Recent updates Archives - Page 29 of 86 - Agricultural and Rural Convention

Resistance Is Fertile: Your Land, My Land, Our Land

July 1, 2020 ARC

How can grassroots organisations tackle the issue of land access? What strategies and legal tools are available to them, and what real-life examples have worked? In this excerpt from the comprehensive toolkit recently published by Nyéléni Europe and Central Asia platform for Food Sovereignty, the authors note that despite the challenges, resistance is fertile – and present a range of tools that land activists can use to fight for a fairer world. […]

Is Food Security A Relevant Argument Against Environmental Measures In The EU?

June 29, 2020 Sebastian Lakner

Toilet paper was at a premium, wine was scarce, but the Covid-19 crisis was not a threat to food security. Meanwhile a more insidious threat persists beyond the pandemic, as CAP payments – intended to buy food security for the EU – continue to sponsor the destruction of the environment in which our food grows. It’s time to dump the food security narrative, argue Guy Pe’er and Sebastian Lakner. […]

Main stories

Join Us in Generating a Vision & Strategy for Rural Europe – Now!

June 26, 2020 ARC

Help ARC2020 build a vision and strategy for rural Europe, by joining the civil society participation at a high level webconference on 7th July. […]

Food Framing: Think Like An Eastern European

June 24, 2020 ARC

Must we choose between formal market and non-market economies? This is the longstanding Western narrative. But Eastern European food practices tell a different story. Co-author of a new paper that points to tried-and-tested alternatives to the West’s broken food systems, Bálint Balázs makes the case for looking East. […]

Europe’s Agroecology Movement – Stepping up in Times of Covid19

June 22, 2020 Alison Brogan

Four innovative and committed agroecology initiatives showed how they stepped up in times of Covid19 at a webinar organised by Forum Synergies and ARC2020 last week. And dozens, from all over Europe and beyond, got involved in the conversation. Alison Brogan tells us about this event which provided a moment to reflect, some key contemporary learnings, and which sowed the seeds of further action. […]

Letter From The Farm | Welcome to Western Macedonia

June 22, 2020 Nikos Tsioumplekas

Meet Nikos Tsioumplekas, a budding farmer who is reviving the family farm in Western Macedonia in the North of Greece. So far he has restored his great-grandfather’s orchards and planted a vegetable garden. Inspired by Greek tradition and best practices from all over the world, Nikos is determined to realise his farming vision. […]

Germany | Islanders Go Digital

June 18, 2020 Hannes Lorenzen

If remote rural communities want to be part of the conversations that will shape their futures, the ability to connect with other projects and stakeholders is a crucial skill. For one island community, the coronavirus crisis was a crash course in online networking. Hannes Lorenzen reports on Eco-Week 2020 and the digital leap forward on his home island of Pellworm, Germany. […]

EU Green Deal | Carbon Farming Not Compatible With Agroecology

June 16, 2020 ARC

The agriculture section of the EU Green Deal is plagued with contradictions. On the plus side, it finally acknowledges the need to massively develop agroecology. But Farm to Fork advocates for a range of false solutions, including so-called “carbon farming”. All agricultural models cannot coexist, argue Manon Castagné and François Delvaux in this op-ed. […]

Why Language Matters To Shape The Future Of Agriculture

June 15, 2020 Ans Rossy

Why don’t we talk about doing good instead of doing less harm? Because we are facing a crisis of imagination, writes Ans Rossy. To move away from our society’s current paradigm of power and influence, we will need inspiring new narratives. Agroecology can help us envision a future that’s about sharing and cooperation. […]

Species Extinction & the Case for a Global Moratorium on Gene Drives

June 14, 2020 ARC

Stop Gene Drives is a campaign to prevent future releases of gene drive organisms into the environment in Germany, Europe and worldwide. In this op-ed, Head of Campaign Mareike Imken makes the case for a global moratorium on the release of gene drive organisms – before it is too late. […]

CAP and Biodiversity | Wake-Up Call For Green Deal Commission?

June 12, 2020 Louise Kelleher

Last week’s damning report on CAP and biodiversity was a wake-up call. But will the Green Deal Commission go back to sleep? The European Court of Auditors insists CAP must deliver more in the 2030 biodiversity strategy. Civil society organizations are now watching closely to see the Commission doesn’t hit snooze and sink back into business as usual. Louise Kelleher takes us through the reactions. […]

European Green Deal | Revving Up For CAP Reform, Or More Hot Air?

June 11, 2020 Matteo Metta

The European Green Deal has the potential to shape the CAP towards a more sustainable and environmentally friendly policy. But as we’ve seen with the debate surrounding the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategies published last month, it can also distract attention from the less obvious problems of the CAP. Analysis by Matteo Metta. […]

Ammonia | Hanging Around Like A Bad Smell

June 10, 2020 Alison Brogan

An unpleasant stench stank out cities across Europe this spring as the pandemic-induced drop in emissions from transport and industry cleared the air for agricultural air pollution. As luck would have it, the Covid-19 lockdowns coincided with peak slurry-spreading time – making the stink all the more pungent. But there’s more to manure than a bad smell to worry about. Alison Brogan reports. […]

CAP | Billions Spent on Biodiversity with Little Impact – Auditors

June 7, 2020 Louise Kelleher

The EU has funnelled €66 billion into farmland biodiversity since 2014 – and has little to show for it. That’s the conclusion of a special report released on Friday by the European Court of Auditors. The auditors slammed the half-baked targets of the EU 2020 biodiversity strategy, its odd-couple relationship with CAP, lack of monitoring, and some very un-smart spending by the European Commission. A series of recommendations have been made. Louise Kelleher reports. […]

Covid-19 & Meat Processing Plants: An EU-wide response?

June 4, 2020 Alison Brogan

Covid-19 outbreaks in meat factories worldwide are revealing different responses for the exposed workers – and make the case for an EU wide standard for meat factory workers. Alison Brogan highlights recent developments in Germany and Ireland. […]