Why 10 tests?
European agriculture is at a crossroads. The easy path ahead would be to continue business as usual: an intensive model of food production which is wreaking havoc for the environment and for many of the people involved in it, but is delivering plenty of cheap food. However, this model cannot be sustained over the long-term, whether because of increasing impacts of the ecological and climate crises, or because of the demographic time-bomb of an ageing farming population. So we must steer off that path and onto the rocky road of the transition to a more sustainable and resilient model of food production. This change of direction must come fast, as we have just 10 years before the cliff edge of catastrophic climate breakdown and biodiversity collapse…
In this document, we outline the EEB’s 10 tests for a genuinely Green Deal-compatible CAP, contrasting these criteria to the key elements of the Parliament’s and Council’s negotiating positions. Tests 1 to 5 are about policy content while tests 6 to 10 focus on governance aspects, which are crucial to ensure that farmers are not left alone and that all actors are part of a much-needed green transition.