Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2007-10-22-Speech-1-083"

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"en.20071022.14.1-083"2
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"Mr President, we have to face up to the very practical idea that we need to produce food in Europe – last month we reduced set-aside to zero to bring 10% of land back into production – and we need the necessary tools to do that job. We are all quite happy to want safe food and safe chemicals, but – and the Commission is dealing with this in the right way – this has to be done on a risk-based system similar to that used for REACH: if a chemical is safe to use then it can be used, but if it is not safe to use then it should be taken off the market. That is how we should deal with this the whole way through. Climatic conditions make a great deal of difference to when you should spray, so you need flexibility in when and how you spray. There are now satellite systems which can introduce the spray at the right time, and you can actually reduce the amount of spray and chemical you use. Take for instance this year, which was an extremely wet year in many parts of Europe. In my own country, Britain, you cannot buy organic potatoes because you could not spray them and could not keep the blight away from them. There are, therefore, very few organic potatoes to be had. We need the necessary tools, and that is why we cannot go for a percentage-based reduction each year. We have got to go for a sensible, risk-based system. Also, when it comes to the 10-metre strips, there are – believe it or not – chemicals that you can use in water courses. There is a chemical called Roundup which can actually be sprayed on the banks of a river or a stream. Are we going to ban its use on a 10-metre strip next to a stream when it can actually be used on the banks of a stream? Let us be sensible about this. We need food security, we need food production and we need safe food in Europe. Let us all work together to achieve that."@en1
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