Meet Brindusa Birhala and Anselm Opdebeeck who live in the west of rural Romania. For four years, the pair have been slowly turning a small patch in the village of Stancoiva into an agroecological holding. Brindusa introduces the story, from strawbales to horticultural sales… […]
‘Farm land could work as carbon sinks,’ said Dr Jan Mumme, an agricultural engineer at the University of Edinburgh in the UK. ‘This probably wouldn’t work with intensive livestock farming, but sustainable crop production and integrated farm systems (a balance between crops and livestock) could do it – and biochar is one way to help.’ […]
This is #AgtechTakeback. L’Atelier Paysan is a French cooperative that works with farmers to design machines and buildings adapted to the specific practices of small farm agroecology. In addition to distributing free plans on its website, L’Atelier Paysan organizes winter self-help training sessions, during which farmers train in metalworking and build tools which they can then use on their own farms. […]
Across the continent, farmers, environmentalists, pastoralists, fishers are grabbing their pots and spoons to call for a more socially and environmentally just European food system. We want to see policy which supports small farmers and rural livelihoods, protects our soil, water, ecosystems and biodiversity and provides healthy food for all. On the 27th and 28th October, let’s make sure we are heard! […]
Agroforestry could play an important role in mitigating climate change because it sequesters more atmospheric carbon in plant parts and soil than conventional farming, report researchers. […]
How will border and mobility restrictions as well as the drafting of new trade deals under the current Brexit plan impact UK food and farming? In this final entry, Sharon Treat explores the potential risks of the Brexit deal. […]
What are the implications of the new Brexit plan on UK and EU food and farming? In this second part, Sharon Treat from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) talks us through inadequate environmental and animal welfare protection as well as weakened biotechnology regulations. […]
What Brexit will mean for the future of UK and EU food and farming has been the topic of much debate and much uncertainty in the past few months. As the Brexit withdrawal plan is becoming more concrete, so too are the potential opportunities and concerns for the food system. Sharon Treat from the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) talks us through five key risks. […]
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) passed a ruling deeming organisms acquired by gene editing are subject to the same regulations as other GMOs. […]
Living Labs are to bridge the gap between academia and ‘real-world’ practice. They are meant to provide space for exchanges, and to facilitate the creative cooperation between a diverse group of actors seeking solutions to the challenges of a particular locality, solutions “that work”. […]
Despite mounting concern about antibiotic resistance globally, parts of the UK agricultural industry remain opposed to further restriction. Could the antibiotic overuse be addressed by policymakers actively incorporating traditional good husbandry knowledge of farmers into best practice management plans? […]
A new report by IATP and GRAIN out this week highlights the devastating impact of the meat and dairy giants on the environment. If GHG emissions from this sector continue as predicted, the Paris Agreement goals are firmly out of reach. […]
Where does Europe get its soybeans – South America, Ukraine, within the EU itself? Hans Wietzels talks sustainable soybean with Oksana Prosolenko of the Donau Soja Organisation she directs in Ukraine. […]
On the first day on June, Guy Singh-Watson handed over almost ¾ of the business- known primarily for its organic veg box deliveries in the UK – to its employees. So why did this especially committed individual do this – and reject tens of millions of pounds in the process? And what does this mean for food system democracy? […]
In the second of his two articles on landgrabbing in Poland, Hans Wetzels reports on rural Poland, the rise of the populist right and on sociological critiques of populist claims. We see that landgrabbing, large corporations and EU policy impact some areas and sectors differently to others […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention