The European Commission today launched two packages of policies as part of the European Green Deal - the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies...

This is the first time the Commission has presented a coherent set of policies to tackle the food, farming and ecological crises. They contain a number of positive measures, but stop short of stimulating the systemic change needed, according to Friends of the Earth Europe...

Friends of the Earth Europe considers the lack of coherent and specific legislation ... and inadequate pesticide reduction targets to undermine the Strategy's commitment to "fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly" food systems...

The Biodiversity Strategy includes some more positive commitments...

For the first time, the strategy includes ideas for how to regulate trade with respect to biodiversity. It integrates reporting obligations for biodiversity under the non-financial reporting directive, and promote tax systems and pricing to reflect real environmental costs and consider due diligence approaches. However, the proposals will be voluntary rather than binding - meaning their impact is likely to be minimal...