Photo by Kjartan Einarsson on Unsplash A statement published on 6 July by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) concluded that glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide on the planet, reportedly does not pose unacceptable risks for human health, despite independent scientific evidence to the contrary. This statement, according to the Health and Environment Alliance (HEAL), could constitute a…
Photo by Kadri Karmo on Unsplash The EU Commission has announced it will provide additional EU funding for EU farmers. It will go to those who are “impacted by adverse climatic events, high input costs, and diverse market and trade related issues.” The new support package, unveiled on Monday, will consist of €330 million for 22 Member States. In addition, Member States…
Photo by Marek Studzinski on Unsplash The European Commission has authorised three genetically modified maize and renewed the authorisation for four genetically modified crops, three soybeans and one cotton for food and animal feed. The Commission’s authorisation decision does not allow for their cultivation in the EU, only for their use as food and animal feed. These genetically modified crops have gone through…
Photo by Jack Sloop on Unsplash MEPs responsible for environment policy have voted against proposals to give what campaigners call “industrial-scale cattle farms a free pass to avoid their responsibility in wrecking the climate.” Last month, MEPs in the Agriculture Committee voted to exempt industrial-scale cattle farming exempt from EU rules limiting industrial pollution. Campaigners said they agreed to this…
Photo by Brenda Godinez on Unsplash The European Parliament has been accused of “missing an opportunity” to acknowledge the need to include plant-based milks in the EU scheme subsidising school meals. In their vote ahead of the expected EU proposal, awaited for the end of the year, deputies were accused of “showing once again very low ambition to allow…
Photo by Kyle Mackie on Unsplash An ambitious overhaul of EU animal welfare laws is possible, reveals the Brussels-based publication Agra Facts. A leaked preliminary analysis written by the European Commission’s own civil servants is said to include the option to ban caged farming in Europe and to minimise animal suffering on farms, including during transport and slaughter….
Photo by Milada Vigerova on Unsplash The EU has been urged to help put an end to the world’s first commercial octopus farm. It is claimed that around one million octopuses will be reared at the proposed farm in the Port of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, Spain. The plans have sparked claims that this will cause animal…
Russia has traditionally used food crisis as a weapon, and this is not the first time it has blackmailed the world community with the threat of famine. Failures on the battlefield in Ukraine have set a new goal for Vladimir Putin – to provoke a global famine and another wave of migration, which is why…
Photo by Justin Clark on Unsplash EU Member States have adopted an agreement to improve forest governance and help combat illegal logging in Guyana. The Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA), which the EU and Guyana signed in Montreal last December, aims to strengthen law enforcement in the forestry sector and ensure that timber products exported to the EU have been…
Photo by Ben Moreland on Unsplash Laying hens should be housed in cage-free systems, concludes a new study by the Union’s scientific body, the European Food Safety Authority, adding that meat chickens need more space and must come from slow-growing breeds only. The scientists confirm that it is not possible to provide sufficient space in cages. They also note that…
