Générations Futures calls for the abandonment of the High Environmental Value label

“The High Environmental Value (HVE) guarantees that the agricultural practices used throughout a farm preserve the natural ecosystem and reduce the pressure on the environment (soil, water, biodiversity, etc.) to a minimum. It is a rewarding mention, provided for by the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code, in the same way as “mountain product” or “farm product”. This is a voluntary approach that is implemented by farmers to promote their best practices” says the website of the Ministry of Agriculture.

A point of view which is not shared by Générations Futures, for whom this label “is contrary to French law since 2011”.

“A label that must be removed”

For Générations Futures, associated with a collective comprising associations of consumers, environmental and health protection, farmers and organic companies, this label must purely and simply be “removed”.

“French law has indicated since 2011 that the HVE label must reward production methods that are supposed to be particularly respectful of the environment. Studies produced by the French Office for Biodiversity and IDDRI have shown that the content of the HVE label was not more demanding than the average of French agricultural practices” writes Générations Futures, which announces that it has seized the Council of State to request the removal of this label.

Non-compliance with standards

For them, the label has no place because it does not respect the “basic environmental rules of the Common Agricultural Policy”. More, “the use of chemical inputs such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that are particularly harmful to the environment or to human health remains authorized” the association is indignant.

Citing figures from a survey carried out by Interfel, the fresh fruit and vegetable inter-professional association, on this label among consumers, “55% of respondents believe that the HVE label is subject to strict specifications, 48% that HVE fruits and vegetables are strictly controlled and 44% that HVE fruits and vegetables can be trusted 100%. These figures are proof that the consumer is being duped by the mention itself, so this must stop as soon as possible.” still supports Future Generations.

Stop this “lie”

For the collective and the environmental association, “the HVE has never had the real purpose of having a high environmental performance […] it is only a misleading label for consumers and citizens in general who see in it, through ignorance, an agricultural model with a positive impact on the environment. The challenge of our class action is to demonstrate that unfortunately this is far from being the case and that it is not acceptable to perpetuate such a lie. they conclude.