Sustainable agriculture is vital to climate, health and biodiversity protection.

Current EU agriculture produces high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as relying on ‘agrochemicals’ – pesticides and fertilisers - which cause severe environmental damage and negatively impact our health.

As the global demand for food production increases, we believe making agriculture sustainable is key to fighting climate change.

10%

of the EU’s total greenhouse gas emissions were linked to agriculture in 2019.

One

cow produces 120kg of methane emissions per year, compared with just 1.5kg per pig or 0.015kg per chicken.

What we do

  1. Advocating for sustainable, regenerative agriculture

    We work with a coalition of NGOs to advocate for a new agricultural model. Currently, the majority of EU farming subsidies are distributed to farmers based on the size of their fields, without incentivising activities that have a positive impact on nature and the climate. We want the Common Agricultural Policy to play a key role in achieving the objectives of the European Green Deal, by supporting rural communities transitioning to agricultural practices that protect nature and our health.

  2. Transforming the food system

    The climate and biodiversity crises, public health, social injustice, access to nutritious food are all challenges related to food production and consumption that require systemic change. The EU Farm to Fork Strategy sets the vision for a new European Food System by addressing the current gaps. We are working with NGOs to make this systemic change happen.

  3. Protecting our soils

    Soil has many functions: it’s a global carbon sink, it purifies water, it supports biodiversity, it gives us food. Nonetheless, it’s suffering from poor land management and intensive agricultural activities. The EU currently lacks a proper legal framework to protect our soils. We are working to raise awareness and the degree of ambition of EU policies.

  4. Tackling pollution from intensive agricultural activities

    We make sure that current agriculture and environmental laws are being implemented properly across the EU. We hold Member States accountable for the soil, air and water pollution caused by agricultural activities that do not comply with EU standards.

What we've achieved

We made sure the new Farm to Fork strategy incorporated more aspects of environmental protection, including setting ambitious reduction targets for pesticides and fertilisers. Now we need the CAP to meet the same high standards.

Plant growing in field

European Green Deal latest – new commitments on food and nature

The EU has published the highly anticipated Farm to Fork Strategy and Biodiversity Strategy, shaping the future of food systems and nature protection in the Union. These strategies are at the heart of the European Green Deal and aim to build our resilience to future climate threats. We worked with a group of NGOs to push for these new strategies to contain ambitious targets.