Latest from EU Member States Archives - Page 28 of 68 - Agricultural and Rural Convention

Lighter Shade of Green – CAP Fails in Germany & Beyond

April 14, 2016 Sebastian Lakner

“Ecological focus areas should be established, in particular, in order to safeguard and improve biodiversity on farms“. So say the official EU documents. And yet for these EFAs, Member States are choosing ‘productive options’ – in particular catch crops and nitrogen fixing crops – over biodiversity. Using newly released data, Sebastian Lakner shows us just how ineffective and poorly targeted EFAs are, in Germany and beyond. […]

Informing the Brexit food debate

April 13, 2016 Peter Crosskey

n a bid to bring some facts to a heated discussion that has yet to cover food production, Food Research Collaboration academics Dr Victoria Schoen and Professor Tim Lang have released a briefing paper to inform discussions of the food issues that membership of the EU raises for UK citizens. […]

Belgium Bites Back – Brussels’ Everything Else Big Parade

April 10, 2016 ARC

On Sunday 20th March, the Big Everything Else Parade (Tout Autre Chose/Hart Boven Hard) took place in Brussels. Many alternatives to the business-as-usual austerity and corporate control agenda were represented, including the better food and farming brigade. Nele Baltide was there. Here’s her report – a fascinating snapshot of the great food initiatives happening on the ground in Belgium. […]

April 24th – Ireland Food Sovereignty Proclamation Day

April 5, 2016 ARC

On April 24th, Ireland marks the actual date its independence movement started in earnest. Irish citizens have come together to make April 24th 2016 – the real date that marks the Easter Rising – Ireland’s food sovereignty proclamation day. And they plan to eat and tweet about it. Here’s the why and how. […]

Ireland – CAP Greening Failing Farmers and Nature

April 3, 2016 Oliver Moore

CAP ‘greening’, ties up farmers in bureaucracy, uses up valuable public money and still fails to protect nature or the incomes of farmers in marginalised areas adequately. Ireland is no exception. […]

CAP Greening Threatens Ecologically Precious Land

March 29, 2016 ARC

Our most environmentally valuable farmland is condemned to a slow death by a combination of EU bureaucracy and national decisions. CAP’s so called greening ties up farmers in bureaucracy, uses valuable public money and still fails to protect nature or the incomes of farmers in marginalised areas adequately. There are however solutions. […]

Germany – CAP Greening not Working for Biodiversity

March 21, 2016 Sebastian Lakner

Analysis from German finds that Ecological Focus Areas – a core part of the ‘greening’ of the Pillar 1 of the CAP – are having little positive impact on biodiversity. Farmers use the full set of options, but with a strong emphasis on the production options. Guest post Sebastian Lanker. […]

Farmers Vanishing from Europe’s Economic Powerhouse

March 7, 2016 Oliver Moore

Europe’s strongest economy is seeing its farming sector decimated. At an incredibly rapid rate, both the number of farmers and the income of those left farming is nose diving. Why is this happening and what can – or will – be done? […]

From Mud Angels to Soil Angels

February 29, 2016 Mario Catizzone

Europe needs – and is getting – itself some soil angels. Who are they? What do they do? And where do mud angels (!) come into it? Mario Catizzone explains […]

UK pollinators hit by farming

February 11, 2016 Peter Crosskey

UK-wide study traces declining diversity of nectar sources for the country’s pollinators. Four plant species supplied half the UK’s nectar in 2007. […]

Berlin’s Sea of Flowers – Where Climate & Humanity Intersect

February 9, 2016 Pavlos Georgiadis

Climate Change Adaptation via Horticultural Integration: Meet Ehtiopian urban gardener Fetewei Tarekegn and his west African refugee team. […]

New Law, Contested Agroecology – France’s Loi d’Avenir

February 4, 2016 Peter Crosskey

Here we feature a pair of extracts from the publication Conversion to agroecology: France’s hopes for environmental salvation by ARC2020’s Peter Crosskey. It opens with the political move to introducing an agroecology law, and ends with criticism of the weakness of this move from the 15,000 member Confédération Paysanne. […]

Pssst! The Answer is in the Soil! #LivestockDebate

February 1, 2016 ARC

Is a kilo of meat really as bad as flying to New York? Or does the soil store enough carbon to cope? Guest post by Miles King. […]

WHES2016 – Making (Radio) Waves in Ireland

January 24, 2016 ARC

Wir Haben Es Satt (WHES2016) made the news in Ireland this year, via ARC2020’s Oliver Moore. Have a listen to what he said….. […]

UK Outsourcing Food Footprint, study shows

January 23, 2016 Peter Crosskey

What are the implications of other countries producing the GHG emissions ‘for you’? In other words exporting ever more food to you, all the while racking up their GHG emissions total? Its good for your emissions tally, but is this fair? Peter Crosskey has more […]