Tunnel vision? Industry reacts to EU’s new agriculture and food commitments

The European Commission (EC) has released its Vision for Agriculture and Food, a new roadmap for the future of farming and F&B production in Europe that seeks to allay fears over producer livelihoods, quality control, and environmental intensity. The report is based on the findings of an advisory group led by industry leaders but is being criticized for a lack of concrete commitments and vague wording. 

Presented yesterday by EC President Ursula von der Leyen, the Vision report mainly addresses living and working conditions for farmers, who have been protesting economic conditions throughout the EU for some time. 

“Our farmers take center stage in the EU’s food production system. It is thanks to their daily hard work that all of us have safe and high-quality food,” says Von der Leyen. “Yet, our farmers face the growing challenges of global competition and climate change. That is why we are offering a comprehensive strategy that makes farming more attractive, more resilient, and more sustainable.”

The Vision addresses four central areas for support: fairer incomes for farmers through pricing support and trading legislation; bolstered food security via international trade agreements and negotiations; rewards for sustainability initiatives and access to biopesticides; and a plan to improve rural living conditions. 

Animal welfare standards, food waste, water supply resilience, and other issues were also addressed. 

Despite recognizing many of the agri-food industry’s most protested problems, Copa Cogeca — the EU’s major union and interest group for farmers — says that while the Vision finally acknowledges the problems European agriculture faces, it ignores the “fundamental” importance of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) budget. 

Ambitions and actions

Animal welfare is mentioned in the report but details are not given.The CAP budget is currently being debated, and is financed through the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), which is due for renewal after 2027. Copa Cogeca is campaigning for an increased budget, which for the 2021-2027 period stood at €386.6 billion (US$403.4 billion), divided between two funds (often referred to as the “two pillars” of the CAP). 

However, the EC’s Vision does not mention the CAP budget, and references to the second pillar (the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD)) and its funding are completely absent. 

“Let’s be clear: ambitions and proposals will amount to little without a robust CAP. One which supports active farmers — regardless of the size — and is backed by an increased budget in the post-2027 MFF. This budget must include automatic corrections for inflation and the growing responsibilities placed on agriculture,” says Copa Cogena. 

“Without this, Europe’s farming communities will face significant challenges, and the vision for the sector’s future risks becoming a hollow promise. What we need now is more than just a change in rhetoric. We need to rebuild trust with concrete actions and coherence across all these proposals, including those outside of the CAP framework. The vision is a step forward, but the key ‘enablers’ needed to bring it to life remain to be defined.”

Changing European diets

ProVeg International is also calling the Vision a missed opportunity. In a statement, the organization says, “While it nods to the need for climate action in agriculture and acknowledges farmers’ demands, the document lacks concrete steps and a clear plan for meaningful progress.”

It says efforts to prioritize and make healthy, sustainable diets easier and more affordable for consumers are also barely mentioned. These issues are largely left to individual member states’ actions. The growing role of plant-based foods for consumers, acknowledged by the advisory board Von der Leyen established, is not mentioned, nor is the need to rebalance EU diets toward more plant-based options.

The need to transition toward plant-based diets went largely unaddressed.Lucia Hortelano, senior EU policy manager at ProVeg International, comments: “While the Vision contains some positive elements, like the revision of public procurement rules and the need for further innovation, it ultimately tries to please everyone and fails to push for the bold reforms needed to create fairer and more sustainable food supply chains in the EU.”

“It is a missed opportunity to seize the broad consensus around the Strategic Dialogue recommendations — and we feel it fails to achieve the depolarization goal which was at the core of this initiative.”

Animal welfare reform 

The Vision reaffirms the EC’s commitment to reforming animal welfare standards in the food industry, which is set for legislative change next year.

However, Eurogroup for Animals also says this element of the Vision report lacks any depth or commitment. 

“We are encouraged by the EC’s reaffirmed commitment to revising the outdated animal welfare legislation, including the ban on cages. As outlined in the Vision, stronger welfare standards should be matched by reciprocal measures for imported products and the introduction of animal welfare labeling,” comments Reineke Hameleers, CEO of Eurogroup for Animals. 

“However, the Vision remains unclear on crucial aspects, such as financing the transition to sustainable food production as well as addressing the need for protein diversification. We look forward to collaborating with the Commission and all stakeholders to ambitiously and effectively implement this Vision.”

Contrary to the Strategic Dialogue report, the Vision also does not propose consumption-side policies, leaving it to local authorities to develop and implement healthy and sustainable diet initiatives, the group highlights. 

Greenpeace EU agricultural policy director Marco Contiero remarks: “EU farm policy pays massive amounts of public money to a model of farming that eats away at nature, rewards billionaire land-owners, puts small farms out of business, and hollows out rural communities. If nothing changes, European farming’s vulnerability to climate and environmental breakdown will grow, further risking farmers’ livelihoods and their very ability to grow food.”

“This is the Commission’s tunnel vision on farming, unwilling to change course even as our food system crumbles.”