Two major flaws in European Agriculture policy are that the agricultural budget is too big and that it is skewed in the wrong directions.

To bring about food that is healthier for people and the planet, CAP needs to become a “Sustainable Food Policy” .

Between 2004 and 2006, the Federation of Swedish Farmers (LRF), the Church of Sweden and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) met to discuss how the agricultural policy of the European Union — the Common Agricultural Policy, or “CAP” — might be developed so that it both benefits Swedish agriculture and renders the food supply in developing countries more secure.

Set aside will be abolished as part of the CAP Health Check in late 2008 but was effectively lost more than a year ago when the Council of Ministers approved the rate at 0%.

Our suggestion is that the slogan of Food and Environmental Security neatly summarises in a positive, easily understood way the challenges faced and thus a suitable pair of objectives for the new post-2013 CAP which could command wide public support.

Over the last year we’ve gone through an oil crisis, an energy crisis, a financial crisis and some say even a food crisis. More recently people have started talking about a possible phosphate crisis. The almost Pavlovian reaction of most politicians to these crises, whether real or perceived, is to secure supplies and demand a quick increase in production of food, oil and minerals.