The relations between agriculture, food and health.
°°° Abstract: How
to draw up agricultural, economic and social policies which encourage
to put on the market foods which are factors of health? The "decompartmentalization"
of the involved contexts is indispensable. There were not much reactions
on this topic, that yet concerns all the European consumers. °°°
I have launched a proposal which consists
to subordinate all agricultural policy to the imperatives of health.
The types and forms of agricultural production must be judges according
to their impacts on the health of the Europeans. The aids must back
up the products that guarantee the health of the consumers, as much
for the sanitary risks as for the balance of the products, of their
nourishing values, of their harmlessness, etc. It is proposed that
the
system of health is in part financed by taxes on the products such
as tobacco, the alcohol, the greases, the glucids, etc. An effort
of educational methods and a "decompartmentalization"
of the contexts of health and agriculture must come with this policy.
Pierre Caro testifies the deterioration of the food through the
time: loss of the pleasure to eat, diversity in the food regimes,
confidence on its food. He proposes several leads so that agriculture
and the food contribute to a better health:
1) to bring closer producers and
consumers, to break anonymity and to create a dialogue,
2) to inform the consumers in such
a way to make them responsible and to make them conscious of the
consequences of their purchases
3) to tax more the products of bad quality
4) to suppress the value-added
Tax (VAT) on the products that encourage a good health
There were still not any other
reactions on this subject. Yet, this problem is fairly extensively
shared all over Europe. The food is considered less and less like
a source of good health, and, worse, it becomes a risk for health.
Agriculture alone cannot answer to this problem. The food habits,
the rhythms of life and the budgetary priorities of the Europeans
are important factors. However, concerning our discussion, I still
see three leads to study thoroughly:
1) to continue to imagine how the
agricultural, social and economic policies can contribute to put
on the market food products which encourage a good health: healthy,
nutritious and pleasing.
2) to speak of the ways to create
some links between the different sectors: consumers, producers,
physicians... I think that Ioana Balasoiu, Samuel Feret or Marielle
Richard, for example, would be able to, according to their presentation,
to help us on these points.
3) to imagine how the countryside
can be involved in the field of health. There is the experiences
of "health" farm in which the patients, instead of going
to the hospital, are taken in charge and followed by physicians.
Gerwin Verschuur will surely be able to inform us on these experiences.
The next message of summary will
carry on the contributions that have involved the means of support
to the farmers and to the rural area.
From agriculture to the territory: the methods of support to agriculture
and to the rural area.
°°° Abstract: The
Common Agricultural Policy cannot solve other things than the agricultural
problems. The other functions of the rural area (the job creation
for example) must be given measures and specific policies. The policies
of territories slowly replace the policies of industries. °°°
The discussion on the methods of
support to the rural activities, of which agriculture, was launched
at the first proposal I have proposed, to stimulate the development
of the rural area, to affect a single bonus to the hectare, independent
of the productions and proportional to the jobs created. Agriculture
is not the only way to give life in the countryside, and the Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP) not being capable to solve other things
than the agricultural problems, it is necessary to propose some
incitements to the job creation, that constitute a general problem.
Iain Farquhar answered twice. In
his first message he teaches us that the majority of the NGO British
are unfavorable to the principle of modulation of the aids. He also
expresses some doubts on the efficiency and the acceptability of
such a measure:
- Is it compatible with the diversity of the situations
in Europe?
- Would this measure be cheaper than the present
policy?
- Would it solve the environmental problems?
Iain suggests to rely on what already
exists: the agro-environmental aids, the setting of the World Trade
Organization (WTO), and the shy but courageous progress of the agreements
of Berlin (see the report of the contribution of Matthieu Calame,
below) which increases the budget of the agro-environmental aids
and the one of the rural development with regard to
the aids to the production.
Even though Iain is personally
in favor to this proposal, he thinks that some abuses can exist:
the relocations of activity not linked to soil and the declarations
of odd jobs, to allocate financial aids. He asks a crucial question:
how to measure work in agriculture?
In his second message Iain moderates
the refusal of the British NGO against the modulation. The small
producers (family agriculture) defend the modulation. It is in fact
difficult to know who is against and who is in favor. The groups
that express themselves on this subject (NGO, Unions, Organizations)
do not always represent well the opinion of their members. The big
owners are often those that have more time to defend their organizations,
and it is sometimes their point of view that stands out.
This being said, "small is
not necessarily beautiful!" Some big owners can be ecological
and socially responsible in their behaviors. It is in fact what
makes hesitate the protective organizations of the environment to
take a position on the measures that penalize the big structures...
Matthieu Calame intervened then
to specify that the proposal doesn't have an exclusive objective
of only encouraging the employment in rural world. It is clearly
a policy of the employment, that concerns the whole European population.
