Jan 25, 2023

Big Agri’s European lobbying manual on ‘hunger’ and the ‘refugee crisis’ remon 16 mins ago 170 Over the past few decades, the fossil fuel industry has shown that you don’t have to oppose legislation to resist it. Covering the waters can be enough to ensure that the action is interrupted, watered down or shelved. This is a lesson that pesticide manufacturers seem to have learned in Europe. For the past two years, they have employed an allied army of lobbyists to sow doubt over agricultural reforms that, if passed, could cost them millions. Since 2020, the EU has announced bold plans that could transform the future of agriculture. The call – for less toxic pesticides and fertilisers, more organic production and leaving the land to nature – is part of a wider package aimed at reducing the bloc’s greenhouse gas emissions and helping to protect Europe’s struggling pollinators, birds and butterflies. In December 2022, policymakers paused on laws that would cut pesticides by 50% – the latest in a series of delays. DeSmog research found policymakers are turning away from promises of greener agriculture after a lobbying campaign backed by an industry that depends on EU markets for its produce. We analyzed more than 300 documents published since 2020. Our study examined public documents and those from closed-door discussions, including minutes of meetings with senior EU officials obtained through access requests to information. The file cache shows a coordinated and concerted effort by the pesticide industry and its agribusiness allies to slow down the implementation of green measures. Our research also reveals how industrial agriculture is reorienting the tried and true tactics of the fossil fuel industry – from funding its own science to promoting voluntary industry-led solutions in place of regulation – which has successfully delayed transition to clean energy so far. Intensive lobbying campaign Major players in the agri-food industry have spent more than €50 million lobbying EU officials and the public in 2020 and 2021. Among them are some of the world’s biggest pesticide, fertilizer, , commercial and agricultural seeds – such as Bayer and Syngenta – as well as several powerful trade bodies, such as the pesticide lobby CropLife Europe and the agricultural union Copa-Cogeca. DeSmog’s analysis found that these industries promoted a handful of key agricultural reform messages — repeatedly. Nature-friendly laws threaten Europe’s prosperity, ignore science and undermine global food security, industry warns. Pesticide giant Syngenta says “more people [could] go hungry”, while a representative of the industrial agricultural lobby Copa-Cogeca warns that pushing green reforms risks causing political unrest and even a refugee “crisis”. Companies and trade groups disseminate these warnings in public consultations, at conferences, in meetings with influential politicians and officials, in press releases and social media posts. The underlying message – that the political, economic and social costs of transition are too high – parallels that used by oil and gas companies to thwart climate laws for decades. Subscribe to EUobserver’s daily newsletter All the stories we publish, sent at 7:30. By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Experts and scientists insist that such posts are at best “misrepresentation” and at worst “grossly misleading”. They point to chemical-intensive agriculture as the main driver of biodiversity collapse: the cost of inaction in the face of the extinction crisis far outweighs any predicted negative impact of green reforms. Yet the industrial farming lobby has insisted that more information is needed on the likely cost of the plans, before decisions are made. He called for detailed “impact assessments” of proposed laws, first in light of Covid-19 and now in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. According to Jennifer Jacquet, an associate professor at New York University and author of The Playbook, a book documenting lobbying tactics, the tactic is familiar from the fossil fuel lobby. “Industry’s first call is always for more research. It buys more time to prevent regulations.” Big Ag is powerful. The four largest pesticide companies alone – Bayer, Syngenta, Corteva and BASF – achieve sales of more than 30 billion euros each year. Its widespread influence means that decision-makers hear these messages over and over again. The four pesticide giants are represented by separate trade bodies for fertilizers, seeds and chemicals, as well as for pesticides. Between them, these four professional groups employ more than a hundred lobbyists in Brussels. Membership in these professional associations allows the industry to obtain several seats at the table. The lobby conducts public messaging campaigns, sits on expert groups advising the European Commission and submits independent responses to consultations on new laws, which reiterate business positions. sow doubt By complicating these discussions and misleading policy makers, pesticide companies and their allies can save valuable time. In December, when European countries asked for more information on the impacts of “SUR” legislation – regulations that would enshrine 50% pesticide reduction targets in law – their position came eerily close to the demands of the industry. For now, the reform is again delayed. But over time, it can be completely set aside. If negotiations on SUR extend beyond the election of a new commission in 2024, the legislation may never see the light of day. Scientists and activists warn that we cannot afford to wait. The number of bees and pollinators is collapsing in Europe and soil health is collapsing – two essential elements for the future of agriculture – in part because of intensive farming. Decisions made now on whether and when to reform agriculture are key to safeguarding the future of biodiversity, the climate and our food supply. Fr Not all news on the site expresses the point of view of the site, but we transmit this news automatically and translate it through programmatic technology on the site and not from a human editor. remon 16 mins ago