18
Oct
2021
Watch
Farm to Fork Strategy (debate)
Madam President, ladies and gentlemen. Food is important for our survival, for our health, for our well-being. Food is not only energy, but also enjoyment, especially when it is of high quality. Now we have a strategy and, Commissioner, you said it, that strategy must then be transformed into legislation. And as soon as we get proposals for it, we expect a proper impact assessment. But I also think, having listened to the debate here, that once again we did not talk about the Farm to Fork strategy. We talked about the farm. We are always stuck in agriculture. We are not talking about the responsibility of the industry; we are not talking about the responsibility of trade; We don't talk much about the responsibility of the customer. If the strategy is already called "farm to fork", then we should talk about "farm to fork" and not only about "farm". We must also stop perpetually denouncing agriculture and farmers on this continent. Yes, there are things that need to be improved. But there are also hundreds of thousands of farmers who do an excellent job every day, who know how to produce food and do so sustainably. Because I can guarantee you: The farmers are the first to think sustainably and see that they pass on their land properly to the next generation. Only if we succeed in finding a common approach here will we be able to inspire young people for agriculture. If we do not come with this know-it-all that I sometimes hear in this house, but simply try to go a new way with farmers, then we will ultimately be successful. Then we will also inspire young people to enter agriculture. And if we don't succeed, then everything we do here is wasted love effort anyway.