Natasha Foote
Yemen’s wheat industry urges international action to avert mass famine
Urgent international action is needed to avert a mass famine in Yemen on a never-before seen scale due to the Ukraine war, according to the country's largest wheat importer, the HSA Group, who wrote to leaders ahead of a UN summit this week.
Agrifood Brief: A sad tale from the farm
This week, EURACTIV travelled to the Vendée region of Western France to meet two generations of a farming family who are struggling to make ends meet amid rising costs and a rapidly changing society.
Agrifood Podcast: EU-Turkey agri-trade, Crop rotation debate, Deforestation Law
This week, EURACTIV’s agrifood team brings you the latest on the first high-level meeting to strengthen the EU-Turkey agri-trade and we discuss our thoughts about what to expect from these talks. We also talk about the debate in Germany over...
Commission slams Slovakia’s proposed restriction of grain, cereal exports
Slovakia has tabled a proposal that would restrict agricultural commodities exports in light of the war in Ukraine, a move the European Commission has condemned, warning any bans of this nature to destabilise markets and lead to price increases.
Play nice if you want our agri-trade: EU hangs food security threat over Turkey
Turkey must play by the rules if it hopes to strengthen its agricultural relations with the EU in order to bolster its food security in light of the Ukraine war, member states stressed ahead of a high-level meeting this week.
Agrifood Brief: Who’s afraid of Farm to Fork?
Has the recent debate over food security somehow compromised the sustainable ambitions of the Green Deal food chapter, the Farm to Fork (F2F) strategy? That’s the question that – very timidly – many in EU the bubble have started to...
Agrifood Podcast: Food security, EU organics plan, panicky markets
Welcome back to the EURACTIV agrifood podcast! After a short break, EURACTIV’s agrifood team are back and this week discussing all things food security, including the deepening cracks in the Commission over its response to the Ukraine war and the...
MEPs massively back organic farming but snub Farm to Fork target
The European Parliament has green-lighted a new report on the EU’s organic action plan, which stresses a market-based approach but makes no mention of the bloc's ambitious target to see 25% of agricultural land farmed organically by 2030.
Timmermans: Scaremongering on food security ‘dishonest, irresponsible’
Spreading fears of food shortages is “irresponsible and dishonest”, according to European Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans, who accused critics of using the war as a "pretext" to derail the EU’s green farming ambitions.
How has the Ukraine war impacted the EU’s food security?
Between soaring food prices and feed shortages, the war in Ukraine has rocked the EU’s agri-food sector and thrown an age-old issue back into the limelight: food security.
Agrifood Brief: Power to the peasants
As the old English joke goes, an advisor to the King went to warn the monarch that the peasants were revolting. “I know they are,” replied the monarch, “but I love them anyway”. And, just as in the joke, the...
Small farmers: The unsung heroes of the Ukraine war
The war in Ukraine has thrown up concerns over food security, both in the war-torn country and elsewhere in the world. But the key to ensuring Ukraine's food supply may come from an unlikely place: small and medium-scale farmers.
Agrifood Brief: GI galore
Sectors other than agrifood have come to appreciate the concept of geographical indications, considered one of Europe's success stories in much the same manner as the Erasmus programme for student exchange.
International organisations warn soaring food prices could fuel social unrest, extreme poverty
The world's major international finance and food organisations have joined forces to call for urgent coordinated action on food security in light of the war in Ukraine, warning soaring food prices could fuel social tensions and push millions into poverty.
EU decision to restrict bee-harming pesticide causes tension with US
The European Commission has taken the decision to restrict the use of the pesticide 'sulfoxaflor' to indoor-only after concerns over its impact on bees, but the move has raised hackles over in the US.
Agrifood Podcast: Janusz from the bloc, French elections, Groundhog Day
Feeling lost about everything that has happened this week in the agrifood world? No need to worry, EURACTIV’s agrifood team has your back. In this week’s podcast, we cover all the major events this week, from food security to the...
Agrifood Brief: A little less conversation, a little more action please
What do Elvis and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have in common? Besides their debonair good looks and suave style, more importantly, both want us to know: It’s now or never.
V4 farmers demand postponement of new CAP due to Ukraine war
Representatives of the largest agricultural organisations of the four Visegrad Group states and five other countries have jointly called for a temporary postponement of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) reform, as well as of other environmental measures.
Cultivated meat companies gear up for first EU approval applications
Amid burgeoning interest in plant-based diets, European cultivated meat companies are preparing to take their first steps towards gaining EU approval. But some warn the technology could do more harm than good.
Agriculture Commissioner: It is ‘prudent’ to prioritise upping EU food production
Increasing food production in Europe is a priority in light of the Ukraine war, according to the EU's agri-boss, who detailed how the European Commission encourages member states can do this through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).
EU-wide protein strategy on the cards as Commission changes its tune
The European Commission has now backed the creation of an EU-wide protein strategy, U-turning on a previous position after persistent lobbying from MEPs and member states.
EU expects safety guarantees for new ‘ghost’ migration camp in Lesvos
Contacted by EURACTIV, a source from the Greek migration ministry said Athens said they had made it clear from the beginning that the new camp would be far from the urban environment.
Agrifood Brief: The EU’s Trojan horse moment
Legend has it that the Greeks tried for over a decade to conquer the ancient city of Troy, to no avail. And so, in a devious but particularly brilliant move, they decided to build a huge wooden horse and leave...