About: Intensive farming
Third of Earth’s soil is acutely degraded due to agriculture
A third of the planet’s land is severely degraded and fertile soil is being lost at the rate of 24 billion tonnes a year, according to a new United Nations-backed study that calls for a shift away from destructively intensive agriculture. EURACTIV's media partner, The Guardian, reports.
Fipronil crisis: Why should we keep on using these toxic substances?
The withdrawal of millions of eggs from the market produced in the Netherlands and Belgium should motivate the EU to shift towards a different model of agriculture, argues Martin Dermine.
McDonald’s to cut antibiotics, as UN warns of superbug resistance
In light of the EU egg scandal, fast food giant McDonald's plans to phase out antibiotics from its poultry production chain starting in 2018. At the same time, the UN has warned of increased risk of antibiotic resistance from intensive animal farming.
Debate: The future of organic agriculture in the EU
Organic plays an increasing role in EU agriculture. There's also an ongoing trialogue negotiation on organic regulation review among the Parliament, Commission and the Member States.
Jeremy Rifkin: ‘Number two cause of global warming emissions? Animal husbandry’
An estimated 40% of all the agricultural land in the world today is used to grow feed grains for beef production, a trend that is set to worsen with the rise of the middle class in Asia, warns Jeremy Rifkin.
Fabrice Nicolino: in agriculture, ‘what has been done can be undone’
Fabrice Nicolino spoke to the Journal de l'Environnement about the "huge muck-up that agriculture has become". He said it is not too late for things to change.
No need for new rules to protect butterflies from GM pollen, EU report says
European food safety officials found there was no need to widen buffer zones around genetically modified (GM) crops, even though research shows that pollen from GM maize can travel kilometres further than previously thought.
‘We are fed up’ with our broken food system
Tens of thousands of people will gather once again in the cold of a Brandenburg winter to protest against what they see as the worst excesses of the food system, writes Oliver Moore.![fertiliser_environment_farming_nitrates_CREDIT[Patrick_NouhaillerFlickr]](https://www.euractiv.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/09/fertiliser_environment_farming_nitrates_creditpatrick_nouhaillerflickr.jpeg)
Manuel Valls wants EU nitrates directive ‘to evolve’
Nitrate pollution remains a major problem in France due to its intensive agriculture. The French Prime Minister has resolved to take action, after a new indictment of France by the Court of Justice of the European Union last week.
‘Meat Atlas’ sheds light on hidden costs of beef, pigmeat
Europeans need to more aware of the little-known environmental and social cost of their high-meat diets, green campaigners said at the launch of their global ‘Meat Atlas’ report on Thursday (9 January).
EU gradually turning green in food security debate
SPECIAL REPORT / With the world's population expected to rise to nine billion by 2050, European regulators are pushing for a gradually greener approach to food sustainability, warning that demand for food could cause a number of related crises, such as runaway carbon emissions, waste and obesity.
African farmers face soil erosion, fertiliser puzzle
SPECIAL REPORT / Every year the world loses roughly 24 billion tonnes of fertile soil, with chemical fertilisers singled out as one of the main culprits. Yet, agriculture experts are calling for more widespread use of the substances to improve land fertility and boost yields.
€208m forests initiative launched at UN climate talks in Warsaw
A new $280m (€208m) initiative to help save the world's remaining forests was launched by the UK, the US and Norway at the United Nations climate change talks in Warsaw on Wednesday.More, not less yield is the best way to meet global demand for more food
To meet the probably needed 70 to 100% increase of food supply over the next fifty or so years, agricultural output will have to substantially increase, and most of it will have to come from increased productivity, argues Brian Gardner.Fertiliser chief: Farming should remain at top of development agenda
In agreeing to come up with a list of Sustainable Development Goals, governments have pledged to take a holistic approach to our global future, therefore viable farming should remain top of the list, argues Abdulrahman Jawahery.
Farming deal ‘too flexible’ but caps largest direct payments
The EU’s freshly agreed agriculture policy reform caps direct payments to the largest farms, but a senior parliamentarian says that flexibility in its enforcement potentially weakens social and green commitments.
Developing nations urged to follow EU in banning toxic pesticide
The UN’s agricultural organisation has urged governments in developing countries to ban a toxic pesticide – already outlawed in the European Union – linked to the deaths this month of more than 20 children in India. VideoPromoted content
Sustainable Agriculture: A key ingredient to food security in Europe
Food security and food sustainability are key EU priorities in 2013. By the end of 2013, the European Commission is expected to follow up on its Resource Efficiency Roadmap with a Communication on Sustainable Food. How can this new policy framework best integrate a long- term approach to food and the environmental, social and economic pillars of sustainability? What options are at our disposal in Europe? VideoPromoted content
EU negotiators seal a deal on CAP reform
EU negotiators sealed a deal yesterday (26 June) on future farm policy after months of haggling over how ambitious the policy would be on ending quotas, overhauling direct payments to farmers and making agriculture more environmentally responsible.
‘Damn tough’ deal on CAP leaves little room for celebration
EU negotiators sealed a deal yesterday (26 June) on future farm policy after months of haggling over how ambitious the policy would be on ending quotas, overhauling direct payments to farmers and making agriculture more environmentally responsible.
After landmark CAP vote, the hard work begins
MEPs exercised their power to shape agricultural policy for the first time on Wednesday (13 March), voting to adopt a controversial package of legislation that now faces a fresh round of negotiations with national leaders. EURACTIV reports from Strasbourg.
MEPs, divided and under pressure, prepare for CAP vote
The European Parliament votes today (13 March) on a future agricultural policy that, if approved as proposed, would step back from a generation of liberalisation moves and ease the European Commission’s plan to set new environmental standards for farming. EURACTIV reports from Strasbourg.
EU urged to promote women’s education in Africa
INTERVIEW / The more years of education a woman has, the more likely it is that her household will use sustainable farming practices – helping to combat food insecurity, poverty and degradation of ecosystems along the way - new research shows.