Daily updates on whats new on the ARC website and in the CAP debate
Illegal stocking levels at Mille Vaches
Illegal stocking levels have been uncovered at contraversial French Dairy Factory Farm Mille Vaches. Peter Crosskey Reports. […]
Daily updates on whats new on the ARC website and in the CAP debate
Illegal stocking levels have been uncovered at contraversial French Dairy Factory Farm Mille Vaches. Peter Crosskey Reports. […]
Eco Ruralis Bring us the Shocking Story of Forest Grabbing in Romania, where the vast majority of Europe’s Vital Old Growth Forests are. Fact Sheets, Leaked Letters and an Undercover Video Expose. #Forestgrab […]
According to the EU Commission, a first set of specific actions towards CAP simplification have been announced by Commissioner Phil Hogan, on issues related to the guidelines for Direct Payments this year. Hogan explained: “Some of the proposals which concern direct payments do not require changing the legislative rules, but can be implemented at the level of our current guidelines, and applicable already this year. I intend to follow-up on these proposals by making 6 concrete changes which should facilitate the lives of farmers and national administrations.” These six changes proposed relate to the EFA-layer (Ecological Focus Area), adjacent EFAs, the LPIS (Land Parcel Identification system) and compensation of EFAs in case of wrong declaration. More specifically, the Commission intends: to accept that Member States, that so wish, only need to map declared EFAs; to allow flexibility as regards the identification of EFA’s in the EFA-layer (concerns hedges or wooded strips and trees in line); to allow hedges or wooded strips with gaps up to 4 metres; as regards the implementation of adjacent EFA, in […]
Peter Crosskey digs deeper into the recent French food waste story. […]
After Communism, there has been an understandable suspicion of co-ops in Romania. Nevertheless, there are some, and farmers are benefiting. […]
ARC2020 UPDATE and Comment 28/05/2015 According to leaked EU Commission documents mandatory origin labeling for food will not be introduced. While there is already a voluntary label on mainstream meat products, both milk products and other meat products (such as “horse meat, rabbit and game”) will also only be eligible for the voluntary label. There will be no mandatory label for any meat or milk or processed foods now, according to the ViEUws report, because this would lead to “higher operating costs and a hike in food prices…it would also “disrupt cross boarder trade and increase costs”. So, reports ViEUws, the EU is likely to keep this labeling as Voluntary. (See at 5 mins 51 sec in the recent ViEUws Brussels Briefing at end of this post). This is remarkably similar to the language and reasoning of the WTO, as outlined below by Shefali Sharma. This also points to significant regulatory harmonisation, a form of ISDS by the back door. Article by Shefali Sharma of IATP. On May 8th, President Obama told a crowd in Oregon: […]
Stop Calling the TPP A Trade Agreement – It Isn’t. By Dave Johnson. This a message to activists trying to fight the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Stop calling the TPP a “trade” agreement. TPP is a corporate/investor rights agreement, not a “trade” agreement. “Trade” is a good thing; TPP is not. Every time you use the word “trade” in association with the TPP, you are helping the other side. “Trade” is a propaganda word. It short-circuits thinking. People hear “trade” and the brain stops working. People think, “Of course, trade is good.” And that ends the discussion. Calling TPP a “trade” agreement lets the pro-TPP people argue that TPP is about trade instead of what it is really about. It diverts attention from the real problem. It enables advocates to say things like, “95 percent of the world lives outside the U.S.” as if that has anything to do with TPP. It lets them say, “We know that exports support American jobs” to sell a corporate rights agreement. It enables them to say nonsense like this about […]
Czech Republic is the European Union country with the highest share of arable land, around 38% of its surface. Despite this fact, recent trends give clear evidence for an enormous decrease of agricultural land due to the expansion of urbanization and industrialization plans across the country. However the reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the European Union (EU) could potentially push Czech Republic to promote an environmentally and socially sustainable agriculture. The process of land degradation in Czech Republic has its roots in the agricultural land expropriations of the 1950s done by the communist regime. During that time agricultural policy focused mostly on the large-scale consolidation of farmlands as well as on highly intensive methods of production through the use of agrochemicals without consideration of potential environmental risks. In light of the „Velvet revolution“ in 1989 the political and economic changes gave rise various agricultural currents, from agroindustry to organic farming. Already in 1990 the Ministry for Agriculture established its own department for „alternative agriculture“, handing out Governmental support in form of direct subsidies to […]
Scotland has a national GM-free policy but this is under threat from current European Commission proposals that will allow Westminster to sideline it […]
WTO Final Ruling on Meat Labels Exposes TTIP Fast Track, with implications for everyone.Via Common Dreams. […]
In light of the recent Senate shenanigans on Fast Track, Karen Hansen-Kuhn of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy points out what’s really troubling, from a food system perspective, in these trade rules. […]
Peter Crosskey gives his take on the Fair Trade Advocacy Office’s report “Who’s Got The Power, Tackling Imbalances in Agricultural Supply Chains”. […]
Despite Senate U Turn on Fast Track, there are still speed bumps and roadblocks ahead for TPP/TTIP proponents […]
With UK elections coming up tomorrow, Joseph Dodd of GMO free regions explains the party positions on GM. […]
A combination of objective reality and strident direct action has seen fracking fade into oblivion in much of Eastern Europe. Good news for the rural areas where much of this would have occurred. […]
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