Contents

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ENV L REV 13 (2011) 251

Good Agricultural Practices in the Agri-food Supply Chain
Alison Burrell

Criteria defining 'good agricultural practice' (GAP) were originally developed for on-farm production methods and resource use. For a decade, GAP principles have been applied throughout the entire agri-food supply chain by organisations promoting voluntary private standard (PS) schemes. Although the stated aim of such schemes is to provide consumers with guarantees of food safety and quality, they are strongly driven by the desire to reduce transaction costs within the chain and to limit the legal liability of chain operators and retailers in the wake of food safety lapses. They raise issues concerning their compatibility with the polluter pays principle, the legitimacy of the standard-setting process, potential duplication of the safeguards enshrined in public legislation, and the extent to which they erect barriers to market entry and impede competition. The extension of voluntary PS schemes to global food chains raises further questions about their compatibility with sustainable development goals and with WTO rules regarding import restrictions based on production methods. Current challenges include the operational coexistence of mandatory public standards and voluntary private standards in the agri-food arena, and how they might be better harmonised within national and international legal frameworks.

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ENV L REV 13 (2011) 271

European Union Agricultural Policy and Practice: The New Challenge of Climate Change
Michael Cardwell

Climate change has been identified as a new challenge for EU agricultural policy which must be addressed as a matter of priority. The importance of climate-friendly agricultural practices in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions already receives some recognition under the current legislative framework; and the proposed regulations for the period 2014-2020, issued in October 2011, indicate that this importance will be considerably enhanced. Such practices will be examined with specific reference to: cross-compliance obligations attached to direct payments to farmers (under Pillar I of the CAP); more targeted rural development measures (under Pillar II of the CAP); and sustainability criteria in respect of feedstock for biofuels and bioliquids, as laid down by the Renewable Energy Directive. In addition, the article will consider two broader issues which each present an obstacle to any regulation in this area. The first issue is the inherent difficulty in creating a regime that is sensitive to the complexities and uncertainties which pervade the climate change debate, yet, at the same time, can be effective in practice. A second issue is the further inherent difficulty of finding in this context the appropriate balance between measures implemented under respectively Pillar I and Pillar II of the CAP, both Pillars having their apparent strengths and weaknesses.

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ENV L REV 13 (2011) 296

Good Agricultural Practice in the United States: Conservation and Climate
Margaret Rosso Grossman

Agriculture depends on the environment for production of food and fibre, yet agricultural activities may emit harmful pollutants. US law and policy encourage sustainable agriculture. Good agricultural practices, especially those that protect the environment and foster conservation, play a significant role in sustainability. US law imposes relatively few environmental requirements on producers, but offers numerous financial and other incentives for good agricultural practices. Policy discussions about the environmental effects of agricultural production often address two significant issues: the balance between mandatory and voluntary measures to protect the environment and the potential role of agriculture in mitigating climate change and sequestering carbon.

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Links to other issues

Volume 2 (2000) :   4

Volume 3 (2001) :   1   2   3   4

Volume 4 (2002) :   1   2   3   4

Volume 5 (2003) :   1   2   3   4

Volume 6 (2004) :   1   2   3   4

Volume 7 (2005) :   1   2   3   4

Volume 8 (2006) :   1   2   3   4

Volume 9 (2007) :   1   2   3   4

Volume 10 (2008) :   1   2   3   4

Volume 11 (2009) :   1   2   3   4

Volume 12 (2010) :   1   2   3   4

Volume 13 (2011) :   1   2   3   4

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