By Martin Banks - 15th February 2012
It is crazy to think how much food is thrown away
Joseph Daul
The leader of parliament's biggest political group has criticised member states for attempting to limit spending on food aid.
Speaking in parliament, EPP leader Joseph Daul described the move as "unacceptable".
Supporters of the EU's food-sourcing programme say it is vital for Europe's poorest people but its long-term future is less clear.
While the EU has proposed an expansion of its food aid scheme, several European countries, including Germany, the UK and Czech Republic have objected, arguing it should be the responsibility of national governments.
MEPs in Strasbourg were this week debating whether to extend the scheme, set up in 1987, by two more years.
Addressing a news conference, Daul, a French farmer, said, "To try to limit the programme is unacceptable, especially at a time when hundreds of people in Europe are dying and starving from the cold. On the contrary, it is vital we expand the scheme and also tackle the scandal of food waste.
"It is crazy to think how much food is thrown away by supermarkets, estimated to be 180 kilos per capital each year.
"We must all knuckle down to tackle this scandal."
Further comment came from Polish MEP Czeslaw Adam Siekierski, who said, "A lot of people from different social groups find themselves in poverty because of the economic crisis, both in southern and northern EU countries and in new and older member states.
"This programme is also needed now because of the winter. A lot of homeless people are in a very difficult situation."
The commission estimates 43 million people are at risk of food poverty. Currently less than half of them receive food aid.
Meanwhile, the commission and the United Nations world food programme (WFP) announced on Wednesday that they will scale up their joint efforts to fight hunger to the most vulnerable – especially women and children with an upcoming agreement for €30m of humanitarian assistance.
WFP is aiming to provide food assistance to eight million people across the Sahel, and these new funds will support feeding programmes for one million children under two years of age and half a million pregnant and breast-feeding mothers who face malnutrition in the coming months.
Kristalina Georgieva, EU commissioner for humanitarian aid and crisis response, said, "In the Sahel the early warning signals are loud and clear and we're doing everything we can now to reduce the impact of a failed harvest and prevent it from turning into another major food crisis.
"The commission is one of the world's largest humanitarian donors and WFP is the largest provider of emergency food assistance so our partnership is natural, our alliance is strong and our collaboration has sustained many suffering men, women and children during many food crises."
WFP executive director, Josette Sheeran said, "The window of opportunity to save millions from malnutrition in the Sahel is rapidly closing.
"The European commission is providing vital resources that WFP needs to act quickly and save lives among the vulnerable women and children who are most at risk from the hunger caused by this regional drought."
The contribution will help to prevent malnutrition by scaling up food assistance over the coming months.
The aim is to anticipate and reduce the impact of the food crisis which threatens 12 million people across the Sahel, according to the commission.
Last week the commission increased the funding it is allocating to the Sahel food crisis to nearly €275m.
WFP is aiming to provide food assistance to some eight million people in Niger, Chad, Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Cameroon.
The increasing frequency of droughts in the region has meant that communities have had little time to recover from previous food crises.
