What happens when socially and ecologically engaged artists really focus on soil? And in so doing, bring different people – from across a wide spectrum – together to get to know that earth beneath their feet a little better? In one city in the UK – Bristol – they have done just that. Mario Catizzone tells us about it. […]
A 13-strong pop-up panel convened on May 12, in an event organised by Food Research Collaboration and Coventry University’s Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience (CAWR), heard evidence on Brexit and agri-food. How did they vote? Peter Crosskey attended. […]
The National Farmers Union, representing 50,000 of the largest and wealthiest farming landowners in England (and Wales), who receive the lion’s share of all subsidies provided to the UK by the EU, have voted to support the Remain campaign. How and why has this happened? Miles King explains. […]
The agricultural sector in Northern Ireland depends on EU funding for 85% of its income, disbelieving UK parliamentarians learnt from the province’s farmers’ leaders. What do farmers’ representatives think of Brexit? […]
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. […]
Our most environmentally valuable farmland is condemned to a slow death by a combination of EU bureaucracy and national decisions. CAP’s so called greening ties up farmers in bureaucracy, uses valuable public money and still fails to protect nature or the incomes of farmers in marginalised areas adequately. There are however solutions. […]
UK-wide study traces declining diversity of nectar sources for the country’s pollinators. Four plant species supplied half the UK’s nectar in 2007. […]
Is a kilo of meat really as bad as flying to New York? Or does the soil store enough carbon to cope? Guest post by Miles King. […]
What are the implications of other countries producing the GHG emissions ‘for you’? In other words exporting ever more food to you, all the while racking up their GHG emissions total? Its good for your emissions tally, but is this fair? Peter Crosskey has more […]
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? […]
In the bizarre world of ideologically-driven Tory self-harm, DEFRA is cutting itself into oblivion. How and why is this happening? Peter Crosskey investigates. […]
Brexit – US trade chief tells UK to “stay in EU”. Would TTIP lock the UK out of global trade, post #Brexit? And what does the EU do for the UK re agri payments anyway? […]
Most EU countries and regions have now declared their intention to not grow GM crops. In the UK, this means everywhere – except England, as Peter Crosskey reports. […]
The UK’s Growing Livelihoods scheme to foster smaller-scale food growing has added a further five projects to the pilot phase it launched last year. The new arrivals in the Growing Livelihoods family are Bristol’s Beacon Farms, the Cwm Harry Cultivate group in south Wales, Cloughmills Community Action Team in Northern Ireland, the Cornish Tamar Grow Local group and Falkland Small Growers in Fife. The Tamar Grow Local group will convert an agricultural building into a shared packhouse, meeting space and office. This will extend the existing support for new market gardeners, who will be able to work together and establish new routes to market. With the Falkland Estate earning organic certification in May this year, two new businesses have been set up to establish a network of local growers. Falkland Kitchen Farm and Meadowsweet Organics are part of a plan to share equipment and services such as marketing organic crops. Cloughmills Community Action Team is building a geodesic dome, like the Eden Project, in which hydroponic salad crops will be grown, alongside mushrooms raised on […]
Protests about the milk crisis in the UK, Ireland, Germany, France and even New Zealand. Via European Milk Board. #MilkCrisis […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention