The agro-food supply chain connects important and diverse sectors of the European economy that are essential for economic, social and environmental welfare as well as for the health of European citizens. Over recent years, there has been a shift in bargaining power in the supply chain, mostly to the advantage of the retail sector and to the detriment of primary producers. The position of the most vulnerable actors, such as farmers, should therefore be addressed, in particular by ensuring that prices that allow the farmer to make a fair profit are paid throughout the agro-food supply chain and by putting an end to unfair trading practices.
Προσωρινή ομάδα μελέτης «Βιώσιμα συστήματα τροφίμων» - Related Events
On Thursday 21 April, the EESC's Various Interests Group has held an extraordinary meeting at the Dutch Economic and Social Council (Sociaal-Economische Raad/SER) in The Hague. The conference was entitled From agricultural to food policy – Towards healthy and sustainable production and consumption.
The EESC has received a request from the incoming Dutch EU Presidency for an exploratory opinion on how to achieve more sustainable food systems in a resource-constrained world. In the past few years, civil society has been increasingly concerned about the environmental, economic and social impact of unsustainable food chains. Globally, about one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted. Food is also one of the most important drivers of environmental pressures. The hearing will represent an opportunity to hear from experts and stakeholders about their views and initiatives for a transition to more sustainable food systems in Europe. The discussion will take a holistic and systemic approach by considering the environmental, economic and social dimensions of sustainability and the importance of cross-sectoral co-operation across the food supply chain.
Which policies for access to land and natural resources, and which agricultural policies, may bring about production models which create jobs and add value without destroying natural resources?
In preparation for the World Forum on Access to Land and Natural Resources, the CESE, AGTER, and CERAI invite you to join them for a day of discussions about Land grabbing and land concentration in Europe on November 16th, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in the European Economic and Social Committee, Brussels, Belgium, 2 rue Van Maerlant, Bruxelles 1040, (Salle VM3). This European Land Access Day Conference is part of a series of regional conferences in preparation of the World Forum on Access to Land 2016, which is intended to be a ten-year follow-up to the World Forum on Agrarian Reform (Valencia, 2004) and the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (Porto Alegre, 2006).