Archives: Press Releases

Más de treinta eurodiputados piden la paralización de la macrogranja de las 20.000 vacas en Noviercas (Soria)

En Inglés

Madrid, Bruselas — Treinta y tres eurodiputadas y eurodiputados de seis grupos políticos y once países han remitido hoy una carta [1] al Gobierno español y castellanoleonés para pedir la paralización del proyecto para construir una macrogranja con más de 23.000 vacas en la provincia de Soria [2]. Si este proyecto se lleva a cabo, sería la mayor granja lechera de la Unión Europea y abriría las puertas a un modelo de ganadería industrial importado de EE.UU. que no tiene cabida en Europa.

Una coalición de asociaciones ecologistas, movimientos locales y sindicatos agrarios [3] se opone a este proyecto por sus potenciales impactos sobre la economía rural, el medio ambiente, la población, la calidad del aire y del agua de la zona y el impacto global de la ganadería industrial en el cambio climático.

David Sánchez, portavoz de Food & Water Europe afirmó: “Los gobiernos central y autonómico no pueden permitir que este modelo de ganadería industrial llegue a Europa. Sus impactos en EEUU están ya más que documentados, no ayuda a las zonas rurales y no tiene nada que ver con el modelo de agricultura y alimentación que demandan las personas consumidoras”.

Florent Marcellesi, eurodiputado y firmante de la carta afirmó: “La UE no puede seguir permitiendo la preocupante proliferación de macrogranjas como la de Noviercas que además de convertir a España en el estercolero de Europa, destruyen empleos, nuestra salud, el medio ambiente, el clima y las oportunidades en el mundo rural. Ya hemos llevado esta batalla a Bruselas y desde aquí seguimos trabajando para que la UE apueste cuanto antes por un modelo agroalimentario sostenible, saludable, respetuoso con los animales y que contribuya al desarrollo del mundo rural”

Notas

[1] La carta y el listado de firmantes está disponible aquí.

[2] Más información sobre el Proyecto está disponible en:

Español: https://fweuro.pe/20000ES

Inglés: https://fweuro.pe/20000EN

Francés: https://fweuro.pe/20000FR

[3] La coalición incluye, entre otros, a Greenpeace, Amigos de la Tierra, Ecologistas en Acción, COAG y Food & Water Europe.

Contacto

David Sánchez Carpio, Food & Water Europe, +32 (0) 2893 1045, +34 616206942, dsanchez(at)fweurope.org

Florent Marcellesi, +3222837743, [email protected]

More Than 30 MEPs Raise Their Voices Against a 23,000 Dairy-Cow Factory Farm in Spain

En Español

Madrid, Brussels, February 27th 2019 — Thirty-three MEPs from six different political groups and 11 countries endorsed a letter [1] sent today to Spanish national and regional governments urging them to stop a projected factory farm that would house more than 23,000 dairy cows [2]. It would be the biggest dairy farm in the European Union and opens the doors to a factory farm model imported from the US that has no place in Europe.

A coalition of environmental NGOs, local organisations and farmers [3] is opposing this project for its potential impacts on rural economies, the environment, local communities, water and air quality, as well as the global impact of factory farming on climate change.

David Sánchez, campaigner at Food & Water Europe, said: “The Spanish and regional governments shouldn’t allow this factory farm model to be imported from the United States into Europe. Its severe impacts in the US are well documented: it doesn’t help rural communities and it has nothing to do with the model of farming that citizens demand in Europe.”

Florent Marcellesi, Member of the European Parliament and co-signatory of the letter, said: “The EU must stop turning a blind eye on the worrying spread of mega factory farms like the one in Noviercas. This kind of factory farming is making Spain become Europe’s dump while it destroys employment, our health, the environment, the climate and the opportunities in the rural areas. We already brought this fight to Brussels and from here we’ll keep on working to ensure the EU turns as soon as possible to sustainable and healthy farming, which respects animal welfare and contributes to the development of rural areas.”

Notes

[1] The letter and the list of signatories can be found here in Spanish and English.

[2] More information about the project can be found here in:

English https://fweuro.pe/20000EN
French https://fweuro.pe/20000FR
Spanish https://fweuro.pe/20000ES

[3] The coalition includes, among others, Greenpeace Spain, Friends of the Earth Spain, Ecologistas en Acción, Food & Water Europe and farmers’ union COAG.

Contact

David Sánchez, Food & Water Europe, +32 (0) 2893 1045, +34 616206942, dsanchez(at)fweurope.org

Florent Marcellesi. +3222837743 [email protected]

 

Food & Water Watch’s Wenonah Hauter, Fashion Icon Vivienne Westwood, Hollywood Actress and United Nations Human Rights Champion Amber Heard Ask UN To Consider Fracking Affront To Women’s Rights In The UK

American Statistics Show Pregnant Women Living Near UK Fracking Sites Have A 40% Risk Of Premature Birth

Brussels/Washington/London/Geneva, 25 Feb 2019

A co-signed letter from a group of environmental organisations and human rights activists to The Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) recommends that the United Nations ban fracking in order to protect the health and well-being of women threatened by the dangerous drilling practice in the United Kingdom.

Representatives of the UK Government are meeting CEDAW in Geneva on Tuesday, 26th February 2019.

In the Summer of 2018, CEDAW asked the UK Government to provide information on the measures being taken to mitigate and address the health and environmental impacts of toxic substances on women and girls, in particular rural women, due to planned fracking activities.

The UK Government answered in November 2018 that it has: “a robust regulatory system which provides a comprehensive regime for exploratory activities,” and “tough regulations in place to ensure on site safety, prevent water contamination, and mitigate seismic activity and air pollution.”

Activists have argued that the UK government’s measures are not sufficient to protect women.

Dame Vivienne Westwood, Hollywood Actress and United Nations Human Rights Champion, Amber Heard and Wenonah Hauter, Founder and Executive Director of Food & Water Watch and Food & Water Europe have all signed a letter to the CEDAW along with environmental groups such as Food & Water Europe, Talk Fracking, #BreakFreeFromPlastic, Frack Free United; academics such as Dr. Damien Short, Co-Director of the Human Rights Consortium, London and Energy Policy Professor Peter Strachan, Aberdeen, together with the Concerned Health Professionals UK and the National Union of Students.

They also strongly disagree with the claims made by the UK Government.

The group believes women’s rights are compromised because:

– Fracking is linked to higher rates of cancer, nervous, immune and cardiovascular problems in women.

– Pregnant women who live near active fracking operations have a 40% increased risk of giving birth prematurely and 30% have obstetrician-labeled ‘high-risk pregnancies, according to a Pennsylvania study by the Concerned Heath Professionals of New York.

– Fertility and menstrual problems in women can be caused from exposure the fracking chemicals including benzene, toluene and xylene (BTX chemicals).

– Miscarriages and still births can be caused by the heavy metals found in fracking waste water.

Amber Heard said on Twitter, retweeted by Vivienne Westwood: “Only a comprehensive ban can protect women and human rights from the destructive impacts of fracking in the UK.”

Vivienne Westwood says: “We want to highlight the harm fracking causes pregnant women. Pregnant women who live near active fracking operations in Pennsylvania were at a 40 percent increased risk of giving birth prematurely and at a 30 percent increased risk for having obstetrician-labeled high-risk pregnancies. This is an example of the virulent, poisoning effect of fracking to all life and we therefore want to support Amber Heard and the group asking for CEDAW to demand that it stops.”

Wenonah Hauter, Founder and Executive Director of Food & Water Watch and Food & Water Europe. “We’ve experienced the negative impacts of fracking on rural women in the US. The UK Government still has the opportunity to prevent this and must ban fracking.”

The European Parliament Fails to Support the Human Right to Water

Brussels – In a vote in the Plenary in Strasbourg this afternoon, the European Parliament has failed to support the implementation of the Human Right to Water in the European Union. The vote on the Directive on the Quality of Water for Human Consumption watered down the measures proposed by the European Commission to ensure access to water for all in the EU.

David Sánchez from Food & Water Europe said in response: “Conservative parties at the European Parliament ignored, once again, the demands of the nearly two million citizens that supported the European Citizens’ Initiative for the Human Right to Water. The proposal from the European Commission was already weak, and today it has been watered down by the right-wing majority at the European Parliament.”

On the positive side, the European Parliament managed to pass some measures to tackle plastic pollution avoiding bottled water use by ensuring the provision of free tap water in public buildings and administrations, encouraging the installation of public fountains in streets and public spaces, and encouraging the provision of tap water in canteens and restaurants around Europe, although the right-wing majority introduced the possibility of charging a fee for it.

