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…
Photo by József Szabó on Unsplash Centre right MEPs say they want to postpone the law proposal on pesticide reduction in its current form because it will jeopardise European food production during the war in Ukraine. “When there is a war in Europe, we cannot do business as usual. The current law proposal is not fit for purpose”,…
Photo by Gabriella Clare Marino on Unsplash A coalition of over 50 organisations in 17 EU member states have delivered a petition to the European Commission demanding to keep the new generation of genetically modified organisms ‘regulated and labelled’. The petition ran from April to November 2022 and received 420.000 signatures. European Commission-president Ursula Von der Leyen announced…
Photo by Jo-Anne McArthur on Unsplash Eight EU countries have warned Brussels against proposing a ban on exports of live animals, according to a new document. The paper, written by Portugal and supported by France, Greece, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and Spain, will be discussed during a ministerial meeting on 30 January. The group Compassion in World Farming says it…
Photo by Linda Robert on Unsplash The EU Commission has decided to identify Cameroon as a non-cooperating country in the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, giving it a so-called ‘red card’. From now onwards EU Member States shall be able to refuse the importation of fishery products from Cameroon even when accompanied by catch certificates validated by the national authorities….
Photo by Nadine Primeau on Unsplash The EU Commission has published an analysis by Commission services on the main drivers affecting food security. It looks at the effects on food security of drivers such as climate change, environmental degradation, the economic consequences of COVID-19 and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Based on the latest scientific evidence, this analysis identifies different types…
Photo by Simon Goetz on Unsplash The global food price crisis has only been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. It is actually due to more structural and systemic problems in the commodities market, creating hunger and threatening people’s livelihoods, points out the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in its own initiative opinion, adopted at the December plenary. Fuelled…
The European Commission has received a petition signed by 150,000 people, asking for new standards to protect fish welfare. Over the next few months, the Commission will be reviewing the EU laws for many farmed animals. Compassion in World Farming, a Brussels based campaign group, says it wants to ensure that specific standards for farmed…
For the first time, the EU and neighbouring countries in the Mediterranean agreed on the establishment of five fully-fledged multiannual management plans (MAPs) based on the principles of the CFP. It is a key step in improving the environmental and economic sustainability of fishing in the Mediterranean. The five new MAPs will cover key Mediterranean sub-regions: Alboran Sea in…
The EU’s food watchdog says that current law fails to protect animals during transport – an issue that citizens have long protested against. The European Food Safety Authority issued five new reports outlining the scientific evidence about the suffering of animals when they are transported – for sale, fattening or slaughter. The scientific opinions cover…
