About: sustainable agriculture

Crunch time for factory farming in Europe

On 2 April, the European Parliament’s agriculture committee will have its say on the next seven years of the EU’s common agricultural policy (CAP). Will MEPs choose family farms over factory farms?

Citizens are fed up with industrial agriculture

Europe's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was a big issue at this year's Green Week in Berlin. With all the billions of euros available, the agro-ecological transition is more than possible, especially if subsidies to agribusiness and factory farms were stopped, write Harriet Bradley and Trees Robijns.

Scientists call for radical change of diet to transform global food system

The global food system needs urgent reform, less meat consumption and more legumes, as three billion people worldwide are malnourished and food production is exceeding planetary boundaries, scientists have warned in a new report.

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).

Development through agriculture, the farmer’s way

Belgian farmer Remy Schiffeleers founded the association "Farmers Without Borders" 30 years ago, inviting young farmers from Benin, Senegal, Mali come to Belgium and learn how to produce goat cheese.

The hidden truth about migration: A looming farm crisis back home

Mass migration has become a major political challenge in Europe. While the media documents the perilous journeys that migrants undertake, the hardships and hopes of the rural areas from which many originate receive less attention, meaning the root causes of migration persist, writes Claudia Sadoff.

Denmark disputes ‘highly unfair’ air pollution limits on agriculture

Copenhagen voted against an EU decision to endorse an amendment to the Gothenburg Protocol on transboundary air pollution, saying it is being unfairly penalised for having taken early action to reduce ammonia emissions from its agriculture sector.

EU rural areas must enter digital era, says Hogan

The future of EU’s rural development depends on digital technologies, which are essential to fill the existing gap with urban areas, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan has said.

Biostimulants take centre stage in EU push for green fertilisers

The review of the European Union's Fertilisers Regulation will promote innovative products such as biostimulants, in an effort to help agriculture take the turn of the circular economy.

Potocnik: Farmers and consumers ‘equally responsible’ for agricultural transformation

Every food producer should help make agriculture sustainable, Janez Potočnik told EURACTIV.com.

UN chief: Food chain shows peoples’ fate ‘interdependent’

Humankind needs to take a more collaborative approach to agriculture in order to sustain its future nutrition needs, while at the same time minimising environmental harm to the planet, global leaders and luminaries have warned.

Agriculture holds key to UN Sustainable Development Goals

Agriculture will play a crucial role in addressing the planet’s future needs – whether on food production, health or the preservation of the environment. But transforming the dominant agricultural model could be the greatest challenge of all.

CAP and animal welfare: Simply incompatible

Livestock production has been at the centre of the intensification in agriculture brought by Europe's Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), writes Olga Kikou. These policies have put farmers under pressure, and created conditions for overproduction, she says.

EU emissions limits for agricultural gases face uncertain future

SPECIAL REPORT / Efforts to cap agricultural emissions harmful to both the environment and human health face fierce opposition and tough negotiations before they can finally become EU law.

CAP could be called in for ‘better regulation’ scrutiny

SPECIAL REPORT: EXCLUSIVE / Environmental campaigners plan to force changes in the reformed Common Agricultural Policy by using the European Commission’s 'better regulation' procedures to call in the laws for renewed scrutiny.

San Jeronimo and Edegem are proud of their compost project

SPECIAL REPORT / The partnership between the Belgian town of Edegem, and the Peruvian municipality of San Jeronimo has been so successful that many other localities in the Latin American country come to visit and study the project that composts organic waste and uses it for agriculture.

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.

Food industry focuses on sustainable sourcing to mitigate climate change

SPECIAL REPORT / Faced with a raw materials scarcity due to climate change, food and drink giants have turned to a sustainable management in order to protect the environment and ensure their future viability.

Commission seeks solutions to ‘confusing’ Green labelled products

SPECIAL REPORT / Adopting common methodologies to measure products’ environmental footprint is part of the EU’s efforts to move toward a green single market. But communicating this environmental information is a huge challenge.

Nestlé executive: ‘We are all facing risks of having supply challenges’

Climate change is confronting the European food sector with an unprecedented risk related to supplies of agricultural raw materials, warns Pascal Gréverath.

Food sector looks beyond factory gates for deep CO2 cuts

The European food and drink industry can boast a healthy track record in reducing its carbon footprint ahead of the COP21 conference, which opens in Paris later this month.

How Ukraine’s chicken king could benefit from EU largesse

Future European investment in Ukraine’s booming agricultural sector are set to be conditioned to reforms and a crackdown on graft. But those reforms may result in the wholesale suspension of regulation in the agricultural sector and land grabbing, writes Fidanka Bacheva-McGrath

Can the ‘Made in Germany’ approach lead to self-sufficiency?

SPECIAL REPORT / The German government wants to spruce up the African agricultural sector with "Green Innovation Centres", as well as by using the help of German agribusiness. Critics warn against making the same mistakes that were made 40 years ago.