Recent updates Archives - Page 12 of 86 - Agricultural and Rural Convention

Op Ed | Hunger Games and Locked in Pesticides

September 20, 2022 ARC

In this op-ed, Matthias Wolfschmidt of Foodwatch International unpacks the EU’s food system, its reliance on cheap imports, its generation of food waste, the power of lobby groups and Europe’s subsequent reliance on damaging pesticides and fertilizers. In this context, Wolfschmidt considers how the weaponisation of hunger embeds a lock in of problematic agri-industrial inputs, while also pointing to a way out of this bind within 15 years. […]

Ukraine | Green Road of Ecovillages, Six Months into War

September 20, 2022 Anastasiya Volkova

The Green Road of Ecovillages is a network of ecological communities and permaculture centers that give shelter to refugees from Ukraine. Some of the displaced people are still in Ukraine, others are outside Ukraine. The Green Road has developed organically on the ground and with with international, mutual aid support, in particular from Denmark and the Netherlands. After our initial article, here we check in on new challenges and how they are being dealt with. By Anastasiya Volkova of GEN Ukraine. […]

Rural Europe Takes Action | A Shared Space for Food Transition

August 18, 2022 ARC

This extract from “Rural Europe Takes Action – No more business as usual” tells the story of the Sustainable Food Consortium, a group of food activists who came together in Redon, France. We hear in particular about the political, bureaucratic and agro-industrial barriers the Consortium faced, and draw some learnings from this. […]

Rural Europe Takes Action | CSA and the Building of a Food Commons

August 16, 2022 Brindusa Birhala

Community Supported Agriculure (CSA) can transform the way producers and consumers relate to food as a local commons. In 2008, the Romanian network for Community Supported Agriculture farms (ASAT) set out to open the eyes of urban consumers to the benefits of small-scale agroecological production and develop CSA partnerships. […]

Rural Europe Takes Action | Regenerative Governance in Rural Spain

August 3, 2022 ARC

Next in our series of extracts from “Rural Europe Takes Action – No more business as usual” is the story of Resilience.Earth, a non-profit cooperative committed to community resilience and regenerative design as fundamental tools for social and ecological transformation. In engaging rural communities, Resilience.Earth builds from a feminine, indigenous and decolonial perspective. […]

Part 4 | Ireland, Food Security & Feed(ing the World) – Ireland’s own food security

July 27, 2022 ARC

In the final of his four part series, Stuart Meikle considers what Ireland could produce for local on-island consumption. Infrastructure, climate, consumer sentiment all play a part. […]

Ireland | Intensive Farms Must Pull their Weight for a Just Transition

July 26, 2022 ARC

Not all agri-sectors have the same impact. As the debate in Ireland over greenhouse gas emissions cuts for economic sectors intensifies, who is thinking about the fair share within sectors? Here we republish an article from Rural Ireland on the Move, our report from April this year. In it, Fintan Kelly – agriculture and land use policy and advocacy officer with the Irish Environmental Network – examines the idea of a fair share on emissions within agriculture. […]

Rural Europe Takes Action | Creating Alternatives, Creating Community

July 25, 2022 ARC

In June 2022, together with Forum Synergies, ARC2020 launched a book: “Rural Europe Takes Action – No more business as usual”. We’re spotlighting its stories of rural action and key messages for policymakers through a series of extracts.

In this extract, we are introduced to Cargonomia, a cargo bike delivery service and community collective based in Budapest. […]

Part 3 | Ireland, Food Security & Feed(ing the World) – Is Ireland Feeding Food?

July 25, 2022 Stuart Meikle

A common criticism of ‘animal agriculture’ is that it uses human-grade food as a feedstock. It is also heard in Ireland, a country with a significant livestock population by European standards. To what extent is it true that animal agriculture uses human-grade food? Stuart Meikle with part 3 of his series on Ireland, Food Security and Feeding the World. […]

UK | The Grassroots Groups Shifting Ground on Land Justice

July 22, 2022 Ursula Billington

The racialised history of British soil has consequences that are very much felt today. However where industrial scale farming is failing, the grassroots is doing what it does best, building fertile ground for a new food system that nurtures diversity. High-profile agroecology events such as this weekend’s Land Skills Fair are spotlighting land justice. This is thanks to the work of many projects that together are gradually shifting the ground for land justice. Ursula Billington reports. […]

Rural Europe Takes Action | Seeds of Collaboration

July 22, 2022 ARC

“Rural Europe Takes Action – No more business as usual”, a policy guide for rural Europe by ARC2020 and Forum Synergies, launched in June 2022. Today’s extract from Rural Europe Takes Action tells the story of the Balkan Seeds Network, a network of scientists and seed savers’ organisations tapping into the rich biodiversity and agricultural heritage of South Eastern Europe to stimulate resilient food systems, and establishing a paradigm of collaboration for the Balkan region. […]

What France Can Teach Us About Rural Resilience

July 20, 2022 ARC

In the past two years, ARC2020 has been listening closely to voices on the ground in the French countryside. What have we learned? What do the participants have to say? And what’s next for the Nos Campagnes en Résilience project? The key themes emerging from the research so far were presented to the project participants at an online gathering in June, when a lively discussion helped to collectively shape the direction for the future. Report by the Nos Campagnes en Résilience team. […]

Brussels July 22 Bulletin – there are always exceptions

July 19, 2022 Ashley Parsons

Before the summer break, Brussels and beyond is still bustling. This round-up includes an open letter addressing the drop in numbers of EU farmers, the July 18th AGRIFISH council, and your friendly reporter’s favorite subject: pesticide regulation. By Ashley Parsons […]

Part 2 | Ireland, Food Security & Feed(ing the World) – Ireland and the Archipelago

July 14, 2022 Stuart Meikle

Part two of four from Stuart Meikle on Ireland, food security and feed(ing) the world delves into the relationship Britain and Ireland have with each other – the two main islands of the archipelago referred to in the article’s title. Part one (see below) focused on Ireland, food security and nitrogen supply. Here, trade, animal feed, meats, durable forms of diary all feature. […]

On Meaningful Diversity: Reflecting on 75 years of Rural Sociology at Wageningen University

July 14, 2022 ARC

75 years have passed since Evert Willem Hofstee was appointed to the position of Professor at Wageningen University, which marks the beginning of rural sociology as a discipline and as a university department. What are the key features and how has it developed from 1946 to present? Prof. Dr. Han Wiskerke reflects on the 75th anniversary of what is now called Rural Sociology Group. […]