The many challenges faced by Eco Ruralis and the food sovereignty movement in Romania are now compounded by the presence of the far-right in parliament. A recent study by Anna Hajdu and Natalia Mamonova discusses obstacles and opportunities. […]
Would you like to hear the story of an urban gardener in Syria? Or about the most famous hectare in France, growing hope in a back garden in Venezuela or peatland activists in Northern Germany? Action for fair and agroecological food system transformation takes countless forms – Soup & Talk brings together a global mix of innovative initiatives ready to share their grassroots efforts with the world. The Soup & Talk good food and good farming slam is happening via Zoom this Saturday, January 16th from 15:30 to 19:00 CET, and registration is free. […]
Seeds4All is dedicated to seed diversity, and it aims to “give visibility to all European organisations that collect, enrich, produce, disseminate and sustainably use traditional and new varieties of seeds belonging to the public domain, freely reproducible and not genetically modified.” […]
The new EU organic regulation, to be implemented in 2022, promises new opportunities especially for young farmers to regain control and knowledge of local conservation, breeding, sustainable use and marketing of seeds fit for organic production. As part of the team that negotiated the new EU organic regulation, ARC2020 President Hannes Lorenzen is curious about how the new less restrictive conditions for organic seed production and marketing will impact breeders and farmers. He spoke to an organic plant breeder and a young farmer about their ideas on the future of seeds. […]
Madeline McKeever has been farming in west Cork, on the edge of the Atlantic, since 1999. First in dairy and cheese making, then beef, and now mostly selling organic vegetable seeds. Madeline has seen a lot – like the return of mushrooms, white clover, and dozens of plants in her unploughed sward. […]
Platforming the dynamic ways rural Europe has responded the key challenges of this time, the new book by Forum Synergies is a call to get stuck in. Read the final chapter on how Sicilian youth have organised access to land for young people, how to confront political uncertainty, why to pay attention to seeds and the value of an experimental spirit. […]
Agriculture has changed significantly in the past century. Bigger machines, bigger farms and bigger budgets allow fewer farmers to produce more food. Changes in science and policy have also resulted in an industry in which power over what we grow and eat is increasingly held by very few. How have gardeners and seed savers responded? […]
The EU’s rules on certified organic seeds are finally due to change from 2021. Why is this happening, and what is the sector doing to prepare? Stefan Doeblin works in the development of organic seeds. Here Hannes Lorenzen interviews him on this fascinating topic. […]
Anders Borgen has been an organic farmer for 35 years, and has for the past 15 years worked as a private organic plant breeder in Northern Jutland, Denmark. Hannes Lorenzen meet Anders Borgen at the European Cereal Diversity Conference in Kalö near Aarhus in Denmark to discuss organic regulations, cereal diversity and other matters. […]
French NGO SOL – Alternatives Agroécologiques et Solidaires – set up the Small Farms International project in 2016 with the sole aim of supporting small farmers, particularly those new to the job. Programs manager Audrey Boullot reports on their developments. […]
Ireland’s Maynooth University hosted the 2018 Festival of Food Sovereignty mid-April. The intention was to connect activists, scholars, practitioners and social movements from around the world interested in creating a food system rooted in principles of justice, ethical production and consumption, sustainability and democracy. […]
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. […]
A preliminary agreement has been reached after 20 months of trilogue negotiations between EU Commission, Council of Ministers and European Parliament for a new organic regulation. The main outstanding issues, which delayed agreement for so long have either been settled or deferred. Here’s what this means. […]
As we build towards the European Rural Sustainability Gathering (ERSG) in Greece, 1 7-20th May, we publish now an exclusive interview with Shannon McCabe of Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company. This interview was conducted at the Peliti Olympic Seed Festival, which took place in Drama Greece last month. Peliti are co-organisers of the ERSG. […]
In the build up to the Forum Synergies European Rural Sustainability Gathering 17-20th May, we continue our focus on grassroots initiatives in Greece. Here, we talk to Panagiotis Sainatoudis and Vasso Kanellopoulou. The chat happened at the 17th seed festival of Peliti and the first international Olympic Seed festival in Peliti, Drama, Greece 20-22 April. […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention