European Union Postpones Farm to Fork

On March 23, the European Commission was to vote on the “Regulation on the Sustainable Use of Pesticides” under the Farm to Fork directive. This would have been the first legislative proposal to put Farm to Fork into EU law. Instead, it was postponed indefinitely due to concerns regarding food security and the resilience of food systems stemming from the conflict in Ukraine. The EU also created a series of emergency measures in response to the war and sanctions on Russia. While the response has differed among EU members, some states, including France, have called for a roll-back of some of the EU’s green agricultural policies. French president, Emmanuel Macron warned that the current Farm to Fork strategy would cause a 13 percent decrease in food production, echoing farming lobbies’ talking points about the EU’s plan’s consequences. Macron further noted that Europe cannot afford to produce less and that the war highlighted the risks of being dependent on agricultural goods from outside Europe. The European Green Deal and Farm to Fork are flagship policies of the current Commission, thus having a lot of political capital tied to them. According to USDBC Europe, the postponement of Farm to Fork is likely only temporary and the Commission is unlikely to make any long-term revision to its environmental agenda. This is a fluid situation and it’s hard to forecast how things will evolve given the current global situation. As such, we will be monitoring closely and reporting back.