R2 A2: Towards an agroecological Europe by 2030

The cultivation of the Earth along with forestry activities has been vital for
our survival as humankind. Unfortunately, the continuous push for the
industrialization and globalisation of the world’s agriculture and food supply
systems threatens the future of humanity and the natural world, which are deeply
interconnected. The Covid-19 pandemic and the trade implications of the war in
Ukraine have made more visible the vulnerabilities of food systems across the
globe that are not able to ensure a sufficient and healthy diet for everyone. In
Europe, the hegemonic agro-industry model developed in the last decades has
entailed a reduction in crop diversification, a depletion of soil and
biodiversity, and the pollution of aquifers and water reserves due to the use of
synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, along with antibiotics in animal farming.
The exploitative labour conditions in agriculture of migrant workers, mainly in
southern Europe, are also part of this model, a region which is the most
vulnerable of the continent to desertification and the sustainability of any
form of agriculture in the following decades.

Jointly addressing the challenges of sustainable food for the European and world
population, the preservation of biodiversity and natural resources and the
response to climate change requires a profound transition of our agricultural
and food system. A shift towards an agroecological paradigm based on the
phasing-out of pesticides and synthetic fertilisers, and the redeployment of
extensive grasslands and landscape infrastructure would allow these issues to be
addressed in a coherent manner. In this sense, there is a wide scientific
consensus in the capacity of agroecology to nourish all Europe and to nourish
all people better, expressed in the reports of the Food and Agriculture
Organisation (FAO) and the former UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food,
Olivier de Schutter. A step from the status quo is needed to put the health of
people and ecosystems first than the interest of the big landowners and seed
producers in agro-industry, a shift that has to be ensured from political
institutions. Hence, it is not just about rigorous ecological and social
standards, but about transforming the way food is produced, distributed and
consumed, giving room for local knowledge and food sovereignty, and the
functioning of food systems as a source of shared prosperity.

To generalise organic agriculture is not enough, we can see it in the
greenwashing made by agri-business by meeting the minimum requirements for their
production to be labelled as “organic” but not making significant changes in the
way food is produced and distributed. In addition, we need a structural change
in a situation where consumption patterns are still far from meeting a diet that
is within planetary boundaries, marked by an overconsumption of meat and ultra-
processed food that damages the health of the people and the planet. We have to
overcome the false dichotomy between prioritising nourishing the whole world and
ensuring long-term sustainability of the soil: both are possible under
agroecology, improving public health and making possible the mitigation and
adaptation to the climate crisis. Under agroecological principles, farmers and
peasants are agents of change, carrying out ecosystem services along with the
production of healthy, organic and accessible food through short supply chains
that ensure food security and are the materialisation of food sovereignty. The
projects rooted on the social and solidarity economy such as cooperatives, food
hubs and local associations should be the engine of these transformations.

For all these reasons, the Federation of Young European Greens makes a call to
all political entities across Europe to create a legal and policy framework that
fosters the up-scaling of agroecology, urgently transitioning to agroecological
food systems by 2030 while ensuring a just transition, through the following
measures: t

• Facilitate the rapid abandonment of the use of pesticides and synthetic
  fertilisers, phase-out bioenergy crops and vegetable protein imports,
  increase the share of legume crops in rotation, redeploy natural
  grasslands and extend agroecological infrastructures (hedges, trees,
  ponds, stony habitats). A cut in funds from intensive farming to redirect
  them to agroecological initiatives is also key.

• Decrease support to reductionist agricultural research and increase
  investments in public research on agroecology and organic farming,
  creating Agroecological Living Labs and learning hubs. Transitioning to
  agroecological systems needs a life-long learning, transdisciplinary and
  multistakeholder approach, in formal and non-formal education and
  research. Agricultural sciences curricula should be transformed into
  agroecological curricula. Additionally, educating on the benefits of
  agroecology in rural areas to empower youth initiatives should be a
  priority of educational policies, increasing the visibility of
  certification programs in agroecology, exchanges of good practices and
  networks of support and knowledge.

• Rethink the relation between urban and rural societies and territories,
  taking into account the interdependence between cities and ecosystems. We
  need to create an alliance based on short supply chains with surrounding
  territories, as indicated by the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact. To link
  transformative production and consumption initiatives is essential for the
  up-scaling of agroecology.

• Aim for the objective of 100% organic, local or fair trade products by
  2025 in public restoration with vegetarian and vegan options everyday.
  Entities of the social and solidarity economy should be prioritised and
  supported by public administrations through this policy and other measures
  designed at all political levels. The relocalization of production through
  agroecological initiatives and the progressive increase in the ecological
  and social requirements of public purchase are central to reach this goal.
  

• Agroecological laws at all legislative levels should be enacted to ensure
  a just transition from conventional agriculture to agroecology (up-scaling
  agroecology). Some Latin American countries have been pioneers in this
  kind of legislation, such as the case of Uruguay in 2018.

• At the EU level, we demand the taxation on imported commodities whose
  methods of production do not comply with the EU environmental standards.
  This is particularly important in the sector of protein crops, where the
  ban on imported soya in the EU could phase out synthetic fertilisers
  responsible for high greenhouse gas emissions and close the nitrogen cycle
  at the finest territorial level. A redesign of the Common Agriculture
  Policy is needed in order to halt the disproportionally advantageous treatment of large agricultural companies and to put small and medium organic and
  agroecological practices at the centre of public support, to ensure just
  prices for local producers, reduce the distance food travels between
  production and consumption and minimise food waste, while increasing the
  ambition and reshaping the goals of the Farm to Fork strategy.

• Develop European, state-level as well as local and regional programs to
  facilitate access to land for all and especially for youth through Land
  Banks, for instance, in the form of council land redistribution. This
  would generate new job opportunities and rural development and promote
  safe and decent working conditions and wages. A gender perspective has to
  be integrated in all the measures taken, as well as mechanisms to ensure
  equity for ethnic minorities.

To European civil society:

• FYEG supports the Agroecology Europe Barcelona Letter and any other
  organisation or movement working in the lines of an agroecological
  transformation.

• We make a call to join forces in the advocacy and action towards a truly
  sustainable food system that places the health of people and the planet
  over profit, a transformation in the food system that cannot wait if we
  want genuinely resilient territories for the decades to come.