Podcasts about Common Agricultural Policy

Gene-editing technology which makes pigs immune to a highly infectious virus, developed at Edinburgh University's Roslin Institute, has been approved for use by the US Food and Drug Administration. The virus causes a disease called PRRS or Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, which causes premature births in pigs as well as other painful symptoms and costs the pig industry billions. Current legislation doesn't permit its use in the UK. We speak to one of the scientists who's been working on the project for more than seven years.All week we've been taking a closer look at pulses, the dried seeds of crops like beans, lentils and peas, for both human and animal food. In the UK the peas we eat are generally frozen or fresh but dried peas are a major source of protein to millions of people around the world. Scientists at the John Innes Centre in Norwich have been working with researchers in China, the USA and France to uncover the genome of 700 different varieties of pea, from many different countries, to help develop better commercial varieties.The sudden suspension of England's biggest environmental scheme, the Sustainable Farming Incentive, earlier this year was met with horror and disbelief by farmers and environmentalists alike - we preview a special documentary which charts the transition of agricultural policy from the old EU farm subsidy system and the Common Agricultural Policy to the new 'public money for public goods' approach that we have in England today. Presenter = Caz Graham Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Since January 1st, Poland has held the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union. So, this is an opportunity for Food for Europe to focus on the Polish agricultural sector. Polish farming has undergone profound changes since the country joined the EU 21 years ago. Under the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, the average size of farms has increased, farmers are specializing more, and their products have conquered the shelves of the common market. As a result, in 2023, Poland was the fifth largest contributor to the European agricultural sector, behind France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. In the 53rd episode of the podcast dedicated to agriculture, farming and food, Jacek Zarzecki, a cattle breeder and expert with the European Commission, talks to us about his sector, its strengths, but also its weaknesses and industry concerns. Magdalena Nowicka, Deputy Director of the Direct Payments Department at the Polish Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, discusses measures to cut red tape implemented by her teams. Professor Marek Wigier of the Warsaw-based Institute of Agricultural and Food Economics explains the transformation of the Polish agricultural sector and the opportunities ahead. Finally, Arkadiusz Mazur, Programme Officer at the Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, discusses the transformation of the Polish agricultural sector and the opportunities ahead within the EU.

European farmers have been in the news in recent months due to high-profile protests against climate policies, which they argue put a disproportionate burden on their already thin margins, as well as European Union trade deals, which they claim expose farmers to unfair competition from global producers. Combined, the twin pressures have radicalized many in the sector, while putting a spotlight on the EU's climate and trade policies. But less attention has been paid to a quieter but nonetheless significant risk facing European agriculture: the distortions introduced into the sector by the bloc's Common Agricultural Policy, or CAP, and their impact on the security of Europe's food supply. The first iteration of the CAP was introduced by the six founding members of what was then the European Economic Community, or EEC, back in 1962. Its principal objective was to increase food production, which had fallen drastically in the immediate postwar years due to labor shortages and damage to agricultural land. The policy also aimed to raise farmers' wages and improve food security by offering farmers a "guaranteed price for their produce and introducing tariffs on external products." In the subsequent half century, the CAP has been pivotal in the transformation of European agriculture, helping to usher in an agri-business model that has increased production but at the cost of driving thousands of farmers from the land, degrading the environment and enriching big landowners at the expense of smaller ones. As a result, it now threatens the long-term security of the bloc's food supplies. A key driver in the transformation of the bloc's agricultural model was the CAP reforms of the early 1990s, which saw a move away from the original price support system toward "direct income support for farmers … based on the area of land cultivated or number of livestock maintained." These changes inevitably favored bigger farmers, leading to "land grabbing" by large producers and a major decline in the European model of family farming, according to ARC, a voluntary rural organization dedicated to preserving family farms across the bloc. The inequitable consequences of the reforms were belatedly acknowledged by the EU itself in 2013, when it pledged a more equal distribution of support by "limiting the budget for big farms." The demographic crisis in farming has been exacerbated by the CAP's drive to create ever-larger units. But the rhetoric on greater equality has not translated into substantive change. A 2021 report for the European Parliament on the biggest beneficiaries of CAP funding found that between 2018 and 2021, a staggering 3.3 billion euros ended up in the coffers of 17 billionaires. Recipients included former Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis and British vacuum cleaner tycoon James Dyson. At a time when thousands of small farmers are struggling for survival or throwing in the towel, such largesse for the super-rich raises serious questions about the fitness for purpose of the CAP and the effects of multiple rounds of reform over the years. Attempts to root out abusive practices in the bloc's food supply chain through CAP reform have also floundered in the face of both powerful special interests and the complexities of the EU single market rules. Food producers have long complained about the overwhelming power of the massive supermarket chains that maximize profits by relentlessly squeezing producers' profit margins. In response to unfair trading practices in the supply chain, the European Commission set up the much-vaunted Agricultural Markets Task Force back in 2016. Its final report contained a whole host of recommendations to reform how CAP regulates the relationship between food producers and retailers, in order to give farmers a fairer deal. Yet almost a decade on, a major survey conducted by the food charity Sustain found that farmers still typically make a profit of less than one cent on staples like a loaf of bread or a block of ch...

Ireland faces a unique challenge in reconciling its position as a major agricultural producer with increasingly ambitious climate targets at national and EU level. The agri-food sector contributes significantly to Ireland's economy, generating €17.3 billion in gross value added (6% of GNI*) and employing 173,400 people. However, it also accounts for 37.8% of national greenhouse gas emissions, creating a distinctive challenge. In this first event of a new IIEA project entitled Pathways: Ireland's Agricultural Future, Prof. Alan Matthews and Dr. Matthew O'Neill present for discussion the findings of their working paper, ahead of its publication in early 2025. The event was chaired by Dr Karen Keaveney, Head of Subject for Rural Development in the School of Agriculture and Food Science, University College Dublin. The IIEA is grateful to the European Climate Foundation for its support in establishing this project. About the Speaker: Prof Alan Matthews is Professor Emeritus of European Agricultural Policy at the University of Dublin Trinity College, Ireland, and a former President of the European Association of Agricultural Economists. His research interests include the behaviour of the Irish farm and food system, the EU's Common Agricultural Policy, the relationships between trade and food security, and WTO trade norms and disciplines. Dr Matthew O'Neill is Climate Project Lead at the IIEA, in which role he leads the Pathways: Ireland's Agricultural Future project. His research focuses on the intersection of climate policy and agricultural systems.

Leo Varadkar is the former Taoiseach and former leader of Fine Gael. Under his tenure at the top of government, the most substantial climate policies in the history of the state were implemented, but will they enough to bring Ireland from being a "climate laggard" to a climate leader?    For his policy changes, Varadkar chose to reform the Common Agricultural Policy to incentivise more sustainable farming, to make Ireland a leader in Sustainable Aviation Fuel, and to build more electricity interconnection.   For his personal changes, he spoke about repairing his clothes to get a longer life out of them, and reducing food waste at home. 

This week: Ian Welsh speaks with Niklas Wallsargård, CEO of agri-sector business Improvin', about how granular on-farm data can help companies measure and monitor sustainability impacts, and why traceability and farmer engagement are key to scaling positive change. Plus, updates on the potential delay of the EUDR,  criticism of the Common Agricultural Policy, and ASDA's expanding partnership with Too Good To Go to combat food waste, in the news digest by Ellen Atiyah. Host: Ian Welsh Stay up-to-date on our podcasts by following us on PodBean, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Google Podcasts.

As EU Ombudsman since 2013, Emily O'Reilly oversees an independent body tasked with holding EU institutions accountable. She investigates cases of maladministration, either on her own initiative or in response to complaints from EU citizens.O'Reilly has also urged the Commission to combat secrecy, which she argues undermines public trust. In 2022, her office criticised Ursula von der Leyen's undisclosed text messages with Pfizer's CEO during the COVID-19 pandemic. More recently, she called for the publication of a secret protocol sent to Mercosur, pressed for human rights protections in the EU-Tunisia migration deal, and demanded clarity from Frontex on its role in Mediterranean search and rescue operations. In her latest action, O'Reilly opened an inquiry into the Commission's decision to relax environmental standards in the Common Agricultural Policy following protests by European farmers.Today Radio Schuman transmit some parts of Euronews's Isabel Silva's interview with O'Reilly, which will be published in full this week.Some points in the European Parliament agenda today, including a discussion with special guests on the Capital Markets Union and the new plan to finance Ukraine.In France today, a trial begins involving the far-right National Rally party, accused of using EU funds to pay its own party employees.And to finish off the show, let's talk about whether and when therapies involving psychedelic drugs might become legally approved in Europe.Radio Schuman is hosted and produced by Maïa de la Baume, with journalist and production assistant Eleonora Vasques, audio editing by Zacharia Vigneron and music by Alexandre Jas. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture has spent the past several months in detailed discussions about the long-term development of food and farming in the EU. The European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen launched the Strategic Dialogue in January 2024 under an independent chair, Professor Peter Strohschneider. Its brief was to bring a diverse and sometimes discordant group of stakeholders together to protect and promote farming's long-term future – while also driving economic, environmental and social sustainability for a sector central to Europe's identity. In September 2024, Prof Strohschneider handed the report of the Strategic Dialogue's consensus-based discussions to President Von der Leyen. The Commission is expected to use the report as a base for the subsequent development of the Common Agricultural Policy in the years ahead. This 46th episode of Food for Europe includes an interview with Prof Strohschneider, who provides some reflections on a lengthy, intense and detailed process. We also speak to Marco Contiero of Greenpeace, Lennart Nilsson of Cogeca and Dirk Jacobs of Food Drink Europe – all of whom provide insight from their own participation in this unprecedented exercise to make Europe's food and farming sector fit for a prosperous, competitive and sustainable future.

What will this week's announcement by the Government on changes to the rules on planning permission for large scale housing projects and for solar farms on agricultural land mean for the countryside?The Welsh minister in charge of policy on climate change and rural affairs has drawn up new payment schemes for farmers to apply for as the EU's Common Agricultural Policy is replaced.And one of the country's large dairy processors is ending contracts with many smaller farms because it says they don't supply enough milk and there are welfare and sustainability concerns.A BBC Audio Bristol production presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Heather Simons

Alasdair speaks to Faustine Bas-Defossez about the relationship between sustainable farming policy and the European farmers' protests.Faustine Bas-Defossez is Director for Nature, Health and Environment at the European Environmental Bureau, a Europe-wide network of environmental citizens' organisations.Alasdair and Faustine discuss the Nature Restoration Law, reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy and what the upcoming European elections might mean for the future of EU agriculture.Audio engineering by Vasko Kostovski.Further reading: NGOs unite against EU's rollback of green policies for the agrifood sector, EuractivEurope is not prepared for rapidly growing climate risks, European Environment Agency Open letter from the ECVC and IFOAM to Ursula Von der Leyen on CAP simplification, European Coordination Via Campesina  European Pact for the Future, European Environmental Bureau Orbán-backed Think Tank Courts Farmers Linked to Far Right Ahead of EU Poll, DesmogClick here to read our investigation into the UK biomass supply chain, or watch a clip from the BBC Newsnight documentary.

What is going on with the Common Agricultural Policy in Europe? What is the simplification package and what were the hidden reasons behind it? Can we afford to put environmental protection measures aside in this moment of history? This episode is part of the series Slow Food Goes Brussels, where we dissect the political debates linked to the greatest challenges food and agriculture are facing. In the previous episode of this series we explained why farmers were protesting in the beginning of the year. In today's episode we look into what is the response of the EU Institutions to the latest farmers protests. This response is namely what the Commission is calling a "simplification" of the CAP, but what is in fact a reform: they are deciding to rollback on green conditions. Host & Production: Valentina Gritti Guests: Giulia Gouet (policy officer at Slow Food International), Gerardo Fortuna (senior reporter at Euronews) and Paul Behrens (Associate Professor of Environmental Change). Links: Endorsing the Slow Food Manifesto: https://feedthechange.slowfood.com/ Webinar: "Feed the Change: Why the EU Elections Matter for the Future of Food" | May 28th @1pm CET | Register to the webinar --> https://www.slowfood.com/events/feed-the-change-the-webinar/   A project by Slow Food Youth Network (SFYN) Financed by the European Union. The contents of this podcast are the sole responsibility of the author and CINEA is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.

An MEP for this region admits farmers aren't receiving enough supports to facillitate environmentally-friendly farming. EU member states are expected to adopt proposed amendments to the Common Agricultural Policy, or CAP, on May 13th, which are expected to ease the administrative burden for farmers. Speaking at yesterday's meeting of the Agriculture and Fisheries Council, Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue said "if we are asking farmers to achieve policy objectives, then they have to be at the heart of those discussions". Green Party MEP and Ireland South candidate Grace O'Sullivan says while farmers are getting good supports at present, more must be done to ensure a seamless transition to sustainable practices.

An Ireland South MEP candidate says it's a "cop out" to say the Common Agricultural Policy scheme can't be streamlined. Labour's Niamh Hourigan is calling for "overwhelming EU bureaucracy" around the CAP scheme to be reduced and claims red tape is damaging farmers' willingness to embrace a Just Transition. The European Commission has recently revealed proposals to simplify the scheme by giving farmers "greater flexibility when it comes to complying with certain environmental conditionalities". Hourigan insists the level of regulation must be reduced to avoid alienating farmers.

Agriculture ministers from around the European Union are gathering in Brussels this Monday to discuss ways to address demands of protesting farmers. In today's Business Daily, we look at some of the proposals put forward by the EU Commission to make things easier for farmers. Also in this edition, FRANCE 24's Emerald Maxwell takes a look at a type of online scam called "pig butchering", where users of dating websites fall for fake crypto investments.

Alan Matthews is a retired professor of agricultural policy and economics at Trinity College Dublin. One of Ireland's leading experts in farm economics and sustainability, Matthews chose for his policy changes to tackle the climate problem in agriculture through measurement and a land based emissions trading scheme, to reform the Common Agricultural Policy for sustainability, and to help consumers make for sustainable choices. For his personal changes, he spoke about cooking more vegetarian meals, and getting involved in influencing policy. 

Farming leaders in Wales have warned of "huge unrest" over planned Welsh government reforms to farm support payments, claiming mass protests are now "more or less inevitable". The Welsh government has urged farmers to participate in a consultation on their plans - which would require farms to have 10% tree cover and manage a further 10% of their land as wildlife habitat in order to access funding in future.  Scotland's farmers will continue receiving most of their existing subsidies for growing food. The Scottish First Minister Humuza Yousaf has announced that 70% of future support in Scotland will be direct payments. This is the Scottish post-Brexit system which will replace the EU's Common Agricultural Policy and is in marked contrast to the new systems being introduced in England and Wales where the vast majority of public money will be paid only for environmental work, and direct payments are phased out. It's 20 years since the Morecambe Bay cockling disaster. 23 people lost their lives after getting cut off by the Bay's notoriously fast flowing tide while gathering cockles. Those who drowned were Chinese Migrants, illegally smuggled into the country and were working as forced labour for criminal gangmasters. The tragedy paved the way for the creation of the Gangmasters Licensing Authority in 2005 and to this day, anyone supplying workers into the shellfish sector, and into agriculture and horticulture, requires a licence with what is now the GLAA.We visit Glynhynod Farm, which means "Remarkable Valley" in Welsh - a family business making Caerphilly and Gouda and distilling Welsh whisky. Also, what makes a champion sheepdog? We find out from a handler who's worked with dogs all his life.Presenter = Charlotte Smith Producer = Rebecca Rooney

Farmers have been blocking motorways and protesting across Europe – in France, Germany and Romania, and even in the European district of Brussels, where they have besieged institutions. Farmers say the EU is both imposing drastic environmental regulations and signing free trade deals with countries that do not abide by the same rules, which they see as unfair competition. Hard and far-right political forces in the EU seem to be capitalising on the discontent by calling for more protectionism and less norms. So what can the EU do for its farmers? We discuss the issue with two MEPs.

