Musings on sustainable food systems, agriculture vs. agroecology, and more!
Remember when I posted about the upcoming European Parliament’s vote on its position on the Common Agricultural Policy reform 2014 – 2020? Well, the voting happened yesterday and the results are in – it seems like the Parliament walked a middle way between the proposals of its Agricultural Committee and environmentalists’ demands.
You know that day before you go on an extended vacation and stand in front of a half-full fridge due to poor planning, heave a heavy sigh and take out the garbage bag? Well, if you were living in Cologne, Koblenz or Berlin, instead you would log onto foodsharing.de, would create a food basket with … Continue reading Foodsharing – Reducing Food Waste the German Way
This really is a time of change for the EU. As of next year, the EU Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) – a behemoth that costs Europeans 58 billion Euros per year and represents almost 40% of the EU’s budget – is due to be reformed. And on March 13th, the European Parliament is expected to vote on … Continue reading The Gap in the CAP (Take Action!)
It is always fascinating to see how closely our study topics are related to current policy discussions. In one of our classes, we talked in-depth about fishing quotas and their adverse effects, including discards – this is the part of a fishing vessel’s haul that is a) not profitable enough (being too small and young, … Continue reading Fishy: EU Ministers and Parliament Fight over Discard Ban Policy
During my undergraduate degree in Political Science, I wrote my Bachelor’s Thesis on Russia’s definition of food security and their food policies in general, so I still follow news about that topic with great interest. To summarize my 50-page paper in two sentences, Russia seems to be striving for total food independence (meaning that all … Continue reading Russia's Ban on U.S. Meat Exports – Is It Legit?
The European Union is known for its extensive bureaucracy and intricate policies – we talked about the cucumber-straightness regulations before -, but it is also pretty good at trying to gather public opinions on its policies before reforming them. Its newest project: A consultation for the review of the European policy on organic agriculture! It’s … Continue reading The EU wants to know – Organic Agriculture Yay or Nay?