It has the merit to be clear and simple (we will see in Iain message
from that it is important) but it also has some limits: it doesn't
replace a policy of the environment, of the food or of the rural
development. It also supposes another fundamental policy, the farmers
having today almost the monopoly of the use of the soils.
This proposal is perhaps expensive
at the level of Europe, as Iain suggests it, but it can also be
applied at the scale of a township or a region.
Matthieu also intervened to affirm
that the agreements of Berlin are a success for three reasons:
1) It accentuate the visibility of the direct aids
and therefore of the cost of the CAP
2) It announce a re-balancing of the aids in favor
of the animal productions
3) It limits the budget of CAP but not the one
of the structural funds
The next message of summary will be about the contributions
about the sustainability of the forms of agricultural production.
The sustainability in agriculture and the means
to succeed it.
°°° Abstract: The
preservation of the natural resources must be a precondition, in
the choice of a policy. It is necessary to institute the agro-environmental
rules that are equitable, transparent and efficient. The question
of "who" institutes these rules is fundamental. °°°
In his message Iain presents the
problem in a general way: one cannot continue to consume like this,
without losing irreversibly the capital of humankind's resources.
There is resources such as the watertables, oil or soils, which
serve only once ! There is of resources such as the diversity of
the races and kinds that can disappear forever. If one wishes a
future, it is therefore necessary to preserve these resources. Iain
notes that, if everybody is okay for a sustainable development,
the attitudes and the practices are not at the height of the challenge:
our survival.
He proposes that the conservation
of resources is a pre-condition to accept such or such process,
such or such technique of production.
He proposes that the support to
the farmers is conditioned by the preservation of soils, of water,
of the sources of energy and the biodiversity,:
* Soils *: its capital fertility
must be preserved, and its capacity of de-pollution respected.
* Water *: the use must be moderated,
and adapted to the quantity available. The stock of underground
waters must absolutely be protected.
* Energy *: Iain proposes that
the agricultural system of Europe has to be the minimum in autonomous
energy. The public support would be reserved to the farms of which
the balance in carbon would be reached.
* Biodiversity *: the principle
of prudence must drive us to stop disregarding any plant or animal
kind.
Brigitte Decrauzat takes up this
topic and confirm the need to develop international rules to identify
some products resulting from the sustainable agriculture
On the basis of the model of support to the Swiss farmers (direct
payments condition by the respect of environmental practices) and
the case of the organic farming, Brigitte proposes to be inspired
by the indicators of sustainability of the OECD to establish common
and recognized rules, and a label saying "produced resulting
from the sustainable agriculture."
She also suggests that the market
pays the additional cost of these environment-friendly practices.
The public support must be considers when there is not enough market
for these products.
Alain Ruellan, suggests not to
establish a priority in resources to preserve. All are essential
for the future, and it is necessary to learn to use it without destroying
it.
Otherwise, he proposes to not include
the energy like an identifiable natural resource, but proposes water,
soils, air and life.
He also proposes to not reduce
the considerations on the sustainable development to agriculture,
but to widen to all the rural area, including in its relations to
the cities.
In another message, Iain highlights
three paradoxes linked to the conditionality of the public aids.
1) the regulations and the controls
that are necessary to condition the public aids penalize the small
producers. The administrative working quantity, the needs of appraisal,
the sanitary and regulatory requirements that driven this evolution
of the practices are more expensive, the smaller the exploitation
is.
2) the regulations often end up
concentrating the structures and encouraging big facilities. Iain
gives the example of the disappearance of the small slaughterhouses
which don't allow the circuits of local production / distribution,
and therefore distant the consumers from the producers.
3) even though harder regulations
are necessary, it didn't prevent the apparition of the encephalopathy
bovine spongiform (ESB).
There is therefore a dilemma to
solve: how to institute efficient agro-environmental rules (because
the challenge is vital), just (without penalizing the small structures),
trustable and transparent (so that the consumers agree) and economically
acceptable?
Marielle Richard signals us that
in Germany (Low Wurtemberg), and in the west of France, several
experiences in which elected, farmers, consumers and environmentalists
succeeded, together, to improve the agricultural practices.
Marielle introduces here the idea
that the evolutions of the agricultural practices are linked to
the nature of the partners that involves himself to it. The question
is not only "how", but "with who" one attempts
to solve the problems.
The next and last message from
summary will consider the contributions on the case of the protection
of soils.
The protection of soils in Europe.
°°° Abstract: The
attention carried to our soils is extensively insufficient. Can
one accept the rules that officialize the possibility to pollute
a soil (pollutant-payer principle)? A better knowledge of soils
and a bigger awareness raising of the citizens are necessary. Works
already exist on this issue. °°°
Following the exchanges on the
protection of the natural resources, I have brought some thinkings
on the management of soils. The suggestions or proposals are:
1) the pollutant-payer principle
ratified the right to pollute. It proposes, as in the industry or
the construction, to forbid all technique that damages soil insofar
as another technique more gentle or less polluting is known and
available.
2) the states and the users, property
owners, farmers, etc. must be capable to follow the state of soils
of which they are responsible, and must get involved to preserve
it, to the minimum, in the state where they have it finds. A work
of cartography and characterization of soils is indispensable, come
with procedures of follow-up (indicators) and of controls.
3) the ignorance of the citizens
on the challenges of the protection of soils deserved an important
effort of awareness raising and education.
Samuel Feret reacted to these first
proposals while essentially confirming a point: the general ignorance
of soils, due to several factors :
1) the classic agricultural teaching
has "forgotten" the soils during a long time, presenting
the earth like a simple medium whose chemistry can correct such
or such deficiency.
2) research on soils is under-developed,
in particular with regard to research on water.
3) soils are more a public good
and collective. The market not enabling to take into account the
costs of the protection of soils, it is necessary to find some means
to link the public aids and the environmental requirements: eco-conditionality,
ecological taxing system, or contractualization.
Alain Ruellan reminds us otherwise
that the group that works on soils within the Alliance for a responsible,
plural, and socially responsible world, has published a first "SOS2
Proposal file" (Save Our Soils to Sustain Our Societies).
For memory, I have proposed a first
message on water. It takes up the questions and the first proposals
already formulated by the group that specifically works on water
within the Alliance:
- How to measure the value of water?
- The collective management of
water and the sharing of this resource
- The mobilization of the sciences
at the service of the needs in water
In conclusion, this first phase is very encouraging. The considered
questions are well at the heart of the discussion: the future of
our countryside.
I propose three directions to pursue
the exchanges:
1) to study thoroughly the topics
considers: the food and health; the policies of public aids; the
indicators and the sustainable methods of production; soils and
water.
2) to start on other questions:
the enlargement of Europe to the East and to the South; the evolution
of the fundamental right; the cultural functions; the social functions
of the countryside, etc.
3) to vary the geographical and
cultural horizons of our contributions. It is a call to the participants
who manifest themselves yet !
There is of work! More before long
on the forum.
The European model of sustainable rural development:
the multi-functionality.
°°° Abstract: In
his first message, Gerwin Verschuur presents the problem of the
development of the rural Europe with regard to the rest of the world.
Is the multi-functionality of agriculture the specificity of a "European
model" of rural development? °°°
Gerwin took the voice of a work
group (TAED: Transatlantic Environmental Dialogue) on the position
and the role of agriculture, its trade and its environment. On both
sides of the Atlantic, a finding: agriculture is not only the production
of food, and its effects go beyond the borders and the time of one
generation. Europe defends itself in the negotiations of the World
Trade Organization with the argument of its "development"
model and the multi-functionality of its agriculture. But this multi-functionality
also exists in the USA, in Africa, and everywhere in the world.
It means that agriculture is not an isolated and independent activity.
For this reason, one cannot be
satisfied with the rules of the classic trade, nor only with the
technical logics of production.
- It is necessary to protect the
systems of production of the developing countries to guarantee the
food security as quitting the practices of dumping to the export,
while encouraging the forms of agriculture and trade that maintain
the farmers on their territories.
- It is necessary that the policies
of aid to agriculture integrate the multi-functionality of this
activity, according to the degrees and the nature of this multi-functionality,
that are very different from a region to the other, from a country
to the other.
- The rules of the trade must recognize
the right to the consumers to choose the labeled products, to express
their interest or their indifference for the different forms of
productions. It refers to the message of Brigitte Decrauzat about
her proposal of a label saying "product that come from the
sustainable agriculture".
- It is necessary to stop the concentration
of the powers on all food paths to the hands of some big multinational
businesses, concentration that goes against the diversity of the
production systems, and that unifies the techniques, the products
and the "cultures" in both meaning of the word.
I allow myself to make some comments
on Gerwin message, and solicit your reactions:
Multi-functionality: of what does
one talk about precisely? of the multi-functionality of agriculture?
But agriculture in itself, it is to say the art to cultivate the
plants or to raise some animals is not, in my view, multi-functional.
A hectare of wheat has for function to produce some quintals of
wheat.
What has several functions, it
is the combination of trade (farmers), with the territory where
it can exercise by itself this trade (the countryside), and with
the raw material (soil, water, the trees, the genetic heritage...).
This nuance is not innocent because if one speaks of multi-functional
agriculture, all policies of aid to the other functions (biodiversity,
landscape, employment...) risk to be taken away by the agricultural
world. However, we think that the agricultural world is not capable,
alone, to propose other forms of management of the rural areas.
It would not be more accurate and
efficient to speak of multi-functional "territories",
and to consider the European rural area like a source of employment,
of landscape, of biodiversity, etc. whose farmers are a essential
component, probably but certainly not the only one.
The inhabitants of the countryside,
the retired people who live there, the small business, the unemployed,
the children of the rural schools or from cities, the house mothers
who spend part of their life furrowing the countryside for their
home, the tourists who go there to walk, all of them participate
to the multi-functionality of the territories, and should be involve
in its management.
Soils and the energy.
°°° Abstract: Concerning
the protection of soils and energy policy, Europe has the means
to propose other controls and other laws to frame the production.
°°°
The discussion on soils continues
on the forum. Iain, in a long message from February 21, explain
us how, by lack of technico-economic alternatives, because it is
easier to use chemical substances and by a vision of short term,
the farmers of the United Kingdom neglect their soils. Paradoxically,
these are the least conscious farmers and the less involve by the
deterioration of soils and by the pollution that results from it.
The situation is completely blocked:
the decrease of fertility of soils obliges the farmers to increasingly
use chemicals, and fertility still decreases. The erosion of soils
and the pollution increase with the fragility of soils, but the
farmers are not more able to pay for the damages. Then the society
pays the accidents of the road after flooding, pay for the de-pollution
of waters, the sewers to clear...
Iain also learns us that the university
of Essex has calculated the downstream costs of the cultures that
represents about 330 Euros! Would not it be worth better, with this
money, to help the farmers to stop polluting?
Matthieu Calame confirms the idea
that it is necessary to use " politically the disastrous effects
of the erosion of soils" (out-flows of mud on the roads...).
He proposes three simple indicators to follow the state of soils:
1) the organic matter rate: objective of 2%, in agreement with Iain;
2) the C/N rate(Carbon on Nitrogen): objective between 10 and 60;
3) the number of earthworms by squares meter.
About energy policy, Matthieu submits
two proposals:
1) a progressive Tax to the Consumed Fossil energy, that will make
more expensive a product manufactured with the fossil energy (including
the nuclear);
2) a bonus to the business that improve their overall energy assessment,
it is to say their capacity to capture the renewable energy.
For soils as for the energy, it
seems that the ideas, the indicators and the tools of measure exist.
Before formulating more precise proposals, it would be useful to
have the other Europeans opinion on these methods.
This being said, it seems increasingly clear than Europe is able
to propose the rules and laws that encourage the environment-friendly
practices.
The inhabitants can take their territories in
hand.
°°° Abstract: to
understand one's territory and to participate collectively to its
development is a beginning of citizenship. The rural area is a place
where Europeans can get involved to build their identity and to
assume their responsibility in the evolution of their living environment.
The scattering of a spread out habitat in a rural zone close to
big cities is not a viable solution from an ecological, energy and
aesthetic point of view. It is better to encourage the constitution
of networks of small and medium-sized towns densely populated, but
well distributed on the European territory. °°°
Three messages have considered the question of our way of living
in a place.
Martine Muller, in her message of 16/02, mentions the ignorance
that we have about the relationships that men and women maintain
with their place of life, and between them on this place. We measure
the flows, the densities, but nohing else. However, for her, the
nature of the links, the desires of people, their determination
"to do things together", their attachment to their territory,
should be better-known. These links and these desires are identity,
integration and solidarity factors.
However, the present Europe is sick of isolation, uprooting, solitude
and indifference. The rural area can offer a setting to learn the
collective action, the responsibility, the appropriation of one's
environment again.
In her 2nd message, Martine Muller underlines the need, to be able
to be an actor of one's life, to understand and to have an influence
on one's territory.
There, too, the rural area offers possibilities for the inhabitants
to mobilize and becoming responsible as far as local life is concerned.
Martine Muller indicates that the contexts where the socio-cultural
and professional horizons are varied, the capacity to innovate and
to take one's territory in hand is stronger than elsewhere.
Provided that people are able and
know how to make aliances and to build democratic discussions at
all levels.
Matthieu Calame, in his message of the 07/02 considers the question
differently. History built in Europe the megacities where millions
of Europeans crammed, whereas whole areas were emptying out of its
inhabitants. But the desire of "nature" and the growing
oppresion of the cities push a lot of Europeans to escape the city
centers and the suburbs to settle down in the near countrysides.
The scattering of the habitat is a disaster in terms of pollution,
of energy cost, of landscape.
Matthieu asks himself about the possibilities of densifying the
network of small cities, and puts forward a system of adjustment
between the zones which are too dense (30% of the average for example)
and the "empty zones", where the money would serve to
develop employment and the habitat.