We are very fortunate that the excellent East Anglian Daily Times carries a weekly report from local MEPs called Letter From Europe. This is my MEP Robert Sturdy’s latest article which focuses on food production and biofuels. It would be great to hear your views on these issues:

“The fat is now well and truly beginning to hit the fire, I’m talking about rising food prices and the impact this is beginning to have globally.

We heard this week that rising food and petrol prices pushed up the UK inflation figures last month. And although the higher price of fruits like grapes and grapefruit were singled out, the soaring cost of wheat is also a major contributory factor. Many have pointed the finger at biofuels for this and it is true that world food prices have been affected by the US’s decision to use 20% of its land for bioethanol production.

Reports that first generation biofuels, derived from wheat, sugarbeet, maize etc, are no lower than those from fossil fuels demonstrates that we need to look at producing secondary generation biofuesl derived from straw, manure, grass and other non-feed materials. With rising oil prices, it is important that Europe is not left behind and that we do not become increasingly dependent on others for our fuel. That is why I strongly believe that targets set by Europe should be met with increased Research and Development of second generation biofuels. Not only would this give us some kind of security in fuel production, but would also ease the pressure on food prices as crops would be used to feed mouths, not engines.

I do not agree either that biofuels are the main reason for rising food prices. It is necessary to look at the larger picture, in which the global population is increasing and will continue to do so. Both India and China have populations of over one billion, and as these countries continue to develop, eating habits and cultural trends are beginning to change as well. The demand for food such as bread, meat and dairy products has rocketed and we are asking the question of whether we can meet this demand.

Ten years ago I don’t think anyone would have envisaged politicians talking about food security in Europe, after years of over production which led to the often referred to grain mountains and wine lakes. Now it is emerging that Europe is being left behind in terms of food production and what worries me is that as legislation continues to set stringent environmental and food quality standards, food production will be forced out of Europe as many farmers will not be able to survive. A great example of this is the EU’s refusal to relax its rules on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). While imports of Animal feed containing GMOs continues to be restricted, the EU is quite happy to allow the import of the finished product, i.e your chicken drumstick or rump steak, which has come from an animal fed partly on GMOs in a country outside the EU. Farmers in Europe are frustrated that while they spend more and more money on producing food of the highest quality, supermarkets continue to stack their shelves with the cheapest food, more often than not produced outside the EU.

Following my discussions with representatives from the NFU about food supply and security and the overbearing dominance that major supermarkets have on the supply chain, it is clear that producers continue to be exploited. Earlier I mentioned the escalating price of wheat, but I am also particularly alarmed at the price of milk which is estimated to cost 76p a litre for UK shoppers. However, this price does not represent anything near the real value paid to the diary farmers in the UK. Farm gate prices are currently at 22p a litre, and have even been as low as 17p. This is totally unacceptable. But there is good news for arable farmers who are beginning to be paid market prices rather than supported by financial aid.

The domination of major supermarkets is a danger for primary producers. I believe all our farmers should be paid fairer prices and not held to ransom by their greed. The fact is that while we are paying more for our weekly shopping, the prices paid to the many producers has stagnated or dropped. Where is the fairness in that?”