This week, across Europe, sustainable food campaigners, industrial farming lobbyists and national governments will be putting together lists of suggestions to the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and passing them to MEPs for consideration. This is the week set aside in which MEPs on the agriculture and rural development committee have the opportunity to table amendments to a reformed CAP which is currently at the first reading stage in both the Parliament and Council. Over the course of this year and next the EU will then work to agree on a new subsidy regime which will define and shape European farming practices and subsidies over the coming years. Critics of the current system of subsidies given to farmers in Europe point to major negative impacts including encouraging intensive farming that degrades land, water and habitats. Similarly, rich-world subsidies, like the CAP, can make life even tougher for poor farmers in developing countries. It is increasingly accepted that developed world subsidies depress world prices, making it difficult for developing countries to compete and invest. Export subsidies can also result in "dumping" excess production, further undermining developing country agriculture. With reforms due to be finalised next year, the battle is on, not just to trim the subsidy bill but also to make the scheme work for, rather than against, the environment and international development. To address these concerns, the EU is currently proposing that almost a third of the main payments should depend on three environmental measures: crop diversification, retention of permanent pasture and the creation of "ecological focus areas". This is not enough for the critics. Some want the main subsidy payments to be dependent on farmers signing up for schemes to enhance biodiversity, protect water courses and mitigate climate change. In addition the European parliament environment committee wants a maximum period during which land can be left bare, to prevent soil erosion, while others, including Friends of the Earth, want radical changes to encourage a move away from intensive meat and dairy production. This is an important debate that we will all hear more about, as it takes its course, over the next 24 months.