NGOs are urging a root and branch reform of agricultural policy to take the place of the CAP in the post-Brexit years. The Sustain alliance has published a four-part policy briefing. This is part two of our mini series presenting two scenarios from the UK for life #AfterCAP. […]
Alan Matthews points out that given the pivotal importance of Germany in shaping the future CAP, it is worth paying attention to what the CDU/CSU coalition have to say about agriculture in its just announced programme for government for the German elections in September. […]
The global food system has been operating in post-truth mode for decades. Having constructed food scarcity as a justification for a second Green Revolution, Big Agriculture now employs its unethical marketing tactics to selling farmers “climate-smart” agriculture in the form of soils, seeds and chemicals. […]
Slavery still exists in the EU, with some horticultural produce coming from places with extreme, inhumane working conditions which fit the International Labour Organisation’s definition of forced labour. There are ways to start dealing with this, at policy and local levels, including via community supported agriculture. […]
Agriculture is everybody’s business. The way land is used and distributed is key to improving the quality of local food production, not to mention ecological forms of farming and livelier rural areas. […]
Food waste is a scandal – in more ways than one. We have somehow allowed a food system to develop that lets supermarkets off the hook – it’s their policies and practices that generate food waste in the first place. […]
Livestock plays a central role in the CAP, but there are numerous areas of concern. While the public are interested in better animal welfare standards, policies lead to overproduction of grain and an abundance of cheap livestock products with all the sustainability issues this carries. […]
A highlight of Cork2 was the sobering presentation of Janez Potočnik of The Rural Investment Support for Europe (RISE) Foundation. he is also Co-Chair of UN International Resource Panel, Former European Commissioner for Environment, and previously of Research. […]
by Tim Lang, City University London The situation created by the British vote to leave the European Union is momentous for UK food. It is on a par with the Repeal of the Corn Laws of 1846 when Britain decided its Empire could feed it, not its own farmers. And it is as important as the creation of the Agriculture Act of 1947 when after two bruising wars in which the population faced serious risk of starvation, the country decided to put its food house in order – to produce more of what it could and look after the land. Those events set the tone and framework for UK food for decades after. Brexit will do the same. It doesn’t help that the political elites are now knifing each other in a distraction from the genuine, looming effects. My concern is that the security of food might get lost in the debacle. The UK must not let that happen. Food stocks are low in a just-in-time economy, an estimated three to five days’ worth. The […]
n a bid to bring some facts to a heated discussion that has yet to cover food production, Food Research Collaboration academics Dr Victoria Schoen and Professor Tim Lang have released a briefing paper to inform discussions of the food issues that membership of the EU raises for UK citizens. […]
Charly Faradji and Marissa de Boer tell us about a global agri-food issue rarely discussed – the impending shortage of phosphorus. […]
The Paris agreement reached Saturday 12 December at the COP negotiations has been hailed as historic. Is it? And what will it mean for farming and food? […]
The appointment of Kerry McCarthy as shadow secretary of state at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) received at best a lukewarm response from the UK food and farming sector. How will she respond? […]
What would people–centred food governance look like? This is the crucial question to be addressed in Edinburgh, Scotland 22-23rd October. BOOK NOW Nourish Scotland, in cooperation with ARC2020, will host “Towards a Citizens’ Agricultural Policy” an event which will gather citizens, farmers, civil society, and representatives from regions and cities to rethink the governance of food and farming policies in Europe and Scotland. According to Nourish Scotland “our food system is failing to support a healthy, well-nourished population, while driving dangerous climate change and destroying natural capital. The Common Agricultural Policy is a colossal public policy intervention, using 39% of the EU budget and shaping the farming policies of Member States. It could drive improvement in public health, rural economies, and sustainable food and farming; but it doesn’t. And it won’t until our food system is governed democratically for the common good.” Confirmed speakers Alyn Smith is a Scottish Member of the European Parliament & Member of the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. David Barnes is Chief Agricultural Officer for Scotland. Nora McKeon is […]
Written By: Derek Freitas – Food Chains Campaign Coordinator for Eco Ruralis In February of this year, a new international alliance of 16 civil society organizations around Europe joined forces to tackle issues related to climate and agroecology, markets and food chains, land and water, seeds and bioeconomy. The alliance, Hands on the Land for Food Sovereignty (HOTL 4 FS), has launched its campaign and will work on these issues for the next 3 years. Eco Ruralis, European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC) and the Transnational Institute (TNI) are among the partners which includes “peasants and social movements, development and environmental NGOs, human rights organisations and research activists. We aim to raise awareness on the use and governance of land, water and other natural resources and its effects on the realisation of the right to food and food sovereignty. Through evidence-based research and material, public events and meetings, trainings, education and advocacy work, the campaign engages EU citizens, media, journalists, NGO practitioners, social activists, educators, students, politicians, policy and decision makers to take action for food […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention