Law to boost soil health back on EU agenda

Originally published August 29, 2023 on Alberta Farmer Express

By Kate Abnett

Reuters – The European Commission has proposed what would be the EU’s first law to improve soil health.

The proposal, made July 5 as the EU faces a political backlash against other green policies, follows an initial attempt by the Commission to introduce soil health legislation in 2006, which a minority of countries, including Germany and France, blocked.

The new plan would require countries to track soil health against criteria including erosion and excessive fertilizer nutrient levels. EU states would also need to identify sites where soils are contaminated with chemicals and address the areas that have health-harming risks.

The proposal would not oblige states to achieve minimum soil health levels.

The One Planet Business for Biodiversity, a coalition of companies including food industry players Unilever, Nestlé and Danone, criticized the proposal, saying it does not go far enough.

“Despite the worrying state of EU soils and the solutions mentioned in the proposal, it fails to propose an ambitious framework for co-ordinated development of soil health at the European level,” the group said in a statement.

The EU estimates at least 61 per cent of the bloc’s soil is unhealthy, driven by factors including degradation of peatlands and intensive fertilizer use.

Asked about the lack of binding targets, EU Environment Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius said the aim was to first establish a clearer picture of soil health and methods to manage it more sustainably.

Caroline Heinzel, a policy officer at the European Environmental Bureau network of campaign groups, said the proposal “falls short of expectations by not including legally binding targets or requiring mandatory plans.”

Separately, the Commission also proposed binding targets for countries to cut food waste and rules to make textile producers legally responsible for the cost of their waste, a move designed to drive investments in collecting, reusing and recycling old clothes and materials.

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