Food Ethics Council

How can EU agricultural policy promote sustainable farming and food?

Europe's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is expensive and controversial: it costs EU citizens around €100 billion per year, half through tax and half through higher prices; it drives down world prices, making it harder for people in poor countries to make a living from agriculture; and, perversely, it supports some practices that damage the environment and public health.

Reforms in 2003 began to address some of these problems and further change is expected in 2008-9. Pro-reform governments such as the UK want to eliminate import tarrifs, cut payments to farmers and focus support on environmental schemes. They aim to reduce the cost of the CAP and promote international trade.

Our work on the CAP asks whether a broader a range of reforms should be on the negotiating table for 2008-9. What could the CAP contribute to sustainable farming and food if reforms focused on spending better rather than on spending less? How could EU policies on agriculture best promote the wellbeing of people, the environment and animals in Europe and worldwide?

As CAP reform rises up the agenda, policy makers are also having to grapple with other international challenges, such as climate change and a hiatus in trade talks. Our work on CAP reform therefore begins with a bigger question - how does a global perspective on sustainable farming and food affect the way we tackle wider issues, such as international trade, public health and regional governance?