Daily updates on whats new on the ARC website and in the CAP debate
Here we republish the introduction to ‘Food Sovereignty, Climate Action and Local Resilience’, a pamphlet produced by the Green European Foundation with the support of Green Foundation Ireland and Cultivate. […]
As COP26 gets underway, now is the time for the world to kick its addiction to synthetic N fertilisers and urgently transition to farming without fossil fuels and chemicals. A brief by Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), GRAIN and Greenpeace International. […]
The food environment, a shift towards vegetables, and true cost true prices. There are the themes our colleagues in the Dutch Food Transition Coalition focused on in a submission on sustainable food systems in the EU. You can read an adapted version of the Dutch submission below, written by Willem Lageweg (director) Joost de Jong (strategic advisor) Dutch Food Transition Coalition. […]
We’re back on Chiara Garini’s farm at the foot of the Italian Alps. After her ambitious plans to open an on-farm restaurant, Chiara reflects on the benefits of taking the slower path to paradigm change. Paradoxically this setback serves well her overall vision of agri-food systems as the farm continues to reap the benefits of diversification. Meanwhile in local politics, divisive narratives around farming have led to a disappointing development, leaving Chiara more convinced than ever that agroecology is the way forward. […]
Increases in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events, including flooding, are unfolding in real time as climate change intensifies. Here, soil expert Dr. Andrea Beste delves deep into soil, and, in particular soil compaction and its role in flooding. While CAP and EU Directives have done little to help improve our soils and reduce flooding, there are, in organic farming, techniques to help get the best from our soils. […]
Following Brexit, the four countries that make up the UK will each treat basic payments to farmers differently. For farmers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland payments will remain the same – at least for now. For farmers in England, change is coming faster. With Marianne Landzettel of the Sustainable Food Trust. […]
“The seeds regulation is unconstitutional.” A thesis from the University of Geneva’s Faculty of Law demonstrates that the system that decides which plant varieties can be sold in Switzerland contradicts other objectives of agriculture under the Swiss constitution, such as safeguarding the environment, landscape and local economy. By Anton Vos. […]
Isabella Lang has been working on her friends’ farm in the Austrian Alps since the spring. After four years in the Brussels bubble, she was keen to get her hands back in the soil. It’s been several months of hard work, long days, amazing food, and a healthy pace of life. In this first letter Isabella introduces us to the farm. Meet the new peasants. […]
We’re back on Shane Casey’s farm in the Burren, Ireland. It’s nearly time for the reverse transhumance drive – or ‘winterage’ as it’s known locally. Grazing over the winter allows the Burren’s unique mix of flora to thrive. It’s a quintessential example of farming for conservation, explains Shane. […]
‘Should agricultural subsidies go to labour not land?’ This question was up for discussion at a meeting hosted by ARC2020 in Summer 2021. Area based payments are absolutely central to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) yet they have a range of negative impacts and act as a barrier to progressive change. […]
What happens when a farm invites the wider community to collectively tease out its future? In September ARC2020 visited Brittany to find out. Seed savers, farm workers and chefs sat down with elected officials and representatives of regional organisations to share insights and listen to each other’s experiences. Louise Kelleher reports. […]
The Farm to Fork strategy is having an impact – and the forces of business-as-usual aren’t happy. Here Camille Perrin (BEUC), Nick Jacobs (IPES-Food) and Nina Holland (CEO) express their concerns about studies and corporate-led events “based on models which are ill-suited to evaluating the impacts of transforming our food systems.” Further, the authors point to how inappropriate these studies and events are when assessing the Farm to Fork Strategy itself. […]
Seeds for hope were sown this summer at the Seeds4all seminar, when cereal farmers and breeders from several countries gathered on the island of Pellworm in July to discuss the future of local organic seed production. Off the German coast in the North Sea, Pellworm faces its own challenges as an island below sea level. In this weirdly rainy and burning summer, it was a fitting location for talk of sustainability and resilience. Report by Seeds4all. […]
Broadband for all, even in the most remote regions; smart, revitalised villages and towns with hundreds of remote working hubs; a rural youth assembly, significant numbers of public and private workers for rural areas; Local Digital Strategies in administrative regions; and all done in a well-planned way to optimize synergies and transition towards carbon neutrality – it sound like a sustainable rural digitalisation dream. So is it? […]
We’re back on Shane Casey’s farm in the Burren, Ireland. Here, with the harvest in full swing, lambs and weanlings are being sold. In an ideal world Shane would like his meat to be consumed locally. In reality, in rural areas like his, supply outstrips demand. Shane prides himself on the quality of his meat. Working backwards from butchery to husbandry to breeding, he shares some insights into the process. […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention