Agrifood Archives

Europol’s annual Operation SILVER AXE III seized the largest-ever amount of illegal or counterfeit pesticides in Europe this week. But the fact that such massive amounts of illegal pesticides are available has raised concerns about both the economic and health costs.

Environmental pressure and climate change are some of the main challenges facing agriculture today. The 2013 Common Agricultural Policy reform addressed these problems with “greening” measures, in an attempt to make the direct payments system more environment-friendly.

Data access has become a key issue for the agricultural sector, which could benefit from European space programmes. EURACTIV.fr reports.

As the European elections and the change of Commission loom next year, the Commission is in a hurry to get its last proposals out and parliamentarians are keen to complete their scrutiny before the campaign trail beckons, writes Christian Verschueren.

While climate change takes a toll on agriculture and land use contributes to warming the planet, soils still find little attention from policymakers in their climate strategies.

The European Commission said on Wednesday (11 July) that “all possible options” are on the table to respond to the confirmation of the US tariffs on Spanish ripe olives, seen by the Europeans as ‘not justified’.

As a new round of free trade negotiations between the European Union and Indonesia begins in Brussels, Perrine Fournier argues that improving forest governance should be central to any agreement.

The European Commission continues to serve the interests of big companies rather than consumers, and this will lead to new food scandals soon, the European consumer organisation foodwatch said on Tuesday (10 July).

As the largest seafood market in the world, importing more than 60% of its seafood from other countries, the EU has a responsibility to tackle illegal fishing, writes Dr Samantha Burgess.

If the ongoing US government investigation into imported Spanish olives ends up imposing anti-dumping duties, it could potentially set a dangerous legal precedent and question the entire functioning of the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), experts and farmers warn.

Climate change is having a massive impact on Europe’s winemakers but the effects are not always negative. Belgium’s industry is on the up thanks to shifting temperature patterns.

The leaders of the European Parliament’s political groups decided on 5 July to grant the Environment Committee “shared competence” with the Agriculture Committee in the environmental aspects of the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Non-EU countries that export animals and animal products to the bloc will have to abide by new rules on veterinary medicines when it comes to the use of antibiotics, according to the European Commission.

The UK outlined plans to overhaul its fishing policy on Wednesday, insisting that it would decide unilaterally how much access to give to EU boats after it leaves the bloc next March.

It’s crucial for the industry to move from a defensive to a pro-active attitude and be able to communicate with the public and social networks in order to achieve a science-based policy making.

One EU-funded project in Poland all started with a girl allergic to food additives and ended up with an innovative start-up, which connects 150 farmers with 100,000 people who want to eat healthy food straight from the producers. EURACTIV Poland reports.

Farmers being in direct contact with the consumers and setting their prices independently, without having to submit to the wholesale market dictate - sounds like going back to the roots of agricultural markets. Behind this, however, is a model with a genuinely promising future. EURACTIV.de reports.

The function of food packaging has traditionally been limited to passive protection from external influences, but innovations are quickly changing its role. Packaging is getting active and intelligent, able to monitor and interact with food and environment and maintain food freshness for longer, writes Dr Milka Sokolović.

The wine industry is pushing for the inclusion of its products’ labelling proposals in the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in order to give self-regulation a “legal basis and certainty”.

Europe must get serious about short food supply chains (SFSC) and put an end to the frustrating inconsistencies within the Common Agricultural Policy and with other European policy fields, write Maria Heubuch and Bart Staes.

Reading the opinion of Greens / EFA members of the European Parliament on plant breeding, one can’t help but be amazed by their obsession with GMOs, writes Garlich von Essen.

MEPs and MPs from ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) countries call for closer cooperation to tackle counterfeit products in their future cooperation agreement. EURACTIV.fr reports.