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EU Common Agricultural Policy funds should protect our biodiversity, climate, environment!

EU Common Agricultural Policy funds should protect our biodiversity, climate, environment!

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This petition has been created by Kristine D. and may not represent the views of the Avaaz community.
Kristine D.
started this petition to
Members of European Parliament, EU policy makers, EU member states policy makers
Dear EU citizens,

This week, Europe decides on our Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2021-2027 and hence on our future . It is essential that the new CAP brings radical change. Many studies and scientists show that current farm and food production systems have a destructive impact on biodiversity, environment and climate , and that current practices don't promote sustainable food production. Since 1980, the EU has lost 57% of its farmland birds. Butterflies, bees and flying insects are in severe decline. The biodiversity and climate crisis are urgent.

The CAP 2021-2027 is likely to comprise almost 400 billion euros and make up 32% of the total EU budget. Our public funds should protect and strenghten OUR public goods and services, not destroy them!

Do we opt for a desert of large-scale agro-industry or for a living landscape and nature-inclusive farms ?

Don't we all want inspiring landscapes, that not only produce food but also offer opportunities for nature and biodiversity? Landscapes that are allies in framework of climate challenges, and in which we can walk, discover, cycle, relax?

Will we soon only hear agricultural machines or silence, or will we still hear the jubilant song of skylarks and yellowhammers ?

Will the subsidies mainly go to large farms and monoculture or to farmers and entrepreneurs who not only produce food but also contribute to the rich landscape that we need for various services (biodiversity, climate mitigation and adaptation, water buffering, water quality, soil/erosion protection, recreation, ...), and ensure sustainable food production?

This is about providing real space for nature on farms or not, protecting/not protecting peatlands (essential for carbon storage), protecting/not protecting permanent grasslands, not limiting/limiting spendings that provide environmental benefits, etc...

That's what is at stake. That is what our Members of the European (MEPs) Parliament will vote on this week.

Show that you opt for a sustainable agricultural policy in line with the Green Deal and the Farm to Fork strategy! Sign this petition and and share this message, also with the MEPs representating your country through social media!) #FutureOfCap #FarmtoFork #EUGreenDeal @TheProgressives @RenewEurope @EPPGroup

Find out who are the MEPs of your country: 
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/meps/en/home 

Further reading

The new European Agricultural Policy (2021-2027)

On 1 June 2018 the European Commission proposed the new European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP, for the period 2021 - 2027). It did this after an extensive public inquiry that brought to light the discontent felt by farmers and citizens alike with regard to the existing agricultural policy. Farmers want to be paid a secure and fair price for their food products. More than a quarter of a million citizens agree and find this only reasonable, provided that this is not realized at the expense of the climate, nature and the environment. Biodiversity in the countryside has decreased drastically in recent decades, and next to increased use of pesticides, habitat loss is a major cause of decreasing numbers of pollinators. The impact of current agricultural practices on climate and environment has been highly destructive. Citizens therefore urge that the substantial European agricultural susbsidies be deployed in a more results-driven manner, so as to assist protection of the environment, biodiversity and climate mitigation and adaptation. All involved parties stand to gain in the process, not least the farmers; moving towards sustainable practices is essential for the future profitability of agriculture. And yet the proposal for the new CAP astonishes by its marked lack of ambition; it does not answer the acute general social need for sustainably produced food, and greater protection of the environment, biodiversity and climate. The draft gives also greater autonomy and decision-making powers to the Member States. The additional concern is how ambitious member states will fill in this responsibility. EU MEPs and member states must take the lead, through bold, concrete steps, towards a more sustainable and a more robust agricultural system.

+3600 scientists: The EU Common Agricultural Policy must stop destroying nature: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pan3.10080

https://eounion.org/latest-news/open-letter-to-reform-the-eus-common-agricultural-policy-cap-harmful-agriculture-is-destroying-nature/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-45854-0

https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/conl.12585
https://theconversation.com/eu-subsidies-benefit-big-farms-while-underfunding-greener-and-poorer-plots-new-research-144880

https://www.birdlife.org/europe-and-central-asia/news/press-release-european-parliament-socialists-EPP-renew-CAP-deal-Leak-13Oct2020










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