As politicians look set to return to Stormont in Northern Ireland, we look at what that means for food and farming. For farmers a full-time working government could mean more clarity on the way forward for post-Brexit farm subsidies. Could it mean the end of customs checks on goods from Great Britain which remain in Northern Ireland and do not cross the border into the Republic and the EU's Single Market? We speak to BBC Northern Ireland's agriculture and environment correspondent to help unpick what impact this is likely to have on agriculture and trade.The new biosecurity regulations on imported goods from the EU have just come into force. More stringent checks are being carried out including on many food consignments. A report just published by the Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee of MPs says it's concerned about cuts in funding for spot checks on animal products and the fact that the location for these is 22 miles away from the Port of Dover. All week we're looking at trade and how British importers and exporters are faring with post-Brexit changes. Coombe Castle in Wiltshire exports dairy products around the world. They say friction at the border with Europe and the ending of the trade deal with Canada last year, is going to hit them hard, because Canada accounted for a third of their cheese exports.Upland hill farmers have accused the government of failing to support them. Despite recent increases in subsidy payments, announced by DEFRA earlier this month, hill farmers say many of the new schemes still don't work for them. The payments are part of the post-Brexit Environmental Land Management Schemes brought in to replace payments under the EU's Common Agricultural Policy. Presenter = Anna Hill Producer = Rebecca Rooney

French farmers are blockading key motorways around Paris for a second consecutive day this Tuesday. They are determined to show that they can hold out for several days if new measures due to be announced by the French government continue to disappoint. So what are the underlying reasons for their anger? FRANCE 24's Gaëlle Fonseca and Clovis Casali met farmers in the French countryside and went to the French agriculture ministry. They also travelled to Brussels, where the EU's Common Agricultural Policy is facing more and more criticism.

Agrivoltaics is a set of practices that allow photovoltaic energy production and agricultural production to coexist on the same land, at the same time. In the current context of fluctuating energy bills, the solutions proposed by the solar power industry are beginning to gain more traction in Europe's agriculture sector. But there's much still that's unclear – and this appears to be cause for hesitation. What impact do solar panels have on yields? Are photovoltaic solutions adapted to all types of culture and breeding? How should we supervise this nascent, but promising, sector so that farming does not become sacrified on the altar of solar power? The 37th epsiode of Food for Europe travels to France, an agrivoltaics pionneer, to meet Benoît Bougler, a farmer from Picardy who hosts one of the first solar panel installations above a cereal crop. Cédric Cogniez, head of agricultural partnerships for one of France's leading solar energy producers, TSE, takes stock of agrivoltaics in France. Lina Dubina, sustainability policy advisor at Solar Power Europe, the trade association for the European photovoltaic industry, discusses efforts at European level to promote the deployment of agrivoltaic solutions. Finally, Antanas, Karbauskas, policy coordinator for economic sustainability for the Common Agricultural Policy at the European Commission's DG AGRI, discusses the possibilities for agrivoltaics in the current European regulatory framework and the potential of solar energy in agriculture.

Agriculture is worth around £1.7bn to the Northern Ireland economy, 4% of total economic activity, according to figures published by the Department for the Economy. This compares to farming comprising just 1% of the UK economy – so farming is worth four times more to our economy, proportionately, than to the rest of the UK.But it is a sector that is in transition and worried. Post-Brexit trade deals agreed by the UK with major agricultural economies Australia, New Zealand and South Africa caused anxiety. Further possible deals with Brazil and Canada are increasing that concern. The size of these countries' farms and farming businesses provide economies of scale that Northern Ireland farms can't match.The British government has pledged that new trade deals will not involve reductions in environmental protection, food standards or animal welfare. Some campaigners have expressed scepticism about this, at least in the longer term. No government can bind future governments. Both the Ulster Farmers Union and Britain's National Farmers Union have criticised these trade deals, which they argue damage UK farming interests.Currently around half of UK food consumption is domestically produced. Much of the meat sold by UK supermarkets is bought on international markets. The UK records a trade deficit in both the meat and dairy markets. Pre-Brexit, most agricultural exports were to EU member states.The dairy market represents a specific concern – with farmers selling milk at prices below the cost of production. A few weeks ago the Ulster Farmers' Union said that farmers were being paid 57 pence per two litre container of milk, out of a then typical £1.65 retail price. That £1.65 compares with farmers' production cost of 70 pence per two litres. So farmers are losing 13 pence for every two litres of milk they produce, whereas the retailers and processors between them take £1.08 per two litres in terms of their costs, plus margins.It should be explained that some of the processors are dairy co-ops, owned by farmers, though not necessarily controlled by farmers.Moreover, farmers receive additional income through farming support payments. Until Brexit, farmers here received Single Farm Payments, under the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy. Farmers in Northern Ireland can now claim under the Basic Payment Scheme. A total of £294m is available for payments to farmers who are farming at least three hectares of land – that is 30,000 square metres. The UK government is phasing-out direct payments for farmers in England over a seven year period, providing support instead through public payments for public good – which is focused on environmental protection and climate change mitigation measures.Northern Ireland is making similar changes. The Basic Payment System will be replaced in 2025 by the Farm Sustainability Payment, with new targets and conditions. A new Farm Support and Development Programme will be phased in, with payments reduced. Farmers will increasingly be paid for their environmental supports, along with resilience, efficiency improvement and supply chain development. The latest Holywell Conversations podcast discusses both the impact of Brexit and how farmers can manage the demands on them to meet environmental targets. Interviewees are William Taylor of Farmers for Action and John Gilliland, a former president of the Ulster Farmers Union and an environmental advisor to the agriculture sector.The podcast is available at the Holywell Trust website.  Disclaimer: This project has received support from the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council which aims to promote a pluralist society characterised by equity, respect for diversity, and recognition of interdependence. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the Community Relations Council. 

