The recent fall in the global food supply is being used as an argument to further increase agricultural production in order ‘to feed the world’. Overabundant and seemingly cheap food in industrial countries has resulted in widespread disrespect for food and the potential misuse of agricultural and rural development policy. Especially during times of strong demand for agricultural outputs, the CAP should direct support to maintaining long-term sustainability and land production potential across Europe’s farmland. Without such strong policy safeguards, a demand-induced drive for short-term economic returns will lead to irreversible degradation and much lower food security in the future. Increasingly stringent environmental standards aimed at arresting diffuse pollution, reversing soil degradation, and supporting biodiversity are all crucial in this regard.

There are no signs that food availability will become a problem in Europe in the foreseeable future due to the continent’s stable population, well developed production infrastructure, and high purchasing power. Additionally, the ongoing process of increasing productivity in the new member states is likely to continue. Continued production in less productive areas is important, especially in times of climatic changes and freak weather events. For example, last year, when weather extremes devastated crops across much of the most productive European farmland, Finnish farmers achieved excellent yields. In contrast, rising grain prices in regions with a lower yield to input ratio do not guarantee higher profitability: this year Finnish farmers are experiencing their lowest market returns in many decades because of a simultaneous increase in energy costs.

A new CAP reform could tackle this issue by fair direct payment levels. These should be lower than at present in those regions with the most productive agriculture, where farmers can better respond to and reap the financial rewards of global market demand, and increased in less productive areas. In particular, the productivity of marginal areas has to be limited so that the natural capital - usually in scarce supply and rather fragile - is retained. Indeed, there is no point in boosting production in the European Union’s more economically marginal less favoured areas in times of - still - relative bounty, since they are far from the major consumer markets.

There is ... much merit in using the CAP to address this issue by introducing a special support for grass-fed and, especially, pasture-based animal production.

Europe can contribute much more to global food security by changing consumption patterns and dealing with unacceptable wastage, as well as directing aid for sustainable food production to regions facing food shortages. Furthermore, diverting food suitable to humans – grain and soy - to animals capable of converting grass to meat is a slap in the face of the food security issue. There is therefore much merit in using the CAP to address this issue by introducing a special support for grass-fed and, especially, pasture-based animal production.