Agrifood
Parisians want more local and organic produce
Protecting your health, eating good products and avoiding courgettes in winter… In street interviews at the Aligre market in Paris’ 12th arrondissement, Parisians showed their considerable concern for the food they eat.
Forests and Frankfurters: Why Germans’ love of meat is causing destruction in Latin America
Farming is the world’s biggest driver of deforestation, and beef and soya production are the prime culprits, writes Nicole Polster.
France struggling to phase out pesticides
France has promised to phase out glyphosate at a quicker rate than the EU. However, successive “Ecophyto plans” have not produced any results and meanwhile, the use of phytosanitary products continues to grow. EURACTIV France reports.
Commission’s scientific body calls for GM legislation update
The European Commission’s Scientific Advice Mechanism (SAM) issued a statement on Tuesday (13 November) saying the directive on genetically modified organisms should be revised in order to adjust to the current knowledge, especially when it comes to gene editing.
MEPs clash with Commission over sardines and anchovies
The European Parliament adopted on Tuesday (13 November) a report on regulating mainly sardine and anchovy catches in the Adriatic Sea, rejecting the essence of the European Commission's proposal after a heated exchange with EU fisheries boss Karmenu Vella. VideoPromoted content
For a Single Market with a Purpose: The story of Mascaró
Monse Mascaró, Master Distiller and an SME Business owner in Spain is talking about the positive contribution of the Single Market to her business and its importance for the future generation.
Biodiversity can benefit from new technologies, EU official says
It is the duty of scientists to point out what could be accomplished by using new plant breeding techniques (NPBTs), according to European Commission official Barend Verachtert, who praised the virtue of new technologies in agriculture at an event organised by EURACTIV on 5 November.
European Court of Auditors criticise plans to reform CAP
The EU auditors have expressed clear criticism of the plans to reform the CAP. They said that the Commission's proposals did not meet the demand for a "more environmentally-friendly and more strongly preformance-based" approach. EURACTIV Germany reports.
Mogherini: Europe and Africa can change global politics in a ‘revolutionary’ way
A new model of collaboration between the EU and Africa can change today’s dangerous turn of international relations, which have moved from “win-win” solutions and are now based on “zero-sum” games, EU's top diplomat Federica Mogherini said.
Europe should protect its farmers, not big food multinationals
MEPs working on the 'unfair trade practices' directive risk handing a series of victories to food multinationals in the name of 'fairness for all', argues Christian Verschueren
German Minister for Environment pushing for end of glyphosate
The German Federal Minister for the Environment is calling for pesticide-free compensation areas and a binding date for the phase-out of glyphosate. However, this has annoyed the Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture. EURACTIV Germany’s partner Der Tagesspiegel reports.
Science in the future of agriculture: Can innovation double food production – and improve sustainability?
The European farming sector is facing a number of challenges – producing more and better food from shrinking arable land for a growing population, while preserving the environment and ensuring good living standards for farmers.
French financial support for organic farming lagging behind
Financial assistance for French organic farming has accrued more than two years of delays, organic farmers have filed complaints with the French human rights defender and hope that the state will renew the existing cash advances. EURACTIV France’s media partner the Journal de l’environnement reports.
Money for agriculture must go to those who cultivate the land, MEPs insist
The ample funding provided by the EU's Common Agricultural Policy should be used by real farmers and not those who lease land for profit, said members of the European Parliament's Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development. EURACTIV's media partner Dnevnik reports.
Commission tells China to deliver on promise to open up its market
EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Vytenis Andriukaitis told EURACTIV.com that China should deliver on its promise to open up its market, as European companies complain about the difficulties they face in the country.
Czech activists collect signatures for laying off animal cages across Europe
Nearly all rabbits, hens, pigs or quails spend their entire life cramped in breeding cages. A European citizens initiative to improve these living conditions was launched in September and was supported by several NGOs in the Czech Republic. EURACTIV.cz reports.
S&D chief: ‘Political suicide’ for Europe to ignore Africa
Europe has to tackle the root causes of migration and better manage population flows by investing in people rather than walls, Udo Bullmann told EURACTIV.com in an interview.
Civil society questions Europe’s ‘perfect’ pesticide authorisation system
No pesticide should be authorised if it is found to have harmful effects on humans, animals, the environment, and the ecosystem, the new coalition “Citizens for Science in Pesticide Regulation” said in a manifesto launched on Wednesday (31 October).
From field to city: Are direct deliveries a viable business model for farmers?
Most farmers sell their products to large food companies and therefore lose large proportions of their income to long supply chains. But individual farmers manage to sell directly to customers. Is this a viable model? EURACTIV Germany reports.
‘Third-child’ policy: Italy’s Lega wants to give farmland for free to large families
Italy's populist government is proposing to give land to families about to have a third child, hoping it would help fight the growing depopulation of rural areas and abandonment of arable land. But it has not been embraced by everyone.
EU agriculture ministers to decide on EFSA’s budget, sources say
The exact amount of money that the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) will receive under the new food transparency rules will be decided at the level of agriculture ministers, sources close to the issue told EURACTIV.com.
Europe needs more time to re-approve copper pesticide
Negotiations on the re-approval of copper compounds, which are due to be gradually phased out, are still ongoing. The European Commission is expected to present a new proposal to EU member states next month, at a meeting that was not originally scheduled.
We need transition farming in the EU
European tastes are changing and so must farms, therefore we need to support a transition away from industrial animal farming, writes Alexandra Clark.