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Ministers of Agriculture will meet on 05-07/09 at the Informal Council of Ministers to be held in Slovenia. The Slovenian Presidency has included the development of rural areas among its main agricultural priorities for the second half of 2021. This priority will also be the topic of the informal September Council of Ministers. During the discussion, Slovenia will rely on the European Commission's document entitled "Long-term vision for rural areas", which was issued in the first half of this year. According to Slovenia, the development of rural areas must be approached in a new way, the population living in rural areas should be more involved in the political decision-making process, digitization should be strengthened, stereotypical distinctions between urban and rural areas should be alleviated.
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The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) issued a report on 29/07/2021 aimed at meeting the EU's green objectives through the CAP. The report presents model scenarios for the implementation of the CAP reform proposal to measure the impact of strengthening green ambitions on EU agriculture. The scenario also includes the fulfilment of four quantitative targets under the Farm to Fork Strategy and the EU Biodiversity Strategy, which, according to the JRC, have the greatest potential to affect the agricultural environment and production in the EU. These include reducing the use of pesticides and the risks associated with the use of pesticides, reducing the leakage of nutrients and fertilizers used in the EU, expanding the area of organic farming, and expanding the area of non-productive elements in the EU. The impacts were modelled according to three scenarios - maintaining the status quo, meeting the new objectives without additional financial support from the European recovery plan Next Generation EU, and meeting the new objectives with additional support from the Next Generation EU. If Member States made full use of the potential of the new national strategic plans for the CAP, they could, according to the JRC, reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture by 20-30%. However, according to the JRC, food producer prices could rise by up to 10%, with or without financial support from the Next Generation EU. According to the JRC, food producer prices would rise mainly in the livestock sector, the impact on farmers' incomes would depend on the resulting volume of supply. Purchase prices of beef could increase by 24%, which should lead to a strengthening of farmers' total incomes by 126%. For pork, prices could increase by 43%, and farmers' total incomes by 129%. For poultry meat production, the JRC predicts an increase in purchase prices of 18% and, in connection with this, an increase in income of 83%. In the case of the cereals sector, the JRC predicts a fall in farmers' total incomes of 26%, mainly due to a fall in yields of up to 11%.
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EFSA’s Panel for Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA) has banned the use of health claims of a grape seed extract MegaNatural-BP. Specifically, it is a claim about his alleged ability to maintain normal blood pressure. According to EFSA, the American company Polyphenolics, which produces the extract, has not provided evidence of a way or mechanism by which the extract would be able to maintain normal human blood pressure.
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In its latest research, the British Nutrition Foundation (BNF), which provides information on healthy eating, draws attention to the problem of growing consumer demand for foods that are perceived or rated as healthier or more sustainable by key minerals, related to the lack of key minerals, including, for example, iron and iodine in vegan and vegetarian diets. Large food companies are making commitments to expand the range or increase the production of plant-based alternatives to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and land use for livestock production. Although the BNF study acknowledges the need to reduce the consumption of red and processed meat, according to BNF, it is not necessary to completely rule out completely healthy consumption of meat, fish, and food of animal origin.
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On 17/08/2021, the European Commission granted authorization for the use of ten genetically modified crops (GMOs) for food production and for use as animal feed. These are 3 types of maize, 2 types of soybeans, 1 type of oilseed rape, 1 type of cotton and renewal of the permit for 2 types of maize and 1 type of oilseed rape. Permits are valid for 10 years, and any product made from these GM crops will be subject to strict EU labelling and traceability rules on the EU market. The permit does not cover cultivation in the EU. The European Commission decided based on a strong scientific opinion of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
More information is available here.