by Adriano Lovera
From the famous free trade treaty (TTIP) between Europe and the United States we have been hearing about for years. According to its supporters, eliminate duties and trade restrictions it would increase our exports by 120 billion euros per year.
Now, however, Greenpeace he got his hands on some drafts that contain the American requests. And it turns out that, if the agreement were signed, we would have to say goodbye to many rules governing the health of the environment and food. Here are the main knots on the carpet.
TWO ANTIPOD SYSTEMS
The two sides of the Atlantic are governed by opposite principles in terms of sustainability and food safety. «If one of our companies produces a pesticide, before selling it, it is obliged to have it approved by EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority, ”explains Federica Ferrario, head of Greenpeace's sustainable agriculture campaign.
«In the Useon the contrary, the product goes immediately on the market. Then it is up to the public authority, if it deems it harmful, to prove it damage and eventually sue the company ".
THE STICKS ON MEAT AND LABELS
European food law is much stricter. A few examples? «The chicken, from them, is" washed "with chlorine before ending up in supermarkets. Farmed pigs take ractopamine, a kind of growth hormone, also banned in Russia.
And many agricultural products, such as flour, contain GM but consumers do not know it because there is no obligation to write it on the labels. These are all prohibited practices in Europe ”, concludes the expert.
Then there is the question of Dop and Doc brands, which the US initially wanted to abolish. Now they agree to recognize 200, but 1.500 are protected by Brussels. In addition, we risk finding the famous in the shops cibi low cost “del paesen sounding”, such as Real Asiago Cheese (produced in the US state of Wisconsin), which has nothing of the typical Veneto cheese.
NEGOTIATED IN STALL
The negotiations are on the high seas. The French president Francoise Holland he has just declared his opposition. Angela Merkel, the German premier, hesitates. Only the US president Barack Obama he is in a hurry to close because his mandate and his successors expire in November, <br><br>Donald Trump e Hillary Clinton, they don't seem interested in the deal. With all due respect to TTIP (and ours).
IF YOU WANT TO EXPRESS YOUR "NO"
Various throughout Europe consumer associations and in defense of typical agricultural productions they have mobilized to inform public opinion on the risks of TTIP. A platform was also born that collects all the initiatives of the Old Continent, stop-ttip.org, where you can join the international campaign that aims to collect 4 million signatures to be delivered to the leaders in Brussels before the next round of meetings between US and European delegates in July. And for those who love Twitter, the most used hashtags to spread the critical debate are #fuoriTTIP e #stopttip.