The Scottish Government has unveiled its long-awaited Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Bill. This will replace the Common Agricultural Policy and aims to deliver the adoption and use of sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices. To discuss the bill, I'll be joined later in the programme, by Nikki Yoxall, a member of Scotland's Agriculture Reform Implementation Oversight Board - by Andrew Connon, the vice president of the National Farmers Union, Scotland - and by Denise Walton, the chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network Scotland. Before that we'll hear from Elsie Blackshaw from the Rewildling Law Hub, and from Anna Woodley from Trinity Natural Capital Pro Council. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/farmgate/message

Nearly 4,000 farmers who farm common land in England face delays to being able to apply for - and therefore receive payments from - the Sustainable Farming Incentive, the most basic element of the Environmental Land Management Scheme which is to replace the EU's Common Agricultural Policy. A farm worker in Wiltshire shares his recent experience of what happened when he confronted hare coursers. And why there's growing interest in using flax for sustainable fashion. Presented by Caz Graham and produced by Rhiannon Fitz-Gerald.

EURACTIV's agrifood team brings you the latest from Strasbourg where MEPs voted their position on two important files for the future of the EU's agriculture: the industrial emissions directive and the nature restoration law. We take a deep dive into the latter along with EURACTIV's very own energy and environment reporter Kira Taylor and Olliver Moore, editor-in-chief of ARC2020.

This week, EURACTIV talks you through everything you need to know on the presentation of the Commission's ‘sustainable use of natural resources', and EURACTIV's Natasha Foote talks with Vice President Frans Timmermans about his message to farmers amid rising tensions over the EU's nature restoration plans and his vision for the future structure of the institutions dealing with food policy.

This week, EURACTIV's agrifood team debriefs the agriculture ministers' meeting in Luxembourg and looks ahead at the "Food and Biodiversity Package," a set of legislative proposals expected from the European Commission on Wednesday. Over in New York, Gerardo Fortuna spoke to Bayer's Rodrigo Santos and Axel Trautwein about regenerative agriculture and different regulatory approaches to agricultural policies.

Agriculture's impact on the environment remains one of the most controversial aspects of the Common Agricultural Policy. However, the European Union is moving progressively towards a greener, more sustainable way of farming that prioritises environmental considerations and where farmers become enablers of the green transition. Europe's citizens are increasingly demanding to know where their food comes from and how it's been produced. NGOs and ecological organisations are contributing their views to the debate and monitoring the implementation of policy in the EU's 27 Member States. Farmers, meanwhile, are stressing the need to ensure that change is steady and manageable rather than revolutionary. This latest podcast in the ‘Food for Europe' series looks at the environmental policies that emerged from the recent legislative process to reform the Common Agricultural Policy. Our guests on this programme include: Christian Wester, president of the Centrale Paysanne farmers' union in Luxembourg; Michael Pielke, acting director for sustainability in the European Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development; Célia Nyssens-James from the European Environmental Bureau; Elena Ambühl from Agroecology Europe; and Benoît Biteau, a Green MEP from France.

It's a landmark week for farming in Wales. Members of the Senedd, the Welsh parliament, have voted through the first ever ‘made in Wales' Agriculture Bill. It's the first of the devolved nations to vote through its own home-grown agriculture bill since the UK withdrew from the European Union and the CAP, or Common Agricultural Policy. The bill sets out the framework for future food and farming policy in Wales, including how farmers will be supported for the work they do as the old EU system of subsidies, based on the amount of land farmed, is phased out. All this week on Farming Today we're talking bacon, specifically the bacon butty and how the bacon in our butties gets from the pig to plate. We visit a meat processing plant in the South West to see how pigs are slaughtered The Silver Lapwing Award is one of the most prestigious and long standing accolades for farmers who are committed to making space for nature while running a working farm business. We meet last year's winner and the Welsh beef farmer who's been given the award this year. Presenter - Caz Graham Producer - Rebecca Rooney

This week, EURACTIV's agrifood team talks you through the leaked draft of one of the most contentious proposals from the European Commission in the past months: gene editing. EURACTIV's Paula Andres talks to Mette Uldahl, Vice President of the Federation of Veterinarians of Europe, about the state of animal welfare in EU farms and what is lacking.

