We need a radical transformation of agriculture and industrial food systems to deal with future challenges, says Hans Herren, In an interview published in the Foundation on Future Farming’s new brochure “Agriculture at a Crossroads”, he takes stock of the IAASTD’s impact and looks at the current debate on food and farming systems. […]
If you’re craving good films on the food system, Food Tank has put together a list of documentaries and films to inspire, educate, and give viewers some food for thought. Each film explores a different topic in food and agriculture, some with a dash of social equality or a splash of health awareness. Whether you’re a social activist, small farmer, or sustainability advocate, or you just enjoy food, we’re sure you’ll find a food film to further inform and interest you in all things food. This article originally appeared at Food Tank. Here are 19 films to satisfy your food films palette: American Meat: “American Meat” walks viewers through the evolution of animal agriculture and highlights alternative animal husbandry systems that protect the environment and animal welfare. The film features farmer and advocate Joel Salatin, who uses sustainable land management methods, such as rotational grazing, and emphasizes the importance of supporting one’s local foodshed. The film also highlights stories from other farmers nationwide who are raising cows, pigs, and chickens in environmentally sustainable and humane ways. Dive! […]
Part two of a two part series on mechanical and other non-chemical weed management techniques. By Oliver Moore […]
The organic dairy sector in France has significant differences – but also some commonalities – with the conventional dairy sector. Rising consumer demand, producer organisations, and regional feed crop supply are among the differences – as is the decoupling of organic and conventional prices. […]
On Sunday 20th March, the Big Everything Else Parade (Tout Autre Chose/Hart Boven Hard) took place in Brussels. Many alternatives to the business-as-usual austerity and corporate control agenda were represented, including the better food and farming brigade. Nele Baltide was there. Here’s her report – a fascinating snapshot of the great food initiatives happening on the ground in Belgium. […]
Two More Meta Analysis finds Organic to be Nutritionally Superior to Conventional – the same team for similarly for crops in 2014. […]
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 […]
According to recent figures released by Eurostat, Romanian agriculture is highly unbalanced. That is not the big surprise. In the last 20 years the country’s agricultural landscape was in a continuous transformation; agrarian reforms without a long term vision, real estate and agribusiness “cowboys” from all over the world speculating on low prices, productions focusing mostly on export commodities…all in a country of peasants versus their institutional neighbours. The surprise lies in how different stakeholders interpret these figures. Let’s have a look. According to the EU analysis, Romania is the 8th agricultural power of Europe and for the year of 2014 has an agricultural production estimated to 15.5 billion Euro (1160 Euro/hectare). Poland was the only other ex-communist country which outranked Romania having a 22.5 billion Euro (1660 Euro/hectar) production. The top ranks go to France, with its 70.5 billion Euro and Germany – 51 billion Euro production. Where is the great unbalance? Crop production amounts for 73% of the total, 26% being attributed to animal farming and only 1% represents agricultural services. On the […]
A report on the key ideas and outcomes from this civil society gathering held in Brussels 10-11th February […]
agroecological communities of practice offer more than a broken food system, says Dr. Oliver Moore. […]
In Spain a pilot project gives prominence to the low-intensity farming production systems which are at risk of being abandoned. […]
In part II of our report on organic farming in Bulgaria, the ‘Organic Bulgaria’-Project takes a closer look at the role of the State and the EU subsidies. […]
Organic farming in Bulgaria is a new phenomenon within the national policy and agri-food industry. […]
Phil Sumption explores the topic in the build up to Organic Producer’s Conference 26-27th November. […]
Experts differ over what the new organic regulation may mean for the sector, as Oliver Moore discovered in Bari at the 8th European Organic Congress. […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention