Off the wire
• 1st LD Writethru: U.S. dollar climbs on upbeat data  • Burundi protests on president's 3rd term turn violent on 5th day  • Urgent: U.S. stocks decline amid weak corporate data  • 2 missing Tunisian journalists reportedly killed by IS members  • U.S. initial jobless claims tumble to 15-year low  • Widespread violence reported in Yemen's Aden City  • Polish PM announces new Minister of Justice  • Obama nominates aide to lead USAID  • 1st LD Writethru: Oil prices rise amid supply forecast  • Saudi-led air raids kill at least 14 in Yemen's Aden  
You are here: 　 Home

EP urges using of Expo Milano 2015 to push food security

Xinhua, May 1, 2015 Adjust font size:

Expo Milano 2015 should encourage sustainable food production practices, as well as fight food waste and malnutrition, members of the European Parliament (EP) said on Thursday.

In a resolution, MEPs sent a message to the organizers of the expo that "Global food security, fighting food waste and improving the sustainability of agricultural production are matters that require an urgent and international solution."

"We call on both the European Commission and European Union (EU) member states to use the Milan Expo as an opportunity to push for solutions to these pressing global challenges," said the rapporteur, Italian socialist MEP Paolo De Castro. The resolution was passed by 460 votes to 126, with 20 abstentions.

Even though the right to food is a basic human right, areas of food insecurity still exist in the EU, MEPs said. Estimates suggest that global population growth will require a 70 percent increase in the food supply by 2050.

To meet the food security challenges, Parliament called on the EU to encourage more efficient agronomic practices and more sustainable agriculture resource management, increase transparency and fairness in the food supply chain, and promote rational use of scarce resources, while investing more in research to increase yields.

MEPs also expressed concern over the phenomenon of land grabbing and its impact on food security in developing countries. They also denounced illegal fisheries emerging in some parts of the world and stressed that these must be fought vigorously in order to deliver food security.

Estimates suggest that around 30 percent of food worldwide is lost or wasted. Annual food waste in the EU alone amounts to about 89 million tonnes, and is set to rise to about 126 million tonnes by 2020 unless action is taken, MEPs warned.

Parliament therefore called on the Commission to encourage member states to take action against food wastage at every level of the food supply chain and set binding targets for waste reduction. Endit