| Europe plans to better protect its farmers from foreign competition, as part of efforts to safeguard future food security amid growing geopolitical tensions and extreme weather events. In a new vision for the agri-food sector unveiled this week, European Union officials said they want to ensure fair pay and support for growers, while simplifying regulations and making sure imports meet the same standards as EU products. “Europe will protect its agri-food sector against unfair competition and will remain united against geopolitical shocks and threats,” Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen said. “Our farmers and agri-food sector need a level-playing field.” The new vision comes after farmers last year took to the streets of Brussels, Berlin, Paris and Warsaw to protest against red tape, climate policies and unfair standards — part of a list of grievances. Officials took note. Take crop-protection chemicals. The European Commission plans to pursue new restrictions on imported food treated by toxic pesticides banned in the bloc. It will establish a principle that the most hazardous pesticides banned in the EU for health and environmental reasons aren’t allowed back through imported products. The EU is a huge agri-food exporter and home to some of the world’s most food-secure nations. But it’s dependent on imports of palm oil, seafood, inputs like fertilizers, as well as crops for livestock feed, such as soybeans. To address those vulnerabilities, the bloc wants to develop a plan to become more self-sufficient in protein crops and diversify imports. It will work to reduce the dependence on just a few nations for fertilizers, and strengthen its own production. Still, there’s a noticeable shift in thinking from five years ago, when the EU’s Farm to Fork strategy focused on making food more sustainable. The food world has been hit by multiple supply shocks since then, including the pandemic, war in Ukraine and extreme weather. Climate and food campaigners criticized the new plan for not doing enough to address environmental concerns and shifts in consumer diets. Europeans eat more dairy and meat than recommended, and livestock is a big source of greenhouse gas emissions. The EU emphasized that the livestock sector “is and will remain an essential part of EU agriculture.” It also pledged to hold an annual food dialogue with consumers, producers, retailers and others, and highlighted that climate and sustainability remain important issues. “Farmers are not only our first victims of climate change, but as well our best defense line against climate change,” Hansen said at a briefing on Wednesday. “And they are pretty much aware that they need healthy soils, that they need healthy and good quality water.” Other key points from the vision: - The EU will work on accelerating access for biopesticides as an alternative to crop-protection chemicals.
- It will launch a study on the impact of consumption of ultra-processed foods.
- It said plant-breeding innovations like gene editing are important for contributing to food security.
—Agnieszka de Sousa in London | 
