Jordan Treakle tells us about the 2nd UN FAO Agroecology Symposium, held in Rome April 3rd-5th. What vision for agroecology was presented? And how does this relate to policy matters, and realities on the ground? […]
What should CAP focus on – and how radical a change is needed in how the EU’s farming and food policy works? The platform Pour une autre PAC (For Another Common Agricultural Policy) is a French inter-association body created for a common reflection and action in view of the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. […]
Agroecology is commonly understood as a science, a movement, and a practice, jointly transforming agroecosystems to less fossil fuel dependent, more autonomous and more resilient farming systems. Agroecologic practices and research have evolved and are being applied around the globe. What unites these movements, what separates them? How is it different in Europe compared to Latin America? Is there a universal approach to agroecology? […]
Hello and welcome to our November newsletter!Can rural areas step up to help with Europe’s refugee crisis? What is the rural response to climate change? And what are the core issues of inequality between rural and urban regions in the EU? These and other topics questions are being assessed this coming week in Austria at the second European Rural Parliament. (Live video links also at post)We’ve been busy covering GMO’s in recent weeks: EU Member States and regions have either opted in or out of the option of growing, and that has divided the UK. Romanian farmers however, seem unified in their rejection of the technology. In what has been one of our most popular stories ever – one with some real detective work conducted by Ramona from Eco Ruralis – we reveal how much a failed crop GM Maize is in what was once the darling nation-state of the biotech sector. (This story has been shared from our site over 11,000 times on facebook, a stat which excludes other shares from elsewhere). Some more […]
NewsFlash August-September 2015 […]
Despite restrictions, civil society is helping people use traditional seeds. Eco Ruralis report from Romania. […]
Guest post by Luke-Dale Harris : in Romania the main stronghold of sustainable agriculture is ironically held up by the least sustainable of sources. […]
ARC2020 working with small farmers to organise a 10 day EU-wide Speakers’ tour on land-grabbing […]
TTIP talks: despite the PR, still under a cloak of secrecy CEO 05.05.2015 It’s not just glyphosate and neonicotinoids! Why we need a pesticide-free future Ecologist 30.04.2015 Organic milk and prenatal iodine Guardian 30.04.2015 US to open TTIP reading rooms across EU Euractiv 29.04.2015 What will EU parliamentarians vote on TTIP? Euractiv 17.04.2015 Government’s approach further undermines the proposed Expert Advisory Council An Taisce 01.04.2015 Farming will not be held back by green targets says Coveney Independent 01.04.2015 Pesticide residue in fruits and vegetables associated with low sperm count Washington Post 30.03.2015 Agroecology reclaims territories for local peoples and food sovereignty More and Better 18.03.2015 Commitments to rural development spending 76% below forecast in 2014 capreform.eu 23.01.2015 ‘We are fed up!’: Thousands march against TTIP & GMOs in Berlin RT 17.01.2015 Großdemonstration für eine tiergerechte und klimaschonende Landwirtschaft in Berlin ARD 17.01.2015 Agrarwende: 50000 Demonstranten gegen Massentierhaltung und Gentechnik Spiegel Online 17.01.2015 Tausende demonstrieren für artgerechte Tierhaltung und fairen Handel Zeit Online 17.01.2015 Drawing upon citizens’ voices: Deep democracy in action IATP 14.01.2015 Europeans’ shopping habits reveal […]
Sometimes things are simple and sometimes they are complicated. In the Irish midlands, from 21-24th March, people representing dozens of organisations involved in agri-food, came together to work together on how we feed ourselves. here’s sever things I learned at this year’s event. […]
On Wednesday February 1, Tomaso Ferrando stood side-by-side with the farmers who had taken over Place Luxembourg and the streets adjacent to the European Parliament in Brussels. On my way, long lines of tractors with Belgian, French and Dutch plates could be seen almost a kilometre away from the square. As he drew closer to the scene, the sound of their horns and the smell of burned tires saturated my ears and nose. Here he outlines his thoughts on the farmers’ protests and what they mean. […]
“Remote Control and Peasant Intelligence – on automating decisions, suppressing knowledges and transforming ways of knowing” takes a critical perspective on new developments in the farming sphere. It focuses on the impact on peasant farming of digitisation, data gathering and management, technologisation, automation, approaches to regulation and corporate control. It also puts forward a food sovereignty and peasant agroecology perspective on digital technologies. […]
EU ministers have still not managed to find common ground on new GMOs (aka new genetic technologies, or NGTs) despite a last minute push on the file before the Christmas break. Meanwhile, the European Commission proposed to downgrade the protection status of wolves, much to the chagrin of environmentalists. And it turns out the EU is missing most of its environmental targets – except those that relate to cash. Natasha Foote and Oliver Moore brings you up to speed in the latest goings on in Brussels. […]
On November 28, in collaboration with SEED Luxemburg and the Greens/EFA, the Seeds4All project took part in the organisation of a conference at the European Parliament on the future of seeds. Delving into the heart of the matter, the main aim of the event was to spotlight the specific voices and urgent demands of artisan seed producers in the context of the reform of the European legislative framework applicable to the sale and exchange of seeds. […]
Why do nearly 50% of our calories come from the same three crops: wheat, rice, and maize? Underutilised crops (UCs) boast a long history of cultivation in many parts of the world and hold great nutritional and environmental promise for the future of our food systems. What role for policy and a value chain approach which considers access to seeds, the ecological aspects of agricultural production, the power positions of stakeholders, the nutritional value of food, and food security and sovereignty? […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention