Here Frank Armstrong ponders how different the rural west of Ireland was – and can be again – through the medium of food production. Family excursions, a mid century self-help co-op movement, which used horticulture as a vehicle for change, and the future of food production all feature. […]
‘Grass-fed’ is now widely used across the global market place for bovine products. It is loosely defined and can mean anything from 51% of the animal’s diet coming from grazed grass and forages to 100% fed on grass. ‘Grass-fed’ is now so common place that one must ask whether it retains any great value as product differentiation. Has ‘grass-fed’ seen its day? And how should sustainable food move forward? […]
This long read by Frank Armstrong gives a background into what he calls the livestock industrial complex. Part history, part contemporary agri-food overview, part health and environmental case and part personal note, this article is speaks of power and how it operates in different spheres. These include politics, media and nutritional advice, all through the prism of livestock farming in Ireland. […]
As part of our RETHINK Modernisation series, we present an article on governance mechanisms. This article explores new organisational forms, roles and partners, while presenting six vital conditions for success. […]
Fertilizer, herbicide and GM crops. 24th October 2017 saw not one but three significant votes in the European Parliament on each of these topics. Considering how these plenary votes went, it may be the case that, when it comes to agri-food policy matters, the tide is turning. So what happened, and what’s next? […]
Become a Contributor for ARC2020 Interested in European food, farming and rural policy matters? Do you have great writing skills and an ability to deliver content accurately and on time? Then you could be just what we’re looking for! ARC2020 is seeking people to write on these topics for us. We are in particular seeking contributors who are well versed in CAP, and/or agroecology, academics and practitioners, and people who can help bring the national debate in their country to a European audience. And, we pay! (Note that we don’t offer payment for academic articles, op-eds, or for report promotion. We pay journalists as well as farmers who write for us primarily) For more, contact Louise Kelleher at: louise.kelleher[@]arc2020.eu Submission Guidelines Pitch Pitch us the topic/questions/ideas you plan to explore (email, max. 2 paragraphs) Write in English (unless otherwise agreed) Once we have accepted the pitch, you and the editor will agree on a deadline and payment for the article. Article format Length Articles should be between 800 and 1,200 words, unless otherwise agreed. Structure […]
Here ARC2020 present an exclusive leak of the full text of the Commission’s CAP communication. Full text PDF also available to download at the article. (image from the PDF of the Communication) […]
How can we get young people back onto the land, into rural areas and contributing to local culture and the local economy? There are many routes. Here’s one approach a couple who make cheese have taken in Brittany. […]
The issue of “land sparing vs land sharing”: Kremen poses the familiar refrain – should we be as productive (in terms of yield) as possible, thus leaving more land for nature, or should we try to get farming and nature to work better together? […]
Mainstream UK media have presented Brexit minister David Davis (left, without negotiating papers) as the public face of the country’s progress with Brexit talks. However, the press has studiously overlooked the back-room activities of the international trade minister Liam Fox, who has been rolling up his sleeves and starting to size up Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs) held by the European Union at the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In an extraordinarily wide-reaching plan described as a “Technical Rectification”, Fox is planning to unilaterally carve out what he judges to be the UK’s share of TRQ tonnages for third country imports such as New Zealand sheepmeat and register the results with the WTO. The story emerged thanks to Sky News journalist Faisal Islam, but only because the TV chain was filming Fox in action at the WTO headquarters in Geneva. In the past, technical rectifications have been more limited in scope, but this editing is on an industrial scale: Fox is not waiting for Davis to get round to discussing trade with the European Commission before trying […]
NGOs are urging a root and branch reform of agricultural policy to take the place of the CAP in the post-Brexit years. The Sustain alliance has published a four-part policy briefing. This is part two of our mini series presenting two scenarios from the UK for life #AfterCAP. […]
Below we highlight the summary of the Committee of the Regions position on CAP as written by Euromontana – the European Association of Mountainous Regions. Fairness and solidarity emerge as key themes, with a strong emphasis on the rural. […]
The UK is about to go into Brexit negotiations with a political maverick, Brexiteer Michael Gove, in charge of DEFRA. Here are are a few of his predecessors’ contributions to posterity: […]
Michael Gove has taken over in the UK ministry which covers agricultural, food, rural affairs and the environment. He was central to the Brexit push and has links to US Neocons including the Tea Party – so he doesn’t seem too keen on environmental regulations. By Miles King. […]
It may be doubted whether there are many other animals which have played so important a part in the history of the world, as have these lowly organised creatures. Which creatures – and who said this? Read on….. […]
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