Incorporating HC 266, session 2008-09

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee criticises the European Commission's proposed sweeping reforms of the CAP that would see the current complex and bureaucratic system of direct payments replaced by one that could be even worse. These changes include a new tier of environmental conditions, with penalties for farm businesses that do not comply or fail to meet new criteria for 'active' farmers, farm size and number of employees. The Committee sets out the key principles the UK government should promote. The first objective of the CAP should be to maintain and enhance the EU's capacity to produce food with a significant degree of self sufficiency and, in the long term, less reliance on income support from the tax payer. The UK's future food security is threatened by the low profitability of its agriculture. More than half of UK farm businesses would be unprofitable without the support they receive through the CAP. The Committee concludes that direct payments have a place within the CAP for as long as business conditions in agriculture fail to deliver a thriving and profitable industry. The CAP must deliver a competitive and viable agricultural sector that produces safe and high quality food with a lower environmental impact. The UK should press for the EU to argue more strongly for recognition of environmental and animal welfare production standards within trade agreements. The committee also warns that the EU proposal for a multi-tiered single farm payment will require expensive new computer systems and auditing.

On cover and title page: House, committees of the whole House, general committees and select committees

This timely book provides a critical review of the growth of alternative food networks and their struggle to defend their ethical and aesthetic values against the standardising pressures of the corporate mainstream with their "placeless and nameless" global supply networks. It explores how these alternative movements are "making a difference" and their possible role as fears of global climate change and food insecurity continue to intensify.

The UK is currently 68% self-sufficient in foods which can be produced at home, but this key indicator has declined steadily over the past 20 years, from 87%. The report says the biggest long-term challenge to food production systems is the impact of extreme weather events resulting from climate change. The Committee supports the idea of 'sustainable intensification' - producing more food with fewer resources - and calls on Defra to stem decline in UK self-sufficiency and deliver more resilience in the UK food system. It notes that for key cereal crops, for example wheat, yield levels have not increased for over 15 years. Other recommendations include: supermarkets to shorten supply chains to reduce threats of disruption; UK farmers to extend seasonal production of fresh fruit and vegetables in coordination with the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board, and local and central Government; Government to reduce dependence on imported soybean for animal feed, as increased demand for protein from emerging economies threatens current supply lines; and Government to produce a detailed emissions reduction plan for the UK agricultural sector. The Committee welcomes the Government's new £160 million AgriTech Strategy to translate technological ideas into farm practice but warns that current funding levels are insufficient. The Government must also lead a public debate to counter food safety fears among consumers about GM foods and ensure a more evidence-based approach to EU licensing of GM crops. New farmers are needed in the sector, to ensure that farming has a future in the UK.

In response to the challenges of a growing population and food security, there is an urgent need to construct a new agri-food sustainability paradigm. This book brings together an integrated range of key social science insights exploring the contributions and interventions necessary to build this framework. Building on over ten years of ESRC funded theoretical and empirical research centered at BRASS, it focuses upon the key social, economic and political drivers for creating a more sustainable food system. Themes include: regulation and governance sustainable supply chains public procurement sustainable spatial strategies associated with rural restructuring and re-calibrated urbanised food systems minimising bio-security risk and animal welfare burdens. The book critically explores the linkages between social science research and the evolving food security problems facing the world at a critical juncture in the debates associated with not only food quality, but also its provenance, vulnerability and the inherent unsustainability of current systems of production and consumption. Each chapter examines how the links between research, practice and policy can begin to contribute to more sustainable, resilient and justly distributive food systems which would be better equipped to ‘feed the world’ by 2050.

This book examines welsh perspectives on the search for sustainable law and policy solutions to modern environmental threats.

This book provides a historical and analytical account of changes in the seafood supply chain in Britain from the mid-twentieth century to the present, looking at the impact of various types of governance. The governance of marine fisheries has been a contested issue for decades with increasing anxieties about overfishing. In tandem, the rise of aquaculture, fish and shellfish farming, has driven another set of environmental concerns. In the food system, there have been scandals about safety failures and about fraud. At the same time, governments issue advice urging people to eat fish for its health benefits. In the context of these problems and contradictions, how have governments, the food industry and ordinary consumers responded? The author shows how different types of governance and regulation have been used to seek seafood sustainability and food safety and to communicate nutritional messages to the public and with what effects. The book also presents a new model for understanding food chains which combines governance and power approaches with an emphasis on understanding the interests served and the resulting balance of public and private benefits. This shows that the role of state regulation should have greater emphasis in governance and agri-food analysis and that theories about supply chain functioning, including the part played by major retailers and civil society, should be modified by a more nuanced understanding of the role of standards and certification systems. Although much of the focus is on the UK and Europe, this book provides key lessons internationally for the governance of seafood and other agri-food supply chains. The book will be of interest to students of food policy and those working in the seafood industry or studying for connected qualifications, and more widely to readers with an interest in seafood issues and problems.

Andrew W. Neal argues that while 'security' was once an anti-political 'exception' in liberal democracies - a black box of secret intelligence and military decision-making at the dark heart of the state - it has now become normalised in professional political life. This represents a direct challenge to critical security studies debates and their core assumption that security is a kind of illiberal and undemocratic 'anti-politics'. Using archival research and interviews with politicians, Neal investigates security politics from the 1980s to the present day to show how its meaning and practice have changed over time. In doing so, he develops an original reassessment of the security/politics relationship.

Managing water resources is one of the most pressing challenges of our times - fundamental to how we feed 2 billion more people in coming decades, eliminate poverty, and reverse ecosystem degradation. This Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture, involving more than 700 leading specialists, evaluates current thinking on water and its interplay with agriculture to help chart the way forward. It offers actions for water management and water policy - to ensure more equitable and effective use.This assessment describes key water-food-environment trends that influence our lives today and uses scenarios to explore the consequences of a range of potential investments. It aims to inform investors and policymakers about water and food choices in light of such crucial influences as poverty, ecosystems, governance, and productivity. It covers rainfed agriculture, irrigation, groundwater, marginal-quality water, fisheries, livestock, rice, land, and river basins. Ample tables, graphs, and references make this an invaluable work for practitioners, academics, researchers, and policymakers in water management, agriculture, conservation, and development.Published with IWMI.