Urgent reform is needed. EU farm policies should help – not hinder – the achievement of important objectives such as reaching the Millennium Development Goals, ensuring environmental sustainability and improving social equity. As EU member countries enter into negotiations over the next EU budget, they should review the current subsidy levels that have led to ballooning deficits and spending. Now is the time to fundamentally reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) which has resulted in waste and inequality at home and crippled developing countries abroad.