As storm Desmond descended on the 5th of December, a gathering was taking place at Whitmuir Farm just south of Edinburgh. The yurt on the hill, where we sheltered, shook so much in the wind we could barely hear each other speak. Fearing loose branches from the
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The Food Standards Scotland (FSS) agreed today to advise the Scottish Government that the Scottish Dietary Goals should be updated. The FSS took over responsibilities from the UK-wide Food Standards Agency in April this year as a new public sector food body to provide independent information and advice
Read more →What does the Common of Common Agricultural Policy really mean? Very basically, it means that in the late 1950s, the then 6 members of the European Economic Community decided to create a common market for certain agricultural products, and by the same token agreed to agree on
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You don’t often see farmers or food producers on stage. You definitely never see a Peruvian Cherimoya farmer, a South African fisherman, a Sri Lankan rice grower and a Dutch pig farmer together on one stage. The ‘Farmers in the Spotlight’ session on the third day of
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By Bella Crowe Over the last few days, we’ve been hearing about why people farm: “You can live without so many things in this world, all this technology, but you cannot live without food. That’s why I farm”, Camara Mohamed from Mali. We’ve also heard about the
Read more →The Common Agricultural Policy, also known as the CAP, has since its inception in the early 1960s been the largest common policy of the European Union, in terms of budget and of impact. It initially achieved its stated objectives very successfully: raising farmers’ incomes and ending hunger
Read more →Benefit sanctions leave the most vulnerable in society with no money whatsoever. In a battle between hunger and crime, many have stolen small amounts of food to feed themselves and their family. New compulsory court fines mean that people found guilty of stealing food who cannot pay
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By Bella Crowe When we talk about the food system, we are talking about gender, we are talking about racism, we are talking about capitalism. This has rung loud and clear throughout the last few days here at We Feed the Planet, with discussions on the commons,
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Who feeds Scotland? Who now, and in the future? How we can feed ourselves better? What is farming for? And where should farming be going? In June 2015 the Scottish Government released a discussion document, The Future of Scottish Agriculture, setting out a vision and strategy for
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That’s how Joris Lohman, the chair of the Slow Food Youth Network, opened We Feed The Planet in Milan. And he’s probably right. We are more than 2000 young people, from over 120 countries. There’s a Bavarian butcher. An Argentinian fisherwoman. A delegation from Kyrgyzstan wearing their traditional
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