Good Food March 2012

Start: End of August 2012 at different locations throughout the EU

End: 19th September 2012 in Brussels

The Good Food March started as an initiative of 8 Organizations aiming at organizing the biggest march in the history of the European Common Agricultural Policy. It is actually a protest in reaction to the forthcoming revision of the CAP. The march has already started from 3 points across Europe (3 Countries) and is expected to reach Brussels on September the 19th. There, they are going to deliver a photo album with photographs – protests of European Citizens from all 27 Member States (the slide-show at the end of this post, displays a sample of the photo album). The Organizers call for any European Citizen to take part in this march using any transportation they have  (tractor, bicycle or any other means). The Organizations that initiated the Good Food March are ARC2020, European Milk Board, European Coordination Via Campesina, Friends of the Earth Europe, IFOAM EU Group, Meine Landwirtschaft, PAC2013 and Slow Food. Gradually, the list of supporters and participants became larger (See the list of all supporting Organizations).

 

The official press release of the Good Food March 2012 states:

 

“The fate of our food and our farmers is being debated in Brussels. For the first time, the reform of European agriculture will be decided by both the European Parliament and national Governments.

This is our chance to demand a Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) that delivers good food and good farming. It’s time for change.

Over the past 50 years, our taxes have been used to support industrialized food production. This form of agriculture is threatening the existence of our farmers in the global North and South. It creates global food insecurity on the one hand and mountains of food waste on the other. It destroys the environment because it relies on the overuse of chemical fertilisers, harmful pesticides and fossil fuels. Factory farms depend on imported soy for animal feed. They disregard animal welfare, aggravate climate change and lead to the abandonment of rural areas. We call for a major rethink of our food and farming system. The CAP must change, let’s march for change!

This summer, farmers, citizens and young people from across Europe will march to Brussels by foot, bicycle or tractor. Along their way they will take part in events, actions and protests. We invite people to come to Brussels on 19th September 2012 to demand that the European Union delivers good food and good farming.

Let’s have a CAP that:

• Delivers secure and stable cost covering prices for farmers and fair prices for consumers.
• Values our natural, cultural and culinary heritage.
• Supports real family farms; both young and old. We can’t lose anymore farmers!
• Links subsidies directly to social, environment, and animal welfare criteria. Public money for public goods!
• Takes us to a greener and more sustainable agriculture, and promotes agro-ecological farming methods.
• Strengthens the social and economic development of rural communities. 
• Guarantees the cultivation of local protein feed crops, rather than imported soy.
• Ensures greater equity between old and new EU Member States.
• Moves us towards food sovereignty.
• Assumes international responsibility and ensures that Europe and the global South become more self-sufficient.
• Rejects food speculation and ends the export of agricultural products at a price below their production cost”.