Protected cheeses and vineyards receive €6.8m EC ‘resilience’ funding
World-famous cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano, Camembert de Normandie and Roquefort have faced increasing climate-related pressures in their production.
Rising temperatures and other extreme weather events have impacted the quality and availability of raw materials going into cheese production. This includes changes in grass composition, affecting the nutritional makeup of milk, to providing appropriate and comfortable conditions for cattle.
Vineyards in parts of Europe have also struggled with adverse weather conditions, from floods, to droughts and frosts.
Some European wines could be on the brink of extinction as a result, a recent FoodNavigator report found.
Climate resilient foodHowever, the European Commission’s €380m investment, which will support what it calls “the green transition” across Europe, aims to help growers and producers in Spain, France and Italy develop solutions.
Cheese and wine environmental security funding will be distributed through the Image Life and Vinoshield project groups, which are among 23 climate change resilience and mitigation projects announced as part of the funding this week.
Some 133 new projects, covering a variety of industries, were announced as part of the EC’s Life Programme for environmental and climate action.
“Life projects contribute to reaching the European Green Deal’s broad range of climate, energy and environmental goals, including the EU’s aim to become climate-neutral by 2050 and to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, while ensuring Europe’s long-term prosperity,” said the European Commission in a statement.
“This investment will have a lasting impact on our environment, the economy and the well-being of all Europeans.”
Food and drink competitivenessMeanwhile, the food and drink industry was recently excluded from the European Commission’s detailed competitiveness strategy to help the EU remain competitive against other global powers.
In the 328-page report, food was mentioned seven times and only as part of a wider section on Europe’s largest polluting manufacturing industries.
The report aimed to counter Europe’s worry over “slowing growth since the start of the century” and acknowledges multiple strategies since 2000 had been raised to kickstart significant growth, but came to nothing.
Despite food and beverage leading the way in areas such as ag-tech, AI use, and being the largest employer in the EU, opportunities to grow the sector were not outlined.
“While the report proposes many valid recipes for success, it has in short-sight left out the main ingredient – Europe’s largest manufacturing industry, the food and drink sector,” said a FoodDrinkEurope spokesperson.
