agriculture

European Charter for Health Equity - open for signatures through 2012

After being officially launched on 9 December 2010, the European Charter for Health Equity will be open for signatures for a year (end 2011). We invite all relevant stakeholders, organisations and institutions to sign the Charter. We count on your active involvement! We have just over 160 signatories on our list of supporters! The European Charter for Health Equity has been opened for signatures until the end of 2012. To sign the European Charter for Health Equity please follow the (...)

Reports’ findings - an inefficient use of water resources in Europe

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), millions of people in Europe lack access to drinking water. In addition, and according to the European Environmental Agency (EEA), more than 50 percent of the rural population in 10 European countries have no access to clean water. Such a patchy access to running, safe water has a devastating impact on people’s health status, creating an unfair level of avoidable health inequalities. Clean water is a crucial natural resource, (...)

EPHA Briefing on Antimicrobial Resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been described as one of the biggest threats to public health - a worrisome development since resistance to drugs designed to treat severe diseases is becoming more widespread. EPHA’s briefing describes the causes of AMR; evaluates what is being done at an EU and international level; and explores some of challenges faced today by public health. EPHA Briefing on AMR The increasing spread of AMR coupled with ineffective policies to counteract it, (...)

European Court of Auditors condemns the legislative proposals for the CAP reform unsatisfactory

The European Court of Auditors, in its latest opinion on the Commissions’ four legislative proposals for the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), although recognising the efforts made to better this key policy, condemns the recommendations as unsatisfactory and ineffective. European Court of Auditors’ full opinion on the CAP legislative proposals The European Court of Auditors (ECA) states that the legislative framework of this policy still remains too complex and (...)

EPHA response to the European Commission public consultation on sustainability agenda

EPHA responded to the European Commission public consultation on “Delivering a more Sustainable Production and Consumption” highlighting that greater synergies between sectors are necessary, especially to address both sustainable development and social inequalities. EPHA response to public consultation from DG Environment on Delivering More Sustainable Production and Consumption. The main rationale behind participating in the consultation was the fact that sustainability is (...)

Working towards developing a coherent food system?

On 1 March 2012, EUPHA hosted a one-day workshop to address the main issues towards developing a coherent food system. A broad range of stakeholders gathered in Brussels to exchange on the main challenges facing us in that sense. A report of the workshop is available below. Given the breadth of competence and power that the EU holds in food policy, the challenges facing us such as climate change, obesity, food security, consumer protection and recent examples of the aggressive action taken (...)

’LiveWell for low impact food in Europe (LIFE)’ project launched in Brussels - chronic diseases and climate change in focus?

The ’LiveWell for low impact food in Europe (LIFE)’ project was launched in Brussels with a policy debate with stakeholders. The project intends to tackle two of the big challenges facing modern society - rising levels of chronic diseases and climate change – and looks for solutions that will tackle both simultaneously. But how adequately will it address the needs of the most vulnerable groups in our societies - the poor, children or experiencing inequalities, and (...)

European Commission Innovation Partnership on Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability to boost European health?

On 29 February 2012, the European Commission proposed several Innovation Partnerships in order to meet key challenges facing our society, in areas that are crucial to growth and jobs: one of these be sustainable agricultural productivity. The Commission claims a more concerted innovation effort across the public and private sector of agriculture and food production, in order to improve quality of life and position Europe as a global leader. The Commission’s new European Innovation (...)

90 million euro for the EU School Fruit Scheme for 2012/2013

The allocation of EU aid under the School Fruit Scheme for the 2012/2013 school year has been backed by Member States in the Management Committee on 6 March and the Commission’s formal adoption is set to follow in the upcoming weeks. The EU funding of € 90 million will be allocated to the 24 participating Member States as proposed by the Commission, based on the population of 6-10 year old children and the needs expressed by each participating Member State. Sweden, Finland and (...)

’Our food systems are making people sick’ states UN rapporteur

In a strong and tough report - presented to the UN Human Rights Council at its 19th session in March 2012, the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food - Olivier de Schutter - explores the implications of the adequacy element of the right to food for agricultural policies and for the reshaping of the food systems. The report The right to an adequate diet: the agriculture-food-health nexus is to deal with the triple challenge we face today - that of the role of agrifood systems (from (...)