{"id":7480,"date":"2021-06-29T14:41:44","date_gmt":"2021-06-29T14:41:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/?p=7480"},"modified":"2021-09-23T10:22:02","modified_gmt":"2021-09-23T10:22:02","slug":"our-groceries-shouldnt-cost-the-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/our-groceries-shouldnt-cost-the-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"Our groceries shouldn\u2019t cost the earth: how EU consumption causes the destruction of the rainforest"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lire cet article en fran\u00e7ais<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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29.06.2021<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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A new EU law to stop Europe’s complicity in global deforestation is in the pipeline. Time is running out. We need a strong law that effectively bans products linked to the destruction of forests and other ecosystems. The rainforest can\u2019t wait any longer, writes Marie Toussaint, Greens\/EFA MEP.<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Deforestation in the Amazon\/ Ana_Cotta S.O.S Amaz\u00f4nia\/ Flickr CC BY 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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While\nthe Amazon rainforest was consumed by fires last year, few of us realise that\nEurope is just as complicit in eating large areas of the rainforest every\nsingle year. Experts call it \u201cimported deforestation\u201d, a term that refers to\nthe precious natural forests outside of the EU that are destroyed to make the\nproducts we consume every day.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Our\nsupermarket shelves are a display of destruction. We\u2019re advertised milk from\ncows reared on soya – grown on land once covered in spectacular jungle, but now\nplanted in neat rows of genetically-engineered soya drenched in chemical\nweedkillers. On the next shelf, we\u2019re offered beef produced in giant cattle\nranches on deforested land. It\u2019s the same with wood products, cocoa and coffee.\nAnd, let\u2019s not forget the shampoos, toothpaste and peanut butter containing palm oil, known to be a\nmajor driver of deforestation<\/a> and habitat destruction for some of our most endangered\nspecies. The list is endless, and even the most careful shopper would be\nhard-pressed to avoid any problematic products.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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The\nproblem is so huge that, in fact, the EU is the <\/a>second largest\n\u201cimporter of deforestation<\/a>\u201d linked to global trade after China.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Between\n1990 and 2008, Europe was responsible for the loss of <\/a>an area of the Amazon the\nsize of Portugal<\/a>, due to EU consumption of agricultural commodities grown on\ndeforested land. New research shows that each person in rich nations accounts\nfor the <\/a>loss of four trees\nsomewhere else in the world<\/a> every year! <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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EU Flag \/ CC0 christian-lue<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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But, there is good news: a new EU law\nto stop imported deforestation is in the making<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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After\nlong discussions, the EU is finally preparing a law so that products sold here\ncan no longer be linked to the destruction of forests and other ecosystems.\nUnder the new law, companies will have to make sure that whatever they sell in\nEurope does not come from land where forests, savannahs, wetlands or grasslands\nhave been degraded or cleared entirely to make room for agricultural\nproduction.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\"Deforestation
Deforestation in the Amazon \/CIFOR \/ Flickr CC BY-NC-ND 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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This could be a game changer!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Finally,\nproducers, traders and retailers will have to guarantee that our supermarkets\nare free from products that cause our precious natural resources to be\ndestroyed. The finance industry will have to ensure that companies involved in\ndestroying rainforests and other valuable ecosystems don\u2019t receive their\nsupport. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\"Blurry
Blurry supermarket aisle \/ Indiana Stan \/ CC BY-NC 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Here\u2019s the bad news: powerful\nindustries want to derail this law<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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There\u2019s still a possibility that a wheel will fall\noff this legal shopping cart. Powerful industries are at work to delay and\ndilute the legislation. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Companies have been lobbying hard<\/a> to weaken\nthe new law so they don\u2019t have to change their business practices. A food\nindustry association, whose members include food giants like Kellogg\u2019s, Nestl\u00e9\nand Mars, is asking the European Commission to stimulate progress but refrain\nfrom imposing tough penalties. The same is true for the food retail association\nrepresenting supermarket chains like Delhaize, Marks & Spencer and\nCarrefour. Although some of these companies say they support the new law, they\ndon\u2019t want an effective law that will truly hold them accountable.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Other companies involved in destroying\nthe world\u2019s forests want to be exempt from the new legislation altogether.\nEurope\u2019s woodworking industry, for example, says there is no need for \u201cadditional EU legislation\u201d<\/a> for wood. And,\nBrazilian soy producers claim that their product \u201cshould be excluded from future regulations<\/a>\u201d.\nThese forest-wrecking companies don\u2019t think the new EU law should apply to\nthem.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\"Woman
Woman with loud speaker\/ CC0 Clem Onojeghuo<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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What can we do to stop companies\nselling products in the EU that destroy nature?<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Unfortunately,\nas members of the European Parliament, we can only improve the proposed law\nwhen it\u2019s on our tables. And, at the moment, we are not able to make changes to\nit yet!<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Here\u2019s\nwhere you come in. We need\nyour help to influence this law while the European Commission is still working\non it. Please send an email to the Commission Vice-President, Frans Timmermans,\nto ask him to propose a strong law that\neffectively bans products linked to the destruction\nof forests<\/strong> and other ecosystems<\/strong> from the EU market.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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We need this law to be sure\nthat our grocery shopping doesn\u2019t accidentally bankroll the destruction of\nprecious ecosystems. It is the companies profiting from ecosystem destruction\nthat must change, not on individual consumers. By the time we get to the\nsupermarket checkout, we need to know that our shopping hasn\u2019t already cost the\nearth.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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We\u2019ve already written the email for you, all you need to do is press the send button.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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SEND EMAIL<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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YES, I want to protect the rainforest and send an email to Frans Timmermans<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Thank you for your support!<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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