Latest from Brussels

“CAP is an Aberration in terms of Climate & Environmental Impact of Ag”

This weekend the Salon de l’Agriculture kicked off in Paris. Beyond the romanticised picture of farming presented at big agri-food fairs like this, the food and farming system shows no sign of change. So it is with the new CAP, which locks in unsustainable agricultural practices while eroding European cohesion. Carbon farming, offered as a solution, will change nothing in substance. Plus ça change, argues ARC2020 President Hannes Lorenzen in an Op-Ed for Le Monde. […]

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German CAP Strategic Plan: Bold Changes Required

The new funding period of the Common Agricultural Policy has begun. The EU member states, including Germany, have all developed National Strategic Plans to implement the new EU requirements. However, as the following article shows, this reform and its national implementation are not sufficient to achieve environmental, climate, animal wellfare and social objectives. […]

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Post-Brexit Farm Policy – Where Do England’s Smallholdings and Horticulture Sector Stand?

In the UK, farm policy is a devolved responsibility, so the governments of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are each working at their own pace and to their own vision of post-Brexit agricultural reform. In this article, the first of a two-part series, Ursula Billington presents the state of play in England, the nation so far taking the most novel approach. […]

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Meet the Movement Linking Civil Society with Philanthropy for Food System Transformation

In Berlin, on the eve of the Wir haben es satt! demonstration at which thousands marched for a socio-ecological agricultural future, two of ARC’s founders, Benny Haerlin and Hannes Lorenzen, sat down with Marinke van Riet to discuss her work as “chief weaver” of Healthy Food Healthy Planet. Healthy Food Healthy Planet is an intersectoral coordination effort that connects civil society actors with funders in the transition to healthy, just and sustainable food environments. […]

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Brexit Bites – Farming in Britain after CAP

On 26 January, the future of post-Brexit agricultural policy in England became clearer with the government’s announcement of six new standards under its Sustainable Farming Incentive. While English farmers may cautiously welcome this long-awaited update, serious challenges remain for the sector in England, and across the United Kingdom. Marianne Landzettel reports.  […]

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Responsible Digital Agroecology – from Farm to Fork

How can innovations in digital agriculture ensure inclusion and equity for all actors in the value chain? What are the examples of digital innovations in agriculture that have already or will have a real impact on farmers’ work, quality of life and on sustainability? And how can we develop the relevant policies to foster the development of digital technologies and services that would ensure inclusion and equity for all actors in the value chain? Here, Véronique Bellon Maurel addresses these questions, […]

soup and talk meeting about agri-food Berlin
Latest from EU Member States

Five Talks to Catch at Soup & Talk 2023 – this Saturday 21st January

Soup & Talk – an event that celebrates food and farming changemakers all over the world – takes place on Saturday, January 21 from 4 – 7 pm CET. People working for fair and ecological food systems will present their successes, struggles and ideas in 5-minute interventions at the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Berlin. In person and livesteam options. So what’s happening? […]