The must-have newsletter about Hungary

LMP URGES GOVT TO FOCUS ON CHEMICAL-FREE FOOD PRODUCTION

 

The opposition LMP has called on the government to focus its farming policies on healthy, chemical-free food production. LMP co-leader Erzsébet Schmuck told an online press conference on Friday that around half of food products contain chemical residues and there are actually no chemical-free foods in certain product groups. Food allergies have become drastically common even among young people and many health experts partly attribute the increase in cancer patients to food contaminated with pesticides, she added.
Schmuck welcomed the European Commission’s strategy dubbed “From Farm to Fork” which targets reducing pesticides and antibiotics in food production by half and the use of fertilisers by one-fifth and increasing the share of ecological farming to 25% by 2030.
The Fidesz government fails to support this strategy because it would imply a transfer of common agricultural subsidies from large farms and chemicals-based agriculture to small and medium-sized family farms involved in “gentle” agricultural production, Schmuck said. She called on the government to change its policy and represent the interests of consumers rather than large farm owners.