October 2023 - Agricultural and Rural Convention

Seeds, New GMOs & Food Policy Councils – Diversity Event Comes to Dublin

October 31, 2023 Oliver Moore

The 12th Forum of the European Coordination of Let’s Liberate Diversity, held in the Irish capital, drew over 100 participants from all over Europe and beyond, including Minister of State at the Irish Department of Agriculture, Pippa Hackett. The importance of agrobiodiversity, of food policy councils and the risks of the proposed European seed marketing proposal emerged as key themes from a vibrant event held in Dublin last week. […]

Pesticide Regulation Progresses to Plenary Following Environment Committee Vote

October 25, 2023 Ashley Parsons

The Environment Committee in the European Parliament (ENVI) has ensured a core part of the EU Green Deal – the pesticide regulation – progress towards completion. In a vote yesterday (24th October) the SUR – sustainable use of pesticides regulation – saw some changes introduced, but progress maintained. Despite many delays over the regulation since last June, the SUR text will now face a plenary vote by all Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in November. […]

L’eau, bien commun … risques climatiques, destin commun. Part 2/2

October 23, 2023 Marie-Lise Breure-Montagne

Nous allons dans cette deuxième partie aborder la résilience des systèmes assurantiels en agriculture, fonction tenue par la réassurance publique (France, Espagne) ou privée (Allemagne)… ou ultimement, par la solidarité nationale. L’Europe constate ces disparités entre pays européens, alors que la crise climatique permanente s’invite chaque année avec plus de mordant. […]

Water as a Common Good .. and climate risks, a common destiny – Part 2/2

October 23, 2023 Marie-Lise Breure-Montagne

In this second part article we look at the resilience of agricultural insurance systems, a function fulfilled by public (France, Spain) or private (Germany) reinsurance, in relation to water scarcity and drought. […]

A Frugal Farm to Fork – Update on Pesticides, new GMOs, Animal Welfare & Sustainable Food Systems

October 20, 2023 Natasha Foote

No progress for the Sustainable Food System Law and only the transport aspect of the animal welfare legislation surviving. Some progress is being made to move the SUR – Sustainable Use of Pesticides regulation – on, though member states and the environment committee in the Parliament may be pushing in opposite directions. And somehow, Parliament is finding time to really push hard and fast for new GMO’s. […]

Planet Local Summit – International Vision for a Localised Future

October 20, 2023 Ursula Billington

Local food was a focus of the Planet Local Summit, a global gathering in Bristol, UK earlier this month that served to highlight the unparalleled value of the grassroots. The ‘largest gathering of its kind’, it was a rare in-person opportunity for actors from all over the world to learn, share and celebrate together, in a showing of solidarity for the movement. Ursula Billington reports from Bristol. […]

Impact of CAP Beyond the EU – A Closer Look on Soya Imports and Milk Product Exports

October 17, 2023 ARC

Are subsidies provided to farmers in the EU generating deforestation in Brazil? Or the decline of pastoral communities in Sahel? In this article, we shed light on the CAP’s implications beyond the EU, focusing on its influence on the global trade of soya and milk products and examining its implications for local populations. […]

A Sustainable Food Systems Law – Important for People & Planet, Stalled by the Commission

October 17, 2023 Mathieu Willard

The Sustainable Food System Framework (SFS) was promised, and it must be upheld. As it appears that the SFS is losing its place in the commission’s legislative priorities, this two-part series aims to reaffirm the vital role this law could – and should – play. We are advocating for the SFS, which, in our view, forms the cornerstone of the Farm to Fork strategy. It represents the Commission’s first real opportunity to deliver a fully comprehensive food policy and could serve as the catalyst for a substantial reform of the CAP. Part 1 of two from Mathieu Willard. […]

L’eau, bien commun … risques climatiques, destin commun – 1ère Partie

October 16, 2023 Marie-Lise Breure-Montagne

Marie-Lise Breure-Montagne examine la difficile transition de l’acceptation du risque au transfert des risques climatiques (commençant par la sécheresse) aux compagnies d’assurance – des développements qui mettent en évidence les inégalités dans les circonstances des agriculteurs à travers l’Europe. […]

Water as a Common Good – Part 1

October 16, 2023 Marie-Lise Breure-Montagne

Blue gold: water is one of the most precious resources for agriculture and for life. In part one of this analysis, Marie-Lise Breure-Montagne looks at the difficult transition from acceptance of risk to transfer of climate risks (beginning with drought) to insurance companies – developments which spotlight inequalities in the circumstances of farmers across Europe. […]

Glyphosate Approval Fails to Get Qualified Majority – What’s Next?

October 13, 2023 Oliver Moore

In a suprise move, EU Member States did not reach a qualified majority for the reapproval of glyphosate at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed (PAFF) today. So what’s next? […]

EU Fails to Deliver on Food System Transformation in Face of Environmental Collapse

October 10, 2023 Jeroen Candel

In this op-ed, Dr. Jeroen Candel, associate professor of food and agricultural policy, Wageningen University, the Netherlands, points to the failures of EU institutions to deliver on the Farm to Fork strategy, despite the impacts of worsening climate and biodiversity collapse. […]

Agri MEPs Move to Weaken Pesticide Regulation and Starve it of CAP funds

October 10, 2023 Natasha Foote

Lawmakers from the European Parliament’s agriculture committee have greenlit their opinion on the EU’s plan to slash the use and risk of pesticides in half. The agriculture committee (AGRI)’s opinion calls for pushing the target date back from 2030 to 2035, scrapping a ban on the use of pesticides in sensitive areas and block the use of the EU’s farming subsidies programme (CAP) to fund pesticide reduction ambitions. So what does this mean and what’s next? Natasha Foote and Oliver Moore report. […]

Commission Doubles Down on Glyphosate Re-Authorisation

October 9, 2023 Natasha Foote

The European Commission has doubled down on its stance to renew the authorisation of the controversial herbicide glyphosate for another decade despite mixed reactions from EU lawmakers, dismissing concerns over identified scientific data gaps. […]

Sustainable Food Systems – Taking Action on the Ground in Germany

October 5, 2023 ARC

ARC is proud to be part of the European Action Gathering for Sustainable Food Systems, to be held in Marburg, Germany in early November. This is because, while there is a somewhat stagnant process at EU and member state levels, throughout Europe there is action on the ground, with communities coming together to improve access to healthy, affordable and ecologically produced food. Find out more about our Marburg gathering. […]