Automation and digitisation are rising in farming and the broader agri-food sector. Germany – industrial powerhouse of Europe – seems an obvious place to embrace AGTech. From precision farming and data ownership to embodied energy and cost, what are the opportunities, the impacts and the implications? And how are agroecologists responding? […]
How realistic is the Green Party demand in the current coalition talks for an agricultural turn, including the phase out of factory farming in 20 years? In the land of the near ubiquitous bratwurst, main ingredient in Germany’s’ number one fast food currywurst, how strong is the undercurrent of opposition to factory farmed pork and poultry? […]
Fertilizer, herbicide and GM crops. 24th October 2017 saw not one but three significant votes in the European Parliament on each of these topics. Considering how these plenary votes went, it may be the case that, when it comes to agri-food policy matters, the tide is turning. So what happened, and what’s next? […]
Three quarters of all flying insects in Germany have disappeared in just 27 years, according to a study published in one of the world’s leading scientific journals, PLoS One. What are the details are what may be to blame? […]
There are some big and pressing topics in agri-food and for rural places. Some of these are ongoing – rural and farming depopulation, land access, agroecology, economic and ecological disparities in the Common Agricultural Policy – and others are new. So what’s new – and what’s worth covering in debate form? […]
“(T)he effects of dosing whole landscapes with chemicals have been largely ignored by regulatory systems. This can and should be changed.” Top pesticide advisors criticise weakness of global pesticide regulation […]
Adopting rights of nature in EU law and policy would not only help to deal with current environmental issues but also induce a profound change in the way that nature in Europe is perceived and protected in the future, argues Mumta Ito. […]
The issue of “land sparing vs land sharing”: Kremen poses the familiar refrain – should we be as productive (in terms of yield) as possible, thus leaving more land for nature, or should we try to get farming and nature to work better together? […]
As Brexit negotiations open, a report makes for worrying reading on the implications for food and farming. Interconnected problematic situations await the UK, yet there seems to be precious little of agri-food planning being done. Food Brexit: Time to Get Real Finds. […]
Progress is being made towards land access – and against land concentration – in the EU, with a consultation by the Finance Directorate General.You can read the DG FISMA consultation document and submit your own feedback. Closing date for submissions is very soon – the 7th July. […]
It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organised creatures. Which creatures – and who said this? Read on….. […]
A vote in the European Parliament this coming Wednesday 14th June will be crucial in deciding whether pesticides will be banned from Ecological Focus Areas (EFAs). It is a simple majority vote by MEPs, and it is likely to be tight. Here we outline what you can do, make the case for keeping pesticides out of EFAs, and myth bust some common misconceptions on pesticides and EFAs. […]
MEPs on the Agriculture Committee (COMAGRI) have rejected a proposal by the EU Commission to ban pesticides from Ecological Focus Areas. The proposal was part of a simplification initiative by the EU Commission, whereby a bundle of 14 changes in CAP greening rules were put forward. […]
Without farming, Britain’s countryside would be drastically different. Imagine walking through landscapes un-tilled, un-sown, un-fertilised and un-treated, nor grazed by cattle or sheep. Land abandonment or tropic rewilding? […]
Large-scale urban agriculture is on the rise globally, with more and more farms appearing in our cities. A far cry from allotments and community gardens, urban farms occupy much bigger spaces; they can employ people, regenerate huge neighbourhoods and give residents access to fresh produce on their doorsteps. […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention