Latest from Brussels

Putting the EU’s Money Where its Mouth is – What’s Cooking in the Commission Canteen?

As the old adage goes, you are what you eat. But just how sustainable are our policymakers’ plates? As the EU (finally) publishes its long awaited plan to perfect public procurement, ARC2020’s Natasha Foote went into the belly of the beast – to DG AGRI’s canteen – to find out whether they’re putting their money where their mouth is (literally).  […]

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A sad day for democracy and science

Yesterday the European Parliament voted to open farm gates – and by extension, our plates – to New Genetic Technologies (NGTs). This is a seismic development that reveals cracks in the EU’s democratic institutions. How now to defend our rights as consumers to choose what we eat? Comment by ARC2020 board member Benny Haerlin. […]

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What happens when our seeds go silent?

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. […]

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The EU’s PFAS Pesticide Blind Spot

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.  […]

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A Revolution in Europe’s Public Plate? The future of food policy is delicious

What would you do with €2.5 trillion? This is the amount the EU spends every year on public procurement. With the rules that shape this spending up for revision, there is a multi-trillion euro opportunity to serve better food in schools, hospitals, prisons and care homes – while simultaneously supporting farmers and nourishing local economies. Ashley Parsons reports. […]

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Inside Brussels’ Eleventh-Hour Battle Over New GMOs

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. […]

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

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. […]

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How Iran war exposes Europe’s dangerous dependency on fertilisers

Four years ago, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent fertiliser prices soaring, exposing the true extent of just how reliant our food systems are on fossil fuels and the vulnerability of geopolitical chaos. When are we going to learn this lesson? Today, with conflict escalating in the Middle East, we are watching the same crisis unfold in real time. Op-ed by Lena Luig. […]

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

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. […]