Aiming for Sustainable Food Production to Feed the World

In Berlin last week, while tens of thousands of people rallied to demand a global right to food and nourishment, 72 agriculture ministers from around the world were meeting for the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) during the German Green Week.

The minister were discussing "Empowering Agriculture: Fostering Resilience – Securing Food and Nutrition".

The agriculture ministers focused enabling agriculture to adapt to new conditions, deal with risks and recover quickly from crises.

They said that particular attention needs to be given to family-owned farms and smallholders, because of their important role in feeding the global population.

The particular cause for concern was the ability of the world to feed itself and reduce malnutrition and hunger.

At the same time, the Chinese government was issuing a decree setting out the country’s aims for a modern sustainable agriculture sector producing a safe and secure food supply.

In Europe, last week, the European Parliament laid out its determination to crack down on food fraud.

The parliament wants to fix penalties for food fraud at at least twice the economic gain the fraudster gets from the crime.

They have also called for criminal law penalties for cases of fraud where public health is put in danger.

The European Parliament said that recent food fraud cases, including the sale of horse meat as beef, should prompt the EU to review the functioning of the food production chain.

The parliament called for checks to be stepped up and labelling legislation revised.