About: Agrifood Brief
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 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 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...
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.
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.
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...
Week of ‘clashes’ and a very special guest
This week, EURACTIV’s agrifood team brings you the latest about the current EU debate over holding off the implementation of the main sustainable EU farming policies, the Farm to Fork and the Biodiversity strategies, due to food safety concerns. We...
Agrifood Brief: Guardians of the Green galaxy
Amid rising concerns over Europe’s food security, the EU’s sustainable goals for the farming sector have taken many blows in recent weeks. But now, it seems, the 'green empire' strikes back.
Special CAPitals Agrifood Brief: A closer look at CAP plans
National strategic plans (NSPs) are one of the main novelties of the reformed Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which will run from 2023 to 2027.
Agrifood Brief: Fe-brew-ary is the tipsiest month
It might be the shortest one, but February is also undoubtedly the month in which we've heard the most about alcohol in the EU bubble.
Agrifood Brief: The last score that broke the label’s back
The latest episode in the Nutri-score drama provides a clue that we are closing in on the season’s finale. Enough is enough, Italians must have thought when they’ve read the latest idea put forward by Serge Hercberg, the professor of...
Agrifood Brief: CAP 2.0 or same old C*AP?
The UK’s departure from the EU now means that it is free to design its own menu of agricultural policies, à la carte, to replace the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). So naturally, like nosy curtain-twitching neighbours, we’re all wondering what...
Agrifood Brief: Mirror, mirror – or a wall?
How to make trade the fairest of them all? That was the big theme of the French EU presidency, under which agricultural minister Julien Denormandie made his debut as chair of the agriculture and fisheries (AGRIFISH) Council this week. The...
Special CAPitals: The laggers and the leaders of the Unfair Trading Practices directive
In this third edition of the CAPitals, EURACTIV's network takes a look at the state of play of the implementation of the Unfair Trade Practices (UTP) directive across the bloc.
Agrifood Brief, powered by European Snacks Association: Green Rush
As more green agriculture products such as sustainable pesticides and non-chemical fertilisers are released on the market, an increasing number of green trademarks have been registered in the EU over the past 25 years.
Agrifood Brief, powered by European Snacks Association: Gene-ie in a bottle
GMOs have been known to rub the German Greens the wrong way. But as the party is entering into a three-way coalition government and pragmatists are gaining ground, its opposition to all things gene-editing is becoming a little less clear-cut.
Agrifood Brief: It ain’t over ’til it’s over
So, in the immortal words of the Looney Toons, that’s all folks - the CAP is officially a wrap.
All things CAP & girl power
This week, EURACTIV’s Natasha Foote is joined by EURACTIV France’s Magdalena Pistorius to discuss how the final vote on the reform of the Common Agricultural Policy
Agrifood Brief: FinalCAPdown (this time for real)
Yes, we know. We’ve teased you time and time again with the promise of a #FinalCAPdown. But this time, it’s the real deal. After months and months of discussions, reversals, late-night talks and last-minute deals and not one, not two,...
Agrifood Brief: Size matters
Another week, another public consultation. Whether it’s deforestation or the EU’s new animal welfare legislation, there’s plenty of opportunities for everyone to give their two cents on the Commission’s policy plans. This is important given that this feeds into and...
Agrifood Brief: A COP out?
“Plant-forward”, seasonal and locally sourced, with a focus on ingredients produced using environmentally friendly practices. That’s what was on the menu for world leaders this week at the COP26, according to a statement from the UK COP26 Presidency. On the...
Agrifood Brief: From one play to another tragedy
‘Much ado about nothing' was the title of the Shakespearean play that came to mind when the Farm to Fork report was largely approved by the plenary of the Parliament this week. But the whole fuss generated around this vote also reminded us of a different tragedy by the bard.
Agrifood Brief: A spoonful of sugar
According to the World Health Organisation, unhealthy diets cause a whopping 11 million deaths each year and are linked with six of the top 10 risk factors for the global burden of disease. And this problem is just set to...