Articles by Natasha Foote

About Natasha Foote

Natasha is a freelance journalist, podcaster and moderator specialising in EU agrifood policy. She previously worked as an agrifood journalist with the EU media EURACTIV, and before that spent several years working on farms around Europe to learn more about the realities for farmers on the ground. Natasha holds a Master’s degree in Environment, Development and Policy with distinction from the University of Sussex, where she worked on food issues and alternative approaches to food production.

‘What fertiliser crisis?’ Meet India’s pioneer movement paving the path to chemical-free farming

July 16, 2026 Natasha Foote

It’s nothing less than an agroecological revolution. And it’s led by women in the Global South, who are creating their own alternatives to toxic dependencies. Natasha Foote sits down with Swati Renduchintala, a researcher with farmer empowerment organisation Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, to understand how Andhra Pradesh’s Natural Farming movement has changed the lives of millions of Indian smallholders, and shows no signs of stopping. […]

CAP Catch Up – Where are discussions in Brussels at?

July 13, 2026 Natasha Foote

The weather isn’t the only thing heating up over the next few months. Negotiations over the shapes of the EU’s farming subsidy programme will start firing on all cylinders in the second half of the year. Natasha Foote walks you through the latest from Brussels. […]

Leaked Livestock Strategy Bets on Technofixes & Pulls From Industry Playbook

June 25, 2026 Natasha Foote

You can have your cake and eat it too, according to a leaked version of the EU’s upcoming livestock strategy, which leans on technofixes to address our biggest environmental and climate challenges while shying away from some of the meatier questions on reduction of livestock numbers. ARC2020’s Natasha Foote breaks down the key takeaways from the draft. […]

The EU just opened its doors to new GMOs – but you won’t know if they’re on your plate

June 18, 2026 Natasha Foote

After years of intense lobbying, negotiation, and semantic gymnastics, it’s official. Europe is set to open its farm gates and plates to new genetic technologies, without the guardrails of labelling, monitoring, or liability. Natasha Foote breaks down exactly what this means and what’s next. […]

What happens when our seeds go silent?

June 16, 2026 Natasha Foote

As EU lawmakers prepare to rewrite rules governing the production, exchange and sale of seeds, two opposing worlds collide. In one, seeds are intellectual property, carefully regulated and protected as engines of innovation. In the other, they are living commons, saved, exchanged and adapted by farmers across generations. To dig into the seedy underbelly of the agrifood world, ARC2020’s Natasha Foote travelled between two major seed gatherings held just days (but worlds) apart, each offering a radically different vision of the future. […]

The EU’s PFAS Pesticide Blind Spot

June 10, 2026 Natasha Foote

The PFAS panic has seen us eye everything from non-stick pans to takeaway packaging with suspicion. But what if one of the most direct routes of exposure to these ‘forever chemicals’ is not in the kitchen cupboard, but on our plates? Here ARC2020’s Natasha Foote lifts the lid on PFAS pesticides and how new pesticide plans in the EU’s regulatory pipeline could open doors to ‘forever chemicals’ that can’t be closed. […]

Inside Brussels’ Eleventh-Hour Battle Over New GMOs

April 22, 2026 Natasha Foote

In a few short weeks, the European Parliament will have the power to open Europe’s farmgates and plates to new genetic technologies, without the guardrails of labelling, monitoring, or liability. But in Brussels, an eleventh-hour battle is brewing. So is this game, set and match? Or is there still something to play for? Natasha Foote brings you the latest from Brussels. […]

Coming Up: Decision Day for the Future of Seeds and New GMOs

April 17, 2026 Natasha Foote

April 21st will be the next (and perhaps final) milestone meeting for negotiators trying to seal a deal on the overhaul of the EU’s seed legislation. On the very same day, the Council is to vote on the EU’s proposal to loosen the rules around new genetic technologies. For the Seeds4All project, Natasha Foote explains what’s at stake in these two crucial files. […]

Who milks the cows when farmers fall sick?

April 10, 2026 Natasha Foote

Who milks the cows when the farmers fall sick? There is only one answer to that question for most: the farmers, or their families. But it is a very different story in two European countries—and while right now, access to sick leave and holidays is determined by postcode, this could soon start to change. Here, ARC2020’s Natasha Foote digs into how these farm relief services work in practice and what the ingredients for success look like for other countries that want to set up similar services for their farmers. […]

Pitchfork Politics – How Closed-Door Talks Around Europe’s Farmer Protests Rewrote the EU’s Green Rules

March 30, 2026 Natasha Foote

Two years after a wave of farmer protests swept across Europe, the political response that dismantled key environmental measures in the EU’s most expensive policy at breakneck speed has left an indelible mark on decision-making in Brussels. In this investigation, we trace the closed-door discussions via exclusive interviews and insights that led to the rapid rewriting of EU farm policy at the height of the so-called farming ‘crisis’ and dig into the moment that broke new ground for EU policymaking. Natasha Foote reports. […]

CAP | EU Watchdog Gears Up To Fight For Fairness in Future Farming Policy

March 20, 2026 Natasha Foote

The EU’s watchdog is ready for the fight over fairness in the EU’s future farming policy just as NGOs launch another round of legal scrutiny over the Commission’s conduct in the handling of the next Common Agricultural Policy. […]

EU’s Simplification Saga Set to Continue Despite Legal Warnings

March 2, 2026 Natasha Foote

Lawyers have declared it unlawful. The EU’s watchdog has found maladministration. And yet it’s full steam ahead for the EU’s simplification train – or ‘omnibus’, to be more precise. As one simplification chapter closes, another opens. What is going on, and what does this mean going forward? Natasha Foote brings you the latest in the legal wrangle around the EU’s simplification saga. […]

The Year of the CAP & Big Budget Overhaul – Key EU Policy Moments to Watch in 2026

February 16, 2026 Natasha Foote

Welcome to the Year of the CAP — but just how “common” will the EU’s next agricultural policy be? Could pensioners be excluded from direct payments? And will farmers finally get a day off? Meanwhile EU leaders are freewheeling in the direction of free-trade deals. We may remember 2026 as the year the floodgates were opened to new genetic technologies. Plus the future of seeds is at stake, with upcoming trilogues that will make or break the proposed overhaul of the EU’s Seed Law. But first, there’s a battle looming over the budget. Natasha Foote reports on a decisive year ahead for EU policy. […]

The Future of Seeds: The Power Play Between Patents and New GMOs

December 3, 2025 Natasha Foote

EU lawmakers have been locked in intense negotiations for months on loosening rules on the use of new genetic technologies in plant breeding. But talks are stalling on one particularly sticky issue. So why have patents become so central in this story, and what would it mean for farmers and breeders if lawmakers get their way on permitting patents? Natasha Foote digs in. […]

EU Budget: From Green Deal to Raw Deal for the Environment

November 11, 2025 Natasha Foote

Brussels is still sifting through the wreckage of the budget bombshell the European Commission dropped in July. As the dust settles, one question looms large: who wins, and who’s left behind? In this ARC2020 mini-series, we unpack the ripple effects — and collateral damage — of the EU’s radical budget proposal, this time diving into the potential environmental impact. […]