Organics Europe reminds MEPs of “unsuitability” of PEF tool for agri-food
The organic sector warns that using the Product Environmental Footprint for agri-food products undermines the Green Claims Directive’s goal of preventing greenwashing. Experts argue that this methodology is fundamentally unsuited for agriculture because it ignores biodiversity impacts and promotes intensive farming rather than agroecological practices. Consequently, mandating its use could legitimize misleading environmental claims and hinder the necessary transition to sustainable food systems. Critics emphasize that current assessment tools fail to capture the complex, systemic realities of agricultural production. Their reductionist approach leads to skewed environmental evaluations that do not accurately reflect the unique challenges farmers face. This mismatch means such metrics cannot properly reward genuine sustainability efforts or drive meaningful ecological improvements, thereby perpetuating harmful industrial practices. Furthermore, the lack of trust in corporate and institutional environmental claims highlights the urgent need for credible, independent methodologies endorsed by civil society. The proposed directive aims to restore this trust through rigorous frameworks, but relying on flawed tools like PEF would achieve the opposite. Effective regulation must utilize holistic metrics that truly reflect agricultural impacts to combat greenwashing and support farmers in their environmental transition.
Source: fruitnet.comPublished on 2024-01-24