“We ask EU governments to improve this legislation in the Council. European citizens will watch closely the negotiations that will take place in the coming months to ensure that their voice is heard and that the human right to water is really implemented,” added Sánchez.

Contact:

David Sánchez, Food & Water Europe, +32 (0) 485 842 604, dsanchez(at)fweurope.org

International Civil Society Groups Ask the European Parliament to Support the Human Right to Water

Brussels – More than forty civil society organisations from all over the world sent a letter today to Members of the European Parliament encouraging them to support the Human Right to Water in the vote on the Directive on the Quality of Water for Human Consumption that will take place in the plenary in Strasbourg next week.

Marcela Olivera, coordinator of the Inter-American Network for the Defense and the Right to Water (La Red VIDA) said: “The vote at the European Parliament will have a huge impact on access to water for all in Europe, but will also contribute to shape global policies on water. The European Parliament has a great responsibility to push Europe to lead the way to implement the Human Right to Water and to show its commitment to achieve goal number 6 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.”

The signatory organisations asked members of the European Parliament to support the Alternative Compromise Amendments to article 13 of the mentioned directive that would result in a real commitment to provide access to water for all in the EU. The compromise amendments would also be a big step forward in the effort to stop plastic pollution, as they would encourage restaurants and bars in the EU to provide free tap water, encourage municipalities to install public fountains and encourage public administrations to stop selling bottled water.

Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Watch added: “In addition to affirming the human right to water, members of the European Parliament can use this opportunity to move Europe closer to its goal of tackling plastic pollution from bottled water. Europe is importing US fracked gas to produce plastic, which is devastating the global environment and local communities alike. Avoiding bottled water in restaurants and public buildings like the European Parliament would be strong signal in the right direction.”

Note:

The letter can be found here

Contact:

David Sánchez, Food & Water Europe, +32 (0) 485 842 604 , dsanchez(at)fweurope.org

Cuadrilla Performs First Fracking Operation in the UK Since Destructive Fracking-Induced Tremors in 2011

Brussels – Today, UK energy firm Cuadrilla began its first fracking operation in Preston New Road, Lancashire. Despite ongoing protests, blockades, a permanent camp, and a 2015 vote of the county council rejecting fracking in Lancashire, the government allowed the fracking firm to go ahead.

The UK’s go ahead with fracking coincides with the Global Days of Action against Gas and Fracking – the Gasdown-Frackdown, taking place around 13 October. With a growing movement, groups across the planet take action demanding a fossil free future, standing with the people of Lancashire and fracking-affected communities around the world.

“Today’s first fracking operation in the UK in over seven years illustrates the UK government is heading in the completely wrong direction on climate change, while denying the rights of affected communities,” says Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of Food & Water Europe and Food & Water Watch. “The effects of climate change are already here. This summer’s drought had devastating results on European crop yields and threatened to lead to a UK food supply crisis. Unnatural disasters are occurring around the globe. It is deeply cynical that amidst these events we still talk about fracking in a country completely unsuitable for any form of it. The rights and health of people in Lancashire cannot be sacrificed for corporate interests.”

This summer, Cuadrilla completed its second shale gas well, ironically at the same time as a hosepipe ban was announced for parts of England due to an ongoing water shortage. “Pumping millions of litres of water underground in order to extract gas seems completely out of touch with reality and thwarts efforts necessary to keep global temperatures below 1.5 – the aim of the Paris Climate Agreement – and measures necessary to keep our planet liveable,” says Frida Kieninger, Campaigns Officer at Food & Water Europe. “It is more than unsettling to see that after all the environmental, climate, social and economic issues we have seen linked to fracking, it still plays a significant role in Europe’s energy policy.”

Even in Europe where fracking has been banned or restricted in several states, these bans often do not exclude all forms of fracking and do not block fracked gas from entering the EU, shipped in small volumes at the moment in the form of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG).

There is a growing movement of NGOs, researchers and grassroots activists protesting against these developments. Around 13 October the Gasdown-Frackdown, the Global Action Days against fracking and gas take place, where actions across the planet show a movement against fracking and gas that does not accept another generation of fossil fuel dependency.

Contact: Frida Kieninger, Food & Water Europe, email: [email protected], tel.: +32 487 24 99 05