News

Representatives of the consumer health organization Action on Salt conducted a study focusing on the salt content of plant-based meat alternatives in the UK. The study shows that although plant-based products have fewer calories and more fibre on average than meat products, up to 75% of plant-based alternatives in the UK exceed the recommended salt content of foods.
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On 23/11/2021, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) published a report on the outcome of a European veterinary antimicrobial surveillance project entitled "Sales of veterinary antimicrobial agents in 31 European countries in 2019 and 2020". The report states that sales of antimicrobials for use in animals in European countries were 43% lower in 2020 compared to 2011. The project is based on data from 25 countries that provided complete data for the period 2011-2020. However, it also points to an increase in total drug sales in these countries by 6% in 2020 compared to 2019. The Agency adds that sales of antimicrobials, which are considered critical in human medicine, accounted for only 6% of total sales in 2020, with sales declining significantly between 2011 and 2020.
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Janusz Wojciechowski, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, said last week that the European Commission would not approve national strategic plans unless they provided sufficient support for small and medium-sized farmers. Wojciechowski said the European Commission would reject draft strategic plans that would deny small and medium-sized farmers access to CAP budget funding. The Commissioner has long been a supporter of small and medium-sized farmers, especially supporting the family farming model in the EU. According to the Commissioner, these farms have long been under increasing pressure from industrially intensive farms, with which they are unable to compete. That is why, according to the EU Commissioner, up to 4 million small farmers have been lost in the last decade. As a result, up to 4 million small farmers have disappeared in the EU over the last decade.
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During the Council of Ministers on 15/11/2021, the Agriculture Ministers adopted Council Conclusions on the new EU forest strategy for 2030. The Ministers concluded that the contribution of forests to meeting the objectives of the European Green Deal needed to be increased, and that forestry could play a key role in the Union's transition to a green, climate-neutral, and competitive circular bioeconomy. According to the ministers, there is also a need to strike a balance between the ecological, economic, and social aspects of sustainable forest management and to respect and preserve the diversity of forests and management practices across countries and regions. However, ministers expressed doubts about the added value of the Commission's required development of national forestry strategic plans, but rather encouraged the use of existing monitoring and reporting processes.
More information is available here and here.

On 16/11/2021, the European Commission launched the "Start-up Village Forum", which aims to create a meeting place for local, regional, national, and European institutions and stakeholders from 2022 to discuss and formulate innovation measures that bring start-ups to rural areas. The Forum is part of the EU's long-term vision for rural areas of June 2021 and the Commission's Action Plan for Rural Areas. According to the Commission, the Start-up Village Forum aims to provide information on innovative start-ups in rural areas, the types of innovation they deal with, the service gaps that innovation ecosystems should address, and how these ecosystems can be strengthened in the future. The forum should also present opportunities that entrepreneurs can take advantage of in EU-funded programs.
More information is available here.