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Bird populations across Europe have experienced a sharp decline over the past 30 years due to modern farming methods and the loss of habitats, according to a new study that brought together data on 144 species from thousands of scientific surveys in 25 countries. The study, published in the journal "Ecology Letters", suggest that bird populations have dropped by 421 million across Europe since 1980, with 90% of the losses from the 36 most common bird species, including sparrows, skylarks and starlings. Dr Richard Inger, an ecologist at the University of Exeter who led the study, said: “It is very worrying that the most common species of bird are declining rapidly because it is these groups of birds that people benefit from the most.” Birds provide key ecosystem services. They help to control agricultural pests and play a vital role in decomposition, pollination and seed dispersal. The authors say the decline in bird populations can be linked to agricultural intensification, deterioration of the quality of the environment and habitat fragmentation, which has reduced areas that birds need for feeding and nesting. According to the study, conservation efforts tend to be focused on rarer species, such as white storks, whose populations are now increasing. However, measures should also address issues affecting common birds, for example those traditionally associated with farmland, since they exist in higher numbers and play a bigger role in maintaining the ecosystem. The authors stress the need for greater funding and efforts to protect common bird species, such as changing farming practices, implementing effective agri-environment schemes and increasing green spaces in urban areas.

The European Patent Office (EPO) has already granted several thousand patents on plants and seeds, with an increasing number of patents on plants and seeds derived from conventional breeding, according to a new report published by the international coalition “No Patents on Seeds!” If politicians don’t ensure that these kind of patents are prohibited, our daily food will soon be controlled by big corporations and the patent industry, the report warns. Since the 1980s, around 2400 patents on plants and 1400 patents on animals have been granted in Europe. The EPO has granted more than 120 patents on conventional breeding and about 1000 such patent applications are pending. The scope of many of these patents often covers the whole food chain from production to consumption. The report gives an overview of patents granted in 2013 and early 2014, including a patent on conventionally bred peppers derived from wild, insect-resistant varieties from Jamaica. The patent granted to Syngenta covers the plants, fruits and seeds and even claims the growing and harvesting of the plants as an invention. The EPO also granted a patent to Monsanto on screening and selecting soybean plants adapted to certain climate zones, concerning wild relatives of soybeans found in Asia and Australia. This gives Monsanto a monopoly on the future usage of hundreds of natural DNA sequence variations in the conventional breeding of soybeans. “Industry together with the EPO is the driving factors turning the patent system into an instrument for misappropriation of basic resources needed to produce our daily food. They are selling out the future of our food”, warns Christoph Then, one of the authors of the report. According to European patent law, plant and animal varieties as well as conventional methods of plant and animal breeding cannot be patented. With its decision, the EPO has “intentionally created a situation full of legal absurdities that allows prohibitions to be circumvented”, serving the interests of multinationals such as Monsanto, Dupont and Syngenta who already control more than 50% of the international commercial seed market.

A Dutch team has developed a potato crop through traditional breeding methods that is tolerant to salt water. Their project beat more than 500 competitors from 90 countries to win an award sponsored by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Inspired by sea kale, Dutch farmer Marc van Rijsselberghe set up Salt Farm Texel in the north of the Netherlands and collaborated with Dr Arjen de Vos from the Free University in Amsterdam to look at the possibility of cultivating crops using non-fresh water. “The world’s water is 89% salinated, 50% of agricultural land is threatened by salt water, and there are millions of people living in salt-contaminated areas. Up until now everyone has been concentrating on how to turn the salt water into fresh water; we are looking at what nature has already provided us with”, van Rijsselberghe told the Guardian. The process of desalination is expensive and requires much energy. The salt-tolerant potato plants, however, were watered with diluted sea water. The variety is four times more salt tolerant than regular potato varieties. The project used a trial and error approach and then screened different potato cultivars of which only two showed increased salt tolerance and were used for further development of the saline potato. Some of the Texel seed potatoes are already on their way to Pakistan where 4.2 million hectares of land is salt affected and farmers are often forced to use brackish groundwater to water their crops, which reduces yields and the quality of the crops. If the potatoes adapt to the Asian climate, they could transform the lives of farmers not only in Pakistan. According to Dutch team, there is no risk of overdosing on salt when eating crops fed by sea water. “What we find is that, if you tease a plant with salt, it compensates with more sugar,” said de Vos. The salt is mostly retained in the leaves of the plant. Peter Melchett, policy director of Soil Association, welcomed the new potato variety: “This is another example of conventional breeding beating GM technology by years. These non-GM salt-tolerant potatoes are already being grown yet ‘saline tolerance’ has always been one of the great (as yet unfulfilled) promises of pro-GM campaigners.”

The world’s food security and environmental sustainability depend on the more than 500 million family farms that form the backbone of agriculture in most countries. This is the key message of a new report published today by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on the occasion of World Food Day. According to “The State of Food and Agriculture 2014” report, 90% of the world's 570 million farms are managed by families, making them the predominant form of agriculture. Family farms produce about 80% of the world's food and are custodians of about 75% of all agricultural resources. The FAO report offers a lot of details about the size and distribution of agricultural holdings: 72% of the world's farms are less than one hectare in size but control only 8% of all agricultural land. Farms between 1 and 2 hectares account for 12% of all farms and control 4% of the land. In contrast, only 1% of all farms in the world are larger than 50 hectares, but they control 65% of the world’s agricultural land. The report says that small farms produce a higher share of the world's food relative to the share of land they use, as they tend to have higher yields than larger farms within the same countries and agro- ecological conditions. However, many smaller farms are unable to produce enough to provide decent livelihoods for the families. The FAO says that family farms face the “triple challenge” of increasing yields “to meet the world’s need for food security”, achieving “environmental sustainability to protect the planet” and increasing productivity and diversifying livelihoods to lift themselves out of poverty and hunger. The report argues that family farmers must innovate and improve their production and agricultural practices. However, innovation systems must take the diversity of family farms into account.

The UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS), the central and most inclusive intergovernmental and multi-stakeholder platform for food security and nutrition, yesterday adopted the Principles on Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (RAI). UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the endorsement, praising the principles as a “new point of reference for all, providing guidance to governments, investors, businesses, farmers, local communities, intergovernmental organisations and civil society organisations.” Non-governmental organisation, however, doubt that the principles will live up to their objective of promoting responsible investment in agriculture and food systems that contribute to food security and nutrition. According to Oxfam, they are too weak, vague and in a number of areas actually worse than the standards that already exist. “Unscrupulous investors could find ways to use the principles to cover irresponsible deals”, Oxfam spokesperson Thierry Kesteloot said. He criticises that the principles put trade interests before human rights. The CFS civil society mechanism shares this concern, stating that human rights are undermined by repeated references that seek to subordinate human rights to trade agreements and rules. Moreover, the term ‘smallholders’ used in the document leaves out the millions of people who are landless but deeply involved in agricultural investment. Civil society also highlights the document’s failure to acknowledge that different production systems have different environmental impacts, allowing business as usual for agricultural practices that damage people and the planet.“While it claims to promote agroecology, it also supports ‘sustainable intensification’, which is a euphemism for chemical intensive agriculture,” said Gilbert Sape of the Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific. The civil society mechanism warned the principles “will not help small-scale food producers and workers overcome the economic, environmental and political constraints that hamper their capacities, and they will not assist people who are struggling to defend their land, seeds and territories.” The principles have been developed over the past two years by a wide range of stakeholders; the final adoption was the responsibility of the CFS Member States.

Global food security and the human right to food remain seriously threatened by the concentration of land ownership and corporate domination of food systems, according to a new report launched last week. The “Right to Food and Nutrition Watch 2014” was officially presented at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome with the participation of the new UN Special Rapporteur for the Right to Food, Dr. Hilal Elver. It marks the ten-year anniversary of the Right to Food Guidelines, adopted by the FAO in 2004. "As we celebrate the progress made over the past decade, it is important to keep in mind that we will have to work even harder to realise the right to food in order that hunger and malnutrition no longer afflict humanity", Dr. Elver said. The report highlights the growing influence of companies in global food and nutrition governance as a major challenge: Multinational food corporations influence what ends up on peoples’ plates, leading to a higher consumption of processed foods. These unhealthy diets contribute to obesity and malnutrition in both industrialised and developing countries. At the same time, agribusiness and financial investors are taking control of natural resources. In Mali, for example, one million hectares of land have been appropriated in recent years, depriving small-scale food producers of their livelihoods. The expansion of mining in Sweden and the consequences for small-scale food producers - a topic also covered by the report - shows that land grabbing is a global phenomenon. The Watch analyses the “gains, concerns and struggles” in the years since the Guidelines on the Right to Food were approved and calls on governments to actively address the inequities in food systems. According to the authors, democratic institutions and mechanisms are needed that give those most affected by hunger a say in policy-making. The Right to Food and Nutrition Watch is published each year by a network of organisations, including FIAN International and the German development service Bread for the World.

An African civil society group has expressed concerns about the recent acquisitions of African seed companies by multinational biotech giants, warning against a “neo-colonial occupation of Africa’s seed systems”. The Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) said in a 7 October press release that large parts of SeedCo, one of Africa’s largest home-grown seed companies, have been acquired by foreign companies. According to the statement, SeedCo has agreed to sell 49% of its shares in Africa’s only cottonseed company, Quton, to Mahyco, an Indian company. Mahyco is 26% owned by Monsanto and has a 50-50 joint venture to sub-license Monsanto’s genetically modified (GM) bt cotton traits in India, AFSA said. Another deal involves the French seed giant Groupe Limagrain, which has invested up to US$60 million for a 28% stake in SeedCo. These acquisitions follow on Syngenta’s take-over in 2013 of Zambian seed company MRI Seed, whose maize germplasm collection was considered to be amongst Africa’s most comprehensive and diverse. “Attracting foreign investment from the world’s largest seed companies (...) is an inevitable consequence of the fierce drive to commercialise agriculture in Africa”, AFSA warns. Taken together, three of the world’s largest biotech giants, Monsanto, DuPont and Syngenta, now have a significant foothold on the continent in markets for two of the three major global GM crop varieties: maize and cotton.

International efforts to meet a set of targets agreed in 2010 to halt the loss of wildlife and habitats are failing miserably, a new UN report found. The Global Biodiversity Outlook, published at the start of a biodiversity meeting in South Korea on Monday, shows that governments are failing to meet most of the 53 goals set for 2020 in the Convention on Biological Diversity. The signatory states are only on track to meet five goals, for example the goal of setting set aside 17% of the world's land area by 2020 in protected areas for wildlife. 33 targets show some progress, but at an insufficient rate to meet the targets, while the rest show no progress at all or the situation is getting worse. Nations are lagging behind when it comes to halving the rate of loss of natural habitats, including forests, or preventing the extinction of threatened species. “Despite individual success stories, the average risk of extinction for birds, mammals and amphibians is still increasing”, the report