By 2040, the EU's agricultural sector should be able to cut non-CO2 emissions by at least 30% compared to 2015 levels, with livestock and fertiliser use key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a draft communication on the 2040 EU climate target states.
The European Parliament voted on Thursday (18 January) in favour of two own-initiative reports on EU fisheries pushed by the conservative EPP, which drop some environmental bans and focus on fleet competitiveness, effectively calling for a reform of the bloc's Common Fisheries Policy.
Thirty European food chain organisations covering the entire chain have received an official invitation for a strategic dialogue with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 25 January, industry sources told Euractiv.
Food companies will be forced to justify claims such as carbon neutral under newly proposed plans from the European Commission as criticisms mount over the ‘rampant’ greenwashing found on supermarket shelves - but farmers warn plans must be fine-tuned for the specificities of the food sector.
With the EU's new packaging law open to lawmakers' opinions, farmers and industry are questioning the environmental and socioeconomic impacts of the proposal while green groups warn against a 'zero-sum approach' to the matter.
The European Union should oppose what could become the world's first octopus farm, two organisations said after plans for what they have termed a 'cruel' project to be located in the Canary Islands were announced.
The Flemish region of Belgium, Flanders, will no longer force-feed animals to produce foie gras as the region after its last foie gras production plant closed at the start of 2023.
China has lifted its 2020 ban on the import of Irish beef, putting the longstanding issue to rest and reopening a multimillion-euro market for Irish farmers.
To tackle the problem of food waste, German Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir is looking to decriminalise the practice of rescuing food from rubbish containers, including outside supermarkets, called dumpster diving.
The European Commission presented its annual working plan to help agri-food producers promote their products in the EU and abroad, with a focus on sustainability, quality, animal welfare, and healthy eating habits.
The EU’s ambition to hold third countries' food imports to its own sustainability standards has been met with consternation as stakeholders sounded the alarm in key trading partners, including Brazil and the US.
Sales of antibiotics used for animal use have almost halved between 2011-2021, according to a new report issued by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), putting the EU on track to attain its ambitions, but with a warning that the sector should not become complacent.
Farming initiatives at COP27 will be dominated by agri-business players and will lack farmers’ voices, sustainable campaigners and small-holders organisations have warned ahead of the global summit’s day devoted to agriculture.
Germany will further restrict the transport of live animals to countries outside the EU, but without EU-wide regulation, the Agriculture Ministry's push could remain ineffective.
Animal transportation times should be cut to reduce the risk of spreading antimicrobial resistance, according to a new scientific opinion from the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).
The German cabinet approved Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir's bill for a mandatory animal welfare label on Wednesday (12 October), but the opposition and farming associations warn of inconsistencies within the EU single market.
EU countries' lack of cohesion in prioritising the agri-food sector for gas supply is sparking concerns of market disruptions among industry stakeholders while experts stress member states must coordinate to ensure consistency.
Soaring energy bills have sent the EU’s horticulture sector scrambling to save their produce just as harvest time hits, leaving some debating whether to simply leave their crops to rot - and even whether to continue growing in the future.
The battle for fertiliser, a vital commodity for food production, has emerged as one of the by-products of the Russia/Ukraine conflict, leaving states in Europe and elsewhere scrambling for alternative suppliers. Though alternatives exist there is no obvious quick fix.
A virtual meeting between German Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir and the country's associations on Wednesday (29 June) kick-started the development of a sustainable and healthy nutrition strategy, though expectations differ widely on the details.
Lawmakers and stakeholders close to the agriculture community accused the EU executive of being disconnected from reality and creating additional bureaucracy after presenting new rules to curb pollution in the industrial sector.
Despite relatively low immediate consumption, European citizens assume a high quantity of soy indirectly mostly because of its use as animal feed, a report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has found.
Commission Vice-President Frans Timmermans stood up for the Green Deal objectives in the EU's farming policy despite the calls of prioritising food security aspects in the wake of supply disruptions caused by the Ukraine war.
The European Parliament has declared foie gras production respectful of animal welfare criteria in a new report, despite previously demanding a ban on force-feeding, which was called “cruel and unnecessary”. EURACTIV explores what is behind this change of heart.
