Livestock Archives - Agricultural and Rural Convention

MEPs Mean Business on Live Exports

20 February, 2019 Louise Kelleher

The European Parliament last week called on member states to step up enforcement of existing rules on protecting livestock during transport. MEPs are urging member states to ramp up spot checks, use tracking technology to monitor compliance, and apply tougher penalties for offenders. Transport times should be cut, but the preference is to phase out live exports altogether in favour of local slaughtering. And when animals are transported to non-EU countries, EU standards should be applied. […]

Letter from a Farm | Growing Relationships in Romania

30 January, 2019 Brindusa Birhala

We are back on Brindusa’s farm in Romania as she reflects on what worked in 2018 and what she will work on in the coming year. Not to be underestimated: the importance of steady, reliable relationships to consumers keen for larger quantities. […]

EU Protein Plan | Positive Reactions but with Caveats

23 November, 2018 ARC

Protein plants and the animals and humans that eat them are in the news this week, as the European Commission and a range of farming and environmental NGOs publish reports and opinions on the matter. A number of organisations reacted positively, but with caveats. So what were the concerns? […]

If Not Meat Then What? Climate Change, Regenerative Ag and Viable Rural Areas

4 November, 2018 Oliver Moore

The starkness of the IPCC’s most recent climate change warnings – of 12 year window before runaway impacts – has focused the minds of many. What role – if any – for livestock in this brave new herd? […]

Recharging Soils with Carbon Could Make Farms More Productive

30 September, 2018 ARC

‘Farm land could work as carbon sinks,’ said Dr Jan Mumme, an agricultural engineer at the University of Edinburgh in the UK. ‘This probably wouldn’t work with intensive livestock farming, but sustainable crop production and integrated farm systems (a balance between crops and livestock) could do it – and biochar is one way to help.’ […]

#SoilMatters – So How Did Our Authors Treat It?

2 July, 2018 ARC

Here we summarise and provide links to all eight contributions to the soil matters article series. From soil and the city to no till, humus and technical articles from soil scientists, there is much in here to cause wonder, controversy and, it is hoped, greater understanding. […]

Letter From The Farm | Welcome to Mayo

2 July, 2018 Sinéad Moran

Country girl becomes city girl with a background in climate change and environmental activism – and then becomes a cattle farmer? How did that happen? Meet Sineád from Mayo…… […]

Stuart Miekle | Soil-Focused Farming Benefits Society

8 June, 2018 Stuart Meikle

Interested in reducing the GHG emissions from producing our food? Better nutrition and health and lower healthcare costs? Reducing the pollution from our food production systems? Then read what Stuart Miekle has to say about how a soil focused farming benefits these and other aspects of society. […]

#SoilMatters Part 5 | Stuart Meikle on Soil, Ruminants & Sustainable Food

7 May, 2018 Stuart Meikle

“A sustainable food system is not about reducing animal-product consumption so to ‘free-up’ land for direct-for-human-food plants: rather, it is about using the land now used for feeds for shipping to animals confined elsewhere, for grazing livestock – be they ruminants, pigs or poultry.” Stuart Meikle outlines his position. […]

#SoilMatters Part 3 | Soil, Carbon and Policy – where now for 4p1000?

18 March, 2018 Oliver Moore

The role of farming in climate change mitigation is controversial and fraught. The UN COP (Conference of Parties) Climate Change has tentatively introduced soil and carbon sequestration into its workings, via 4 pour 1000. However the role of particular agronomic practices involving livestock is under special scrutiny. Does livestock release more than it sequesters, or does the farming model matter? What about deep carbon storage? And how will policy makers work with new research and 4p1000? […]

Does Grass-Fed Provide a Unique Advantage Anymore?

17 December, 2017 Stuart Meikle

‘Grass-fed’ is now widely used across the global market place for bovine products. It is loosely defined and can mean anything from 51% of the animal’s diet coming from grazed grass and forages to 100% fed on grass. ‘Grass-fed’ is now so common place that one must ask whether it retains any great value as product differentiation. Has ‘grass-fed’ seen its day? And how should sustainable food move forward? […]

Turns Out Organic Can Feed The World – Sustainably

28 November, 2017 Oliver Moore

Changes over to 40%, 60% and even 100% organic farming can feed the world. Interestingly, this is only possible if we also do two things we’re supposed to do anyway. So what are these two crucial components of a truly sustainable diet, which would need to accompany organic farming? […]

New Report: Policies For Better Livestock Farming

12 March, 2017 ARC

A recent report for Eating Better points out that future policies towards livestock farming and trade in the UK and EU should support a shift to healthy sustainable diets. More coherent approaches to environmental objectives such as climate change, protecting nature and high animal welfare should be developed. […]

#AfterCAP | Towards an Integrated Food & Farming Policy with an Animal Welfare Focus

28 November, 2016 Olga Kikou

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. […]

New TTIP Report Reveals Corporate Takeover of Meat

12 July, 2016 Shefali Sharma

By Shefali Sharma, European Director IATP, 12.07.2016 The Institute for Trade Policy’s European Office, along with international group Compassion in World Farming (CIWF), German member of Via Campesina—Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft e.V. (AbL) and PowerShift launched their new report Selling Off the Farm: Corporate Meat’s Takeover through TTIP with a panel discussion and a press briefing at the European Parliament on the 12th July. Some key findings from the report: Many new agricultural and food technologies are being developed or already utilized with limited or no regulation. TTIP will make rulemaking in the public interest much more difficult in the future for technologies such as gene editing and cloning. Labour and environmental regulations related to the meat industry are inadequate on both sides of the Atlantic and need to be strengthened. Trade unions and environmental campaigns have achieved incremental gains; however, TTIP is likely to make it difficult to improve regulations. The chilling effect of TTIP’s (de)regulatory cooperation provisions will make it increasingly challenging in the future to effectively regulate impacts of the meat industry on climate change […]