A Conversation with Jesus Zorrilla, Counselor of Agriculture, Delegation of the EU to the US
By: Sharath Patil
My supervisor at my semester externship at the Delegation of the European Union to the United States is Jesus Zorrilla – a lifelong commercial diplomat who has worked for the EU as it has grown substantially and become an internationally renowned and respected organization. Jesus is a native of Madrid. He studied 
agricultural engineering in Spain, and then began his career in public service at the regional government in Andalucía. Jesus went on to work for the European Commission for 27 years, which included work on bilateral trade relationships, working on agricultural policy in the EU, and representing the EU’s agricultural interests in its dealings with the World Trade Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Jesus now works in Washington, DC, where he tracks policy developments and actively works to strengthen the EU-US agricultural trade relationship.
Jesus had interesting thoughts on food, agriculture, and nutrition to share after his decades-long experiences working with the movement of agricultural goods across the world. He believes that both the United States and the European Union have good food standards, and that he is assured that the food safety standards of both governments can be trusted with regards to consumer safety. He says the two control regimes are different in their approaches, however, because the European Union is far more wary and less accepting of developments in biotechnology, genetically-modified organisms (GMOs), and growth hormones.
Jesus believes that both the EU and the US have a great deal to learn from 
one another with regards to agricultural policy. He observes that the US intervenes significantly less than the EU in agricultural production and markets, and he sees that as a good thing with benefits to both producers and consumers. However, he finds that EU policy has resulted in higher quality processed foods, such as wine, chocolate, and cheese. On the other hand, he believes that the relatively hands-off approach of the US has resulted in more competitive commodity production.
Jesus and I work together a great deal regarding the upcoming Farm Bill, and Jesus has closely studied the differences between the Farm Bill and its EU counterpart, the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Jesus finds the subsidy systems to be the aspect most different between the Farm Bill and the CAP. The CAP is more decoupled than the Farm Bill, meaning that farmers’ incomes are more assured and
is less tied to their production. Although farmer subsidy income is not completely dependent on production in the United States, Jesus finds that the US method of subsidy is tied to production more so than the EU. He doesn’t see either method as inherently better than the other, but says that both systems come with advantages and disadvantages. For example, the day-to-day well-being of farmers is guaranteed more under the CAP than with the Farm Bill. However, the Farm Bill has superior safety mechanisms and crisis management tools in the face of market volatility.
When I asked Jesus about his thoughts on US eating habits and food, he stated that he finds the American diet to be worse than that of the Europeans. He attributes this to Americans eating out more while Europeans tend to cook more, eat their meals at home, and therefore tend to eat more freshly prepared foods made from nutritious ingredients. He also finds greater produce variety in EU supermarkets, observed that portions in restaurants are greater in the US, and feels Americans eat their meals earlier than Europeans. Jesus admits that the EU has nothing on an American steak. Overall, Jesus seemed quite confident in the food safety regimes of both the US and the EU, and believes that well-balanced, freshly prepared meals are key to good health.
Thank you to Jesus Zorilla for his time. Views expressed in this post do not represent the European Union, the Delegation, or any EU Member-States.
