Tag Archives: Agriculture

Public Goods for Public Money

“Public Goods for Public Money” has become a bit of a mantra, not just for me, but for a wide range of organisations and individuals fed up with one failed reform of the Common Agricultural Policy after another. I was … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, biodiversity, Common Agricultural Policy, European environment policy, public goods | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Death of Greening

Remember the European Commission’s much vaunted proposals to “green” the Common Agricultural Policy? The idea was that, to show the European public (who pay for the farming subsidies the CAP hands out) that their money really was being spent on … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, Common Agricultural Policy, Greening, NFU, public goods | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Conservation needs Change

This a continuation of the series of blogs stimulated by the re-wilding and conservation debate at the Linnean Society on Wednesday. I looked at how people’s relationship with nature has evolved to the point now where we can more or … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, animism, Beavers, biodiversity, Common Agricultural Policy, conservation, ecosystem services, environmental policy, European environment policy, farming, Floodplains, Forestry, Forestry Commission, greenspace, housing, management, neoliberalism, NFU, Owen Paterson, public goods, public land, regulatory reform, semi-natural | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The Age of Can Do

Here’s the piece Mark Avery published on his blog this morning. It encompasses some of the thinking I’ve been doing in preparation for this evening’s debate. Let me know what you think. Can Do We are living in the age … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, animism, biodiversity, climate change, conservation, ecosystem services, environmental policy, farming, George Monbiot, grazing, management, Mesolithic, neoliberalism, rewilding, semi-natural, straight tusked elephant, wolves | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Today’s Blog

Here’s the link to today’s blog, which is on Mark Avery’s website.  

Posted in agriculture, biodiversity, climate change, conservation, environmental policy, farming, fishing, George Monbiot, management, rewilding, semi-natural, spiritual value | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Goodbye Peter Kendall

Peter Kendall, President of the National Farmers Union, has announced his intention to retire from the role next February. I for one, will miss him – simply because he provides me with so many easy blogs to write. Peter is … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, anti conservation rhetoric, anti-environmental rhetoric, badgers, bees, biodiversity, Common Agricultural Policy, deregulation, environmental policy, farming, NFU, Peter Kendall, public goods, regulatory reform | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Party Time 2: Owen Paterson’s Speech at the Tory Party Conference

I don’t have time to write an analysis of Owen Paterson’s speech at the Conservative Party Conference, but you can read it here. I’ll try and take a look at it this evening. At a fringe meeting Paterson also appeared … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, Common Agricultural Policy, Conservative Party Conference, farming, Owen Paterson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Barberries and Badgers

Amid all the hysteria and anger around the Badger Cull, which has now commenced, I might be accused of jumping on the bandwagon. Well OK, maybe, though I have done work in the past on the badger issue, researching and … Continue reading

Posted in agricultural pests, agriculture, badgers, barberry, biodiversity, environmental policy, farming, invasive species, Owen Paterson | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

GMOs again: the myth of herbicide tolerant crops

A more serious GMO story after yesterday’s frippery. One of the many myths about GMOs, and one which Owen Paterson used in his GMO lobbying speech earlier this week, is that GMOs will be friendlier to the environment because they … Continue reading

Posted in agriculture, farming, GMOs, herbicide resistant weeds, herbicide tolerant crops, Owen Paterson, rubbish weather | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

GMOs can bring Owen Paterson and George Monbiot together

Has our esteemed Secretary of State for the Environment Owen Paterson been reading George Monbiot’s new book Feral, where he rewilds himself in order to attain an enlightened state that reveals a vision of a rewilded future? For me this … Continue reading

Posted in climate change, farming, George Monbiot, GMOs, Owen Paterson, rewilding | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments