it incorrect to use the word “natural” for products containing synthetic ingredients. We need mandatory front-of-package labelling and a legal definition of “plant-based foods”.
We are satisfied that the European Commission will launch a study on the health impacts of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) and we expect it to lead to tangible policy. We welcome the wording on sustainable protein production, as well.
DGs AGRI and SANTE must cooperate better to prevent banned pesticides from entering the EU in imported products.
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