On the other hand, this income-based program should not depend on whether farmers comply with additional environmental rules — meaning those that go beyond existing EU law, such as nitrate pollution or habitat protection rules.
Instead, a separate set of payments should be distributed among farmers that use sustainable practices, and would be handled by both agricultural and environmental authorities. The participants also asked for an “annual substantial increase” in environmental support.
2. Sustainable food systems
The next two elephants in the room were sustainable diets and meat consumption. The experts agreed that it was crucial to support ongoing reductions in the consumption of animal-based proteins — e.g. meat and dairy — in favor of plant-based alternatives.
They also called for a review of EU food labeling legislation and urged that food marketing to children be addressed, while advocating tax reductions and other social and fiscal incentives. “The sustainable choice needs to become the choice by default,” the report said.
At the end of the previous mandate the Commission was set to publish a sustainable food systems framework to shift consumption patterns in that direction, but the initiative was shelved amid a tense debate.
3. Emissions
The agricultural sector is responsible for over 10 percent of the EU’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions — mostly from livestock. Yet although the EU has committed to reduce GHG emissions by at least 55 percent through 2030, no targets have been set for agriculture.