This week, EURACTIV's agrifood team brings you an exclusive interview with Spain's agriculture minister, Luis Planas, who details the country's agricultural priorities ahead of the Spanish presidency starting in July. We also talk you through a leak of an additional Commission study on the EU's plans to slash the use and risk of pesticides in half by 2030, which was requested by EU member states, and last week's confusion over the Parliamentary vote on the EU's nature restoration law.

This week, EURACTIV's agrifood team talks you through the EU's decision to extend trade restrictions on select agricultural commodities coming from Ukraine and why this has proven controversial on both sides, and Gerardo Fortuna, together with EURACTIV's very own Transport Editor Sean Goulding, speaks with Indonesia's coordinating minister for economic affairs, Airlangga Hartanto, about palm oil. 

This week, EURACTIV's agrifood team talks you through the controversies at a recent meeting of EU agriculture ministers, including how the EU's agriculture Commissioner is increasingly prioritising Polish issues, and discusses the pushback to the EU's nature restoration law, both within the institution and around it. EURACTIV's Julia Dahm also speaks to Annette Schneegans and Kerstin Rosenow from the Commission's DG AGRI about the EU's upcoming soil health law.

This week, EURACTIV's agrifood team walks you through two key votes in the European Parliament on the nature restoration law and EU rules to slash industrial emissions and EURACTIV's Natasha Foote speaks with Helmut Burtscher-Schaden from the Austrian environmental NGO GLOBAL 2000 about how the environmental exemptions in the CAP, which were taken to help boost food production, failed to live up to their promises.

This week, EURACTIV's agrifood team brings you to a young farmers' conference discussing sustainability in agriculture, where EURACTIV also spoke to EU's Green Deal chief Frans Timmermans. EURACTIV's Julia Dahm walks you through the potential voluntary animal welfare labelling system in the context of the upcoming revision of the Commission's animal welfare rules.

This week, EURACTIV's agrifood team brings you all you need to know on the centre-right's attack on the agricultural parts of the EU Green Deal, including the EU's plans to slash the use and risk of pesticides and the EU's nature restoration law, and EURACTIV's Natasha Foote speaks to liberal MEP and chair of the European Parliament's environment committee, Pascal Canfin, to hear his take on the development.

This week, EURACTIV's agrifood team tells the story of a Portuguese delicacy that has a strong, unsuspecting link with a foundational moment of the EU's integration process. We also spoke with French liberal MEP Irène Tolleret about a proposal filed by a coalition of EU lawmakers to proclaim 2024 as the European Year devoted to ‘sustainable and resilient food systems'.

This week, EURACTIV's Natasha Foote explores the fallout of the unilateral decision of frontline EU countries to ban agricultural imports from Ukraine with the help of Ukraine's deputy agricultural minister, Markiyan Dmytrasevych, who explains the impact of the decision on Ukrainian farmers and how he sees it playing into Russia's hands.EURACTIV also speaks with Romanian agricultural expert, Cezar Gheorghe, who talks us through the lead up to this decision and what he thinks the future holds.

Welcome to The Nonlinear Library, where we use Text-to-Speech software to convert the best writing from the Rationalist and EA communities into audio. This is: On being compromised, published by Gavin on January 5, 2023 on The Effective Altruism Forum. Only the young and the saints are uncompromised. Everyone else has tried to do something in the world and eventually slipped up (or just been associated with someone else who slipped up). Say that you are compromised if it is easy for someone to shame you. This takes lots of forms: "We are all sinners", say the Christians. "We are all privileged", say the identitarians. "We all have some self-serving motives", says everyone sensible. "Even just living quietly we destroy things", say the environmentalists. "Even our noblest actions fall horribly short of the mark", say the EAs. Lots of people on this forum have struggled with the feeling of being compromised. Since FTX. Or Leverage. Or Guzey. Or Thiel. Or Singer. Or Mill or whatever. But this is the normal course of a life, including highly moral lives. (Part of this normality comes from shame usually being a common sense matter - and common sense morals correlate with actual harm, but are often wrong in the precise ways this movement is devoted to countering!) But the greater part of it being normal is that all action incurs risk, including moral risk. We do our best to avoid them (and in my experience grantmakers are vigilant about negative EV things), but you can't avoid it entirely. (Again: total inaction also does not avoid it.) Empirically, this risk level is high enough that nearly everyone eventually bites it. e.g. The EU is a Nobel peace prize winning organisation you might have heard of. But their Common Agricultural Policy causes billions of dollars of damage to poor-world farmers, and has been called a "crime against humanity". Mother Theresa's well-resourced clinics and hospices were remarkably incompetent and rarely prescribed pain medication, apparently under the belief that suffering brings us closer to God. Gandhi's (and Nehru's) economic policies perpetuated poverty to the tune of millions of dead children equivalents. The American labour hero Cesar Chavez sold out undocumented Mexicans and opposed immigration in a classic protectionist scheme. The Vatican. and so on. Despite appearances, this isn't a tu quoque defence of FTX! The point is to set the occasionally appropriate recriminations of the last month in context. You will make mistakes, and people will rightly hold you to them. It will feel terrible. If you join a movement it will embarrass you eventually. Sorry. (Someone could use the above argument to licence risky behaviour - "in for a penny". But of course, like anything, being compromised is a matter of degree. Higher degrees are to be avoided fervently, insofar as they are downstream of actual harm, which they probably are.) You might think that the idle (like the chattering classes) aren't compromised, but they are. They stood by while the millions suffered, despite their remarkable power to help. Quite true, since we are all living now rather than say under feudalism. Maybe this sounds like a strawman to you, but consider our disdain for Mackenzie Scott giving her wealth to poor and artsy Americans. Bentham is perhaps the second most-demonised consequentialist - and yet he strikes me as nearly uncompromised. His much-mooted imperialism is not one, for instance. The most you can say is that he was a bit naive about state power, privacy, legibility. What's a prior then, if the incidence is 99%? Say 70 years in which to disgrace yourself. How many actions per year? Well, one tweet can do it, so potentially thousands. Call it 300. 99% / 21000 = a 0.005% risk of compromise per-action. Clearly a very fragile estimate. He was also very racist, but this isn't the sort of thing that can plausibly fall under understandable moral risk. also sometimes wrongly I await a quantification of compromise, so that ...

A new Common Agricultural Policy for the EU and farmers talking farming. Minette Batters choses former president of the National Farmers' Union, Lord Henry Plumb, for Great Lives with Matthew Parris. Presented by Charlotte Smith and produced by Beatrice Fenton.

Environmental Land Management schemes (ELMs) are being introduced in England to replace the subsidies paid under the EU's Common Agricultural Policy. In this programme, we visit one of 22 pilot projects for the "Landscape Recovery" scheme. A group of 50 farmers and landowners in the north east Cotswolds are being paid to make changes across over 3,000 hectares along a river catchment with the aim of improving water quality, increasing biodiversity and contributing to the prevention of urban flooding downstream. Although the pilot is worth £500,000, the group are confident they will attract much more funding from private finance. Presented and produced for BBC Audio in Bristol by Heather Simons

A conversation with Hervé Dupied Bokx, who currently works on a farm in France and at a university for farmers and, most importantly, on changing the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). We talk about policies, the CAP, which spends most of the European budget on a not very regenerative way of farming, and more.---------------------------------------------------Join our Gumroad community, discover the tiers and benefits on www.gumroad.com/investinginregenag. Support our work:Share itGive a 5-star ratingBuy us a coffee… or a meal! www.Ko-fi.com/regenerativeagriculture----------------------------------------------------What is needed to change one of the largest farming subsidy schemes in the world? What pathways and successful examples do we have of European policy change? This is a much more optimistic and practical interview than you might imagine. It is about how to gather the pioneers of the regenerative and agroecology movement who against all odds and subsidies build very successful food and agriculture companies. How do we empower them to replicate their success and how do we create a strong enough voice in Brussels to change the rules of the game?More about this episode on https://investinginregenerativeagriculture.com/herve-dupied.Find our video course on https://investinginregenerativeagriculture.com/course.----------------------------------------------------The above references an opinion and is for information and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice. Seek a duly licensed professional for investment advice. Support the showFeedback, ideas, suggestions? - Twitter @KoenvanSeijen - Get in touch www.investinginregenerativeagriculture.comJoin our newsletter on www.eepurl.com/cxU33P! Support the showThanks for listening and sharing!

In this episode we speak to Minister of State for Land Use and Biodiversity - Pippa Hackett. For context, Pippa Hackett rapidly ascended the political strata in Ireland. An organic farmer, Pippa quickly became the Green Party Agricultural Spokesperson after joining the party, she then secured a council seat in Offaly (the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael heartland). Following that she was nominated to The Senate which was immediately followed by securing her ministerial position at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. Our interview with Minister Hackett focuses on various national policy topics including; Forestry Policy, Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Agriculture and Climate Action which don't often serve birds and biodiversity well. Nominated by the minister herself, we look at the woodland specialist, the Jay for our Bird of the Week. In Your Nature is produced in partnership with the Heritage Offices of Laois and Offaly County Councils, supported by the Heritage Council and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and is edited by Ciarán O'Connor. 

The Clare-based Chair of the Irish Farmers Of Ireland doesn't want to see Charlie McConalogue retain the position of Agriculture Minister in December's Cabinet reshuffle. Minister McConalogue has confirmed his desire to remain in the role, however no commitment has yet been given by the Taoiseach in relation to the post. This week Cabinet formally approved an almost 10 billion euro package of payments to farmers under the Common Agricultural Policy, however fears have been expressed that the new policy could drive down food production. Kilmurry McMahon farmer Seamus Shannon believes Minister McConalogue has done 'irreparable' damage to the industry.

Joe Mag Raollaigh, our Agriculture correspondent has the details.

The RSPB and Greenpeace say they have evidence of illegal burning of peatlands. Burning peat was banned in protected areas and where the peat is deep last year, as part of government efforts to protect and restore peatlands which sequester carbon. Traditionally some have been routinely burnt to create the right habitat for grouse and also to prevent wildfires. But conservationists say they've reported 79 cases of possible illegal peat burning. Applications for the Sustainable Farming Incentive open later this week. It's the first phase of England's replacement for the EU's Common Agricultural Policy: farmers will be paid for the public goods they provide. This is a massive change and there is help and advice for farmers as they make the transition. In Devon, a business advice service - the Business Information Point - has been running a series of free workshops to get farmers up to speed. One of them is about soil, and how to improve it. What impact will climate change have on farming in the future? Met Office scientists have been studying the impacts on everything from producing livestock, to growing crops, disease and drought. Presenter = Charlotte Smith Producer = Rebecca Rooney

¿Qué balance podemos hacer de la Política Agraria Común, más de medio siglo después de su nacimiento? ¿Se trata de una ilustración de las virtudes del modelo europeo de capitalismo coordinado, frente al modelo estadounidense de capitalismo liberal? ¿O se trata, por el contrario, de una amalgama incoherente de medidas que genera numerosos impactos negativos y parece haber escapado al control de sus propios creadores, al estilo del monstruo de Frankenstein? En Capitalismo coordinado o monstruo de Frankenstein? La Política Agraria Común y el modelo europeo, 1962-2020, Fernando Collantes utiliza un enfoque de socioeconomía histórica para responder estas preguntas. El primer capítulo ofrece un marco conceptual para el análisis, basado en la noción de variedades de capitalismo, y revisa el estado de la cuestión sobre la PAC. El segundo capítulo describe las principales medidas que han compuesto la PAC, diferenciando entre la PAC basada en la intervención de los mercados (1962-1992) y la PAC basada en las subvenciones directas a agricultores (1992-presente). Los siguientes dos capítulos se enfrentan entonces a las preguntas planteadas al comienzo. El capítulo tercero pone en duda la validez de la imagen, con frecuencia transmitida por los economistas liberales, de la PAC como un monstruo de Frankenstein. La PAC ha generado costes para los europeos, como consumidores y como contribuyentes, y también ha generado impactos negativos sobre terceros países, pero estos costes e impactos han sido más moderados de lo que generalmente se da a entender. El capítulo cuarto, por su parte, cuestiona la imagen alternativa, a menudo propuesta por la Comisión, de la PAC como una encarnación de las virtudes de la tradición europea de capitalismo coordinado. La idea de que la PAC ha insertado valores políticos como la equidad social, la sostenibilidad medioambiental o la cohesión territorial en el funcionamiento del capitalismo agrario europeo resulta ser un mito de mayores proporciones aún. El quinto capítulo se adentra en el análisis de las causas de este sombrío balance, identificando las fuentes de deformación del proceso político de la PAC a lo largo de su historia. Este libro no critica la PAC desde la óptica liberal según la cual la mayor parte de intervenciones públicas en la economía generan ineficiencias y, por lo tanto, son negativas. La PAC no es la demostración de unas limitaciones supuestamente inherentes al modelo europeo de capitalismo coordinado. En realidad, es dudoso que una alternativa liberal tuviera mejores resultados sociales, medioambientales o territoriales. El problema de la PAC es la baja calidad de la coordinación que introduce en el funcionamiento del capitalismo europeo. La respuesta al euro-escepticismo que se extiende por todo el continente no puede consistir en apelar ingenuamente a unas virtudes con frecuencia no demostradas del proyecto europeo, sino que debe basarse en una profunda reforma de las instituciones y políticas de la Unión.  [Edición en inglés: The political economy of the Common Agricultural Policy: coordinated capitalism or bureaucratic monster? Abingdon: Routledge, 2020] Entrevista por Elisa Botella-Rodríguez Profesora Contratada Doctora, Departamento de Economía e Historia Económica e Instituto de Iberoamérica, Universidad de Salamanca

The Eurointelligence team discusses Le Pen, Macron and Merkel's recent faceplants, the politics of quarantines, and unrealistic climate targets. 

#VoteDownThisCap, a "machine for extinction", the "worst deal possible for the planet", the recent vote in the European Parliament on the Common Agricultural Policy has been called many things. This pillar of the European Union (think €400 billion over 6 years) is not only significant financially speaking, it's also an essential tool to achieve our climate and sustainability ambitions. See, the agricultural sector is one of the worst contributor to climate breakdown and biodiversity loss in Europe. Meanwhile, farmers are struggling to make a living across the continent without turning to intensive farming. So in a context of Green Deal and ecological crisis, the vote on the proposed new CAP was crucial. Unfortunately, the deal that was approved by MEPs was heavily criticised by Greens, NGOs, activists, scientists and some farmers alike and led to an unprecedented social media campaign to vote it down. So to understand better what's at stake with this CAP, why the proposed policy was so terrible for people and the planet and what are the next steps to ensure agriculture is fully part of the solution to the ecological crisis, we rushed to talk to Harriet  Bradley at BirdLife Europe and Adélaide Charlier, a youth climate activist and initiator of the #VoteDownThisCap campaign alongside Greta Thunberg.In this episode we talk about what led to this deal being proposed, what does it include, how influential lobbies were but we also talk about hope, what could come next and why citizen power is needed more than ever!