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How will CAP & EU Green Deal Strategies Integrate?

Hidden away in a footnote, away from the fanfare of the launch of the EU Green Deal’s Farm to Fork and Biodiversity Strategies, was a nonetheless crucially important document. A document that links vision to the practical CAP work member states are currently conducting. So what’s in it, what’s missing, and what does it say about power relations between the Institutions and the Member States? […]

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Farm 2 Fork and Biodiversity Strategies Hold Firm on Real Targets

Despite enormous lobby pressure, the EU Commission’s flagship Green Deal strategies – the Farm to Fork and the Biodiversity Strategies – have retained their initially leaked targets for a reduction in fertilizers, pesticides, antimicrobials, and concurrently, for an increased in organic farming to 25% – and all by 2030. The 10% target for high diversity landscape features has also been retained.  […]

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Bayer Beware | Pressure on Pesticides as Green Deal Date Looms

This week the European Commission will reveal how it plans to work towards the pesticide reduction targets as set in the Green Deal, via the  Farm to Fork strategy and also the Biodiversity strategy. However chemical giant Bayer CropScience has made clear it does not want any binding legislation as part of the new EU Biodiversity Strategy. With specific numbers for reduction in the use of pesticides and fertilizers in the biodiversity strategy in particular, will real targets be dampened down on the 20th May?   […]

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EU Pesticide Risk Assessment Practices Slammed in New Study

A new peer-reviewed paper has identified systemic failings in Europe’s pesticide risk assessment process. Written by Claire Robinson and a group of experts in law, policy, and toxicology, our paper outlines how these failings could seriously undermine ambitions for sustainable agriculture and a “green recovery” from the COVID-19 pandemic – and proposes a comprehensive agenda for reform. […]

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Poking Holes in Farm to Fork: Small Farmers have Solutions

Farm to Fork is the European Commission’s strategy to support an EU-wide transition to sustainable food production. The Roadmap for the new strategy was open for public consultation until last week. In the final instalment in this three-part series covering feedback on Farm to Fork so far, we look at comments from farmers and agricultural organizations. Hans Wetzels reports. […]

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Poking Holes in Farm to Fork: Health Groups Take The Strategy’s Temperature

The Farm to Fork strategy aspires to fix our broken food systems while advancing the EU’s sustainability goals. In this three-part series we hear what environmental, health and farming organisations have to say about Farm to Fork so far. Here, Natasha Foote reports on some of the key voices in the health sector to bring us their take on the strategy as it currently stands. […]

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Poking Holes in Farm to Fork: Environmental Groups Seek a Coherent Vision

Healthy ecosystems are the foundation for food production, but they are pushed to breaking point by the current system. In the face of existential threats, Farm to Fork needs a coherent vision. Friends of the Earth Europe, WWF, Birdlife Europe, Greenpeace, ClientEarth and Pesticides Action Network weigh in on the European Commission’s Roadmap to food sustainability. […]

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Food Fight – The Farm to Fork Strategy vs CAP

The Farm2Fork strategy is out for consultation at present, closing on 16th March. It is self-described as a sustainable food strategy is key to achieving the goals of the EU’s Green Deal. This strategy “sets out the regulatory and non-regulatory measures needed to create more efficient, climate-smart systems that provide healthy food, while securing a decent living for EU farmers and fishermen.” So how is the process unfolding, and how does – or will – it relate to the CAP?  […]