Congress report - European Health Forum Gastein

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European Health Forum Gastein 2001
Concluding comments
Speaker: Michael Hübel, European Commission, DG Health and Consumer Protection
Programme organiser:
Philip Berman and Paul Belcher, European Health Management Association; Michael Hübel,
European Commission DG Health and Consumer Protection
Forum IV: Building a healthy Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
Amidst the ongoing food crisises across Europe, decline in consumer confidence and
increasing globalisation, European agricultural policy is under intense scrutiny by society and
policy makers alike. A substantial reform of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in the
near future is inevitable before the Union can expand. For the first time ever, the calls to
ensure that future agricultural policy supports public health objectives have a reasonable
chance of being taken on board, particularly as Article 152 of the Amsterdam Treaty requires
the Community to ensure a high level of health protection in all policies and activities.
This purpose of Forum IV will be:
• to highlight how food safety concerns and crises can contribute to change within a
multi-sectoral approach;
• aim to increase participants’ knowledge of and participation in CAP reform by
showcasing the work already being done by the health community and other major
stakeholders in integrating health, environmental and social concerns in agricultural
policy;
• provide recommendations on how CAP can be reformed to provide health benefits
to Europe's people and create sustainable food and agricultural production
systems.
Chair: Dr Tim Lang, Food Institute, University of Thames
Rapporteur, Dr Mike Rayner, British Heart Foundation
Common Agricultural Policy reforms and opportunities for transformation
Shifting CAP's objectives to the provision of healthy, sustainable food production and
safeguarding the health and vitality of rural communities and landscapes
Speaker: Dr Aileen Robertson, Acting Director on Nutrition Policy, WHO European Region
Case studies at local, national and European level which illustrate ways in which social,
environmental and health concerns can be used for change
Local level: Using urban agriculture and local sustainable food production to safeguard food
security, reduce health inequalities and preserve cohesion in rural communities
Speaker: Jeannette Longfield, Sustain, and coordinator of the European Network of Alliances
for Sustainable Agriculture (REPAS)
National level: Austrian farmers call for a radical change in CAP to provide healthy food (BSE,
small producers, elimination of export subsidies)
Speaker: Elisabeth Baumhoefer
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