About: Food security
We want peasants
This week in Geneva, the Human Rights Council is expected to take a position on the follow-up to a draft Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other Persons Working in Rural Areas. Five years after the start of the negotiations, we are at a turning point, argues a group of European academics.
Agroecology can feed Europe pesticide-free in 2050, new study finds
European agriculture can phase out pesticides, reduce its impacts on climate and biodiversity while ensuring food security for Europeans, French researchers Pierre-Marie Aubert and Xavier Poux told a conference held in Paris on 13 September.
Afghan poverty rises sharply since NATO combat troops’ departure
Poverty has risen sharply in Afghanistan since the departure of NATO's combat troops in 2014, with more than half of the population now living below the poverty line, according to a national survey.
Land degradation threatens wellbeing of two-fifths of humanity, major report warns
Land degradation caused by human activities undermines the well-being of at least 3.2 billion people, costs more than 10% of annual global GDP in lost ecosystem services and endangers food security, warn a hundred experts from 45 countries in a three-year assessment report published yesterday (26 March).
EU agricultural policy incoherent and outdated – report
The Common Agricultural Policy has done a good job of ensuring farm income and food security but it is incoherent, inefficient and outdated, and must be radically overhauled to ensure good value for money in the future, an independent report has found.
Agriculture strategist: ‘Impossible’ for UK grain producers to compete outside EU
LONDON: Britain’s grain sector does not have the scale to stand on its own two feet outside the EU, a leading representative of farming has warned.
Farmers: No quick fix for food security if Brexit talks fail
British farmers are “running out of patience” with both sides in the Brexit negotiations, after Friday’s (20 October) EU summit did little to allay fears of a mutually damaging no-deal scenario.
Biofuel debate a political hot potato as EU renewable energy law nears home straight
Talks over how to decarbonise the EU's transport fleet are heating up. As policymakers prepare the bloc's renewable energy targets for 2030, part of the debate has crystallised around the role of biofuels. And farmers are getting increasingly vocal.
Global food insecurity: Could the next generation have the answer?
It's no secret - farming is declining in popularity. All over the world, young people are put off by the long hours and low pay and this is a worrying trend. That's why we need a new generation of farmers, explains Adrian Percy.
Kofi Annan: ‘What is the point of economic growth if you cannot breathe?’
Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan called yesterday (28 March) for investment in developing countries in order to “produce more food with fewer resources”, while making agriculture more sustainable.
Will MEPs stand up for financial stability over speculation?
MEPs have the power to protect our food security by setting tough standards on speculation. They should not bow to industry lobbying but put consumers first, writes Myriam Vander Stichele.
Pesticide bans are catch-22 for landowners
Landowners need crop protection products to feed our growing population. By removing crop protection products from the market, the EU is endangering its own food security, writes Robert de Graeff.
Neurological study: Mediterranean diet helps brain health
Older people who don’t follow a “Mediterranean diet” are more likely to have a higher loss of total brain volume over time, new scientific research has found.
The EU adopts a global fishing authorisation system
Almost 60% of fish resources are at the limit of sustainability. The global fishing fleet is far too large to ensure sustainable fishing and the overall picture is alarming around the world, writes Linnéa Engström.
Food security in the face of climate change: Impossible without water
Development agencies must use the momentum from COP22 to prioritise water infrastructure projects and help mitigate the effects of climate change and extreme weather events in Africa, write Elke Herrfahrdt-Pähle and Waltina Scheumann.
Live link-up with Mogadishu launches MEPs ‘Fight Against Hunger’
MEPs joined with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) yesterday (28 September), with a live link-up from Mogadishu in Somalia, to launch the “Fight Against Hunger” alliance.
Romanian minister suggests food price hike to reduce waste
Romanian Agriculture Minister Achim Irimescu says that food waste could be reduced by raising the price of food, adding that his countrymen do not appreciate its true value. EURACTIV Romania reports.
German researcher: Free trade can cushion impact of climate change on agriculture
Poor harvests, hunger and rising food prices: Climate change threatens food production around the world. The solution to all of this could be free trade, researcher Hermann Lotze-Campen told EURACTIV Germany.
Our very existence depends on soil, so why is it not protected?
In the minds of many, soil is simply dirt, but without it we would all cease to exist. Unlike the water we drink and the air we breathe, soil is not protected in the EU and its quality is getting worse. This has to change, writes Balázs Horváth.
How a meeting in Cork could save rural Europe
The CAP’s failings mean grassroots movements and national governments are starting to take matters into their own hands. Policymakers at this week’s Cork conference on rural development must take heed, write Stanka Becheva and Ramona Duminicioiu.
Africa builds ‘Great Green Wall’ against extremism and misery
With food insecurity, terrorism and migration to Europe reaching unprecedented levels, Africa is hoping that a “wall of trees” can help protect its people and stop these threats becoming global crises. EURACTIV Germany reports.
El Niño plunges southern Madagascar into famine
The El Niño phenomenon has compounded the woes of drought-stricken southern Madagascar, where 80% of the rural population is suffering from food insecurity. EURACTIV France reports.
European Parliament speaks out against agricultural colonialism in Africa
MEPs have called on the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition to radically alter its mission. The Alliance currently pushes African countries to replicate the intensive agricultural practices employed in many developed countries. EURACTIV France reports.