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. […]
At this Webinar we will learn about new tools and approaches agroecological communities have developed since Covid-19. In the face of an extra, massive challenge, communities all over Europe have stepped up and developed creative responses for distributing good food. A number of examples will be presented and discussed with the practitioners themselves, while there will be a real focus on co-learning and next steps for deepening our collective food resilience. […]
In the second instalment of a two-part series on populism and rural Europe, Natalia Mamonova shares her insights on populist strategies in the countryside, food sovereignty as a counterforce to these dangerous trends, and the impact the coronavirus crisis is having on right-wing populist movements and rural transformations. […]
Populism has become a powerful political force in Europe. The current wave of populist movements has seeped through the European countryside from France to Sweden to Poland. Yet despite the emergence of resistance and alternatives to populism, the political debate continues to overlook rural Europe. In the first of a two-part series Natalia Mamonova shares her insights into why populism is having a moment in rural areas. […]
If you can’t beat them, join them. Perhaps this was the thinking behind consultants and lobbyists working for the agrochemical and food industry, who have joined the newly created European Food Forum, a so-called MEP-industry forum. In this article written by Hans van Scharen, Nina Holland and Martin Pigeon of Corporate Europe Observatory, the role of the European Food Forum is examined in detail. […]
European Coordination of Via Campesina’s call to join the#StayHomeButNotSilent call to action on April 17 to commemorate the International Day of Peasant Struggle, reiterates the fundamental role of peasants in feeding people, even in the most difficult times. It takes a crisis for alternative food systems to emerge. Is our food system, dominated by trade ideology instead of human rights, ready to face pandemics? […]
It seems inconceivable that it was only a year ago when the UK was due to crash out of the EU under a no deal Brexit. Thankfully that crisis was averted. Leading up to that momentous non-event, I wrote about what might happen to our food supply in the event that our smooth trading relationship with the EU broke down utterly. One year on, we find ourselves in a remarkably similar position […]
As the Covid-19 outbreak hits the economy, we may experience a paradigm shift that no one expected. Now is the time to unpack the difference between food security and food sovereignty. And better understand how these terms are used by different groups. Igor Tomasz Olech looks at how these concepts are framed in the EU, and how Poland is ripe for a conversation about food sovereignty. […]
For the tenth year, tens of thousands have descended on central Berlin to demand changes in farming and food systems. This year, the 27,000 who turned up were focused on climate, a just transition for farmers, vetoing the EU Mercosur trade deal, and opposing many aspects of industrialised, corporate agriculture, from gene drives and pesticides to animal welfare and fairness for the global south. […]
ARC2020 is one of 30 civil society organisations have written an open letter in order to highlight the priorities and actions that the F2F strategy should have in order to provide a coherent response to societal concerns about biodiversity, climate change, health, income of all workers in the food chain, social equity and animal welfare, amongst others. […]
Wolfgang Hees, is an organic farmer and representative of the German small-scale farmers association of the region of Baden-Württemberg. He attended and spoke at the Good Food Good Farming rally in Strasbourg on Monday. Below is what he said. […]
What role does – or can – farming and food play in mitigating climate change? Retaining and storing carbon in the soils should be an obvious climate-change mitigation, improving soil fertility through the natural processes of grazing, returning animal manures, and using legumes to fix atmospheric nitrogen has the indirect benefit of reducing the farmer’s reliance on artificial nitrogen fertilisers manufactured using fossil fuels. […]
A new report published by Nyeleni Europe, a network of European grassroots civil society organisations campaigning for food sovereignty, and Central Asia Platform for Food Sovereignty, calls for a Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) that explicitly supports small-scale sustainable producers and promotes a re-localisation of food supply-chains. […]
CAP has had a massive influence on British agriculture. No other industry will have been so greatly impacted by the United Kingdom’s EU membership, and no other industry will be as affected as Britain leaves the European Union. Leaving the EU now offers the UK the opportunity to create a new food and farming policy. […]
Right-wing populism has gained high levels of support among rural population in Europe. How could this happen and what are the solutions? Natalia Mamonova, of the Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiative, explains the causes of populism in the European countryside and shares some ideas on potential resistance and the building of alternatives to the regressive nationalist politics. […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention