Congress report - European Health Forum Gastein

Forum IV: Building a healthy Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
Summary Report of Forum IV
Mike Rayner
In reporting back on Parallel Forum IV: ‘Building a healthy Common Agriculture Policy’ I will
firstly summarise the most important issues discussed at the Forum, secondly I will mention
some controversies that arose and finally summarise the four recommendations that were
agreed.
Issues
Firstly the Forum discussed, in some detail, what the health objectives of the Common
Agriculture Policy (CAP) should be.
The issue of ‘food safety’ has generally been the focus of thinking about incorporating health
objectives into European food and agriculture policy and the Forum agreed that one
objective of the CAP must be to ensure that food is free from microbiological and chemical
contamination.
However it was noted that diet-related chronic disease - particularly cardiovascular disease
and cancer - are a larger cause of mortality and morbidity than acute food-borne diseases.
The Forum therefore considered that those setting health objectives for the CAP needed to
consider how the CAP could help to reduce the burden of chronic diet-related diseases as
well as acute food-borne diseases.
The Forum noted that the European Commission had recently funded the Eurodiet Project to
develop dietary goals for European populations which if achieved would help to reduce the
burden of diet-related diseases. The Eurodiet Project had taken two years and involved
over 200 experts from all over Europe. The report of the project had just been published 38 .
Eurodiet sets out 17 population dietary goals which if achieved would significantly improve
the health of the European population. A priority goal is for an increase in consumption of
fruit and vegetables.
The Forum noted that the CAP has other effects upon health other than upon food
consumption – through its effects on the environment, employment, etc. These effects are
complex but nevertheless need to be considered when setting health objectives.
The Forum noted that, under the CAP, tobacco farmers are paid subsidies for growing
tobacco. The subsidised tobacco is for export and therefore its consumption does not affect
the health of Europeans, but its consumption is highly damaging to the health of people
living in the countries to which it is exported. The Forum noted that the European
Commission had agreed to the phasing out of subsidies for tobacco farmers.
The second issue discussed by the Forum was the relationship between health and other
objectives – particularly environmental objectives. The Forum noted that it is increasingly
recognised that what is good for human health is generally good for the environment. The
First Food and Nutrition Action Plan for the World Health Organisation European Region –
agreed at the WHO Regional Assembly in September 2000 – proposes that there should be
three strands or pillars to food and nutrition policy: food safety, nutrition and sustainable
production.
38
Eurodiet Project (2001) Eurodiet Reports and Proceedings. Eds A G Kafatos and C A Codrington.
Public Health Nutrition 4.2(1) 325-336.
International Forum Gastein, Tauernplatz 1, A-5630 Bad Hofgastein
Tel.: +43 (6432) 7110-70, Fax: Ext. 71, e-mail: info@ehfg.org, website: www.ehfg.org
181