b'European Parliament Votesto Adopt Farm to ForkControversial strategy changes farm and seed industry operations.Sonja BegemannIN LATE OCTOBER,an over- economic assessment provided by the whelming majority of the EuropeanEuropean Commission at the time, saysThe Commission:Parliament voted in favor of adopting theJayson Beckman, USDA EconomicsWelcomes the ambitions and goals of the Farm Farm to Fork strategy. The move kicks offResearch Service acting branch chief ofto Fork strategy as an important step in ensuring a domino-effect on farmers, agriculturalthe international trade and development companies and, ultimately, consumers. branch. So, we did a deep dive to seea sustainable, fair, healthy animal friendly, more This strategy for farmers and agricul- how this could impact global agriculturalregional, diversified and resilient food system, turalist in the EU has admirable intentionsproduction and food security. which is central to achieving the goals set out in but potentially devastating conse- Their findings on the impact of thethe European Green Deal and in the Sustainable quences. While the authors intend for thedecade-long plan are sobering: Development Goals [and] encourages the strategy to reduce the impact of climateAg production, specifically in the EU,Commission to translate the strategy into concrete change, the reality is, it would likelywill decline from 7% (global adop-increase food insecurity, reduce farmertion) to 12% (EU-only).legislative and non-legislative action as soon as income and make countries in the EU less Global adoption drops worldwidepossible, accompanied by the proper financialcompetitive on a global scale. production 11%. support mechanisms for the transition.Heres a quick rundown of some of the Food supplies will tighten in the ag-facing proposed changes, specific toEU, resulting in price increases per crops or vegetable production: capita. Prices will increase the mostReduce pesticide use on crops, fruitsin the EU and will also increase inWhile a publication did eventually get and vegetables by 50%. other regions. released in the EU, it was late enough thatCut nutrient losses on farmedTrade will decrease, putting moremuch of the findings were not considered ground by 50%, requiring farmerspressure on the most food-insecurein the Parliaments decision.use 20% less fertilizer. and developing nations. The late publication of the Joint Boost overall organic production to With EU-only adoption, food insecu- Research Centres report on the impact of25% of the total. rity (less than 2,100 calories per day)EUs objectives has made it almost impos- Take 10% of currently farmed landwill increase by 22 million people.sible to fully address its findings in the out of production. Global adoption increases hunger bydiscussion and in the final text. Euroseeds Because of global trade, the impact185 million. strongly supports the clear call from the of Farm to Fork spans beyond just the 27 Member States and would impact people around the world. From trade barriers to the potential for greater hunger, its time to pay attention.Policy Stands on Shaky GroundAs the strategy inches toward implemen-tation, global trade and food security concerns mount.When we first saw this policy come about in May 2020, there was no102/ SEEDWORLD.COMDECEMBER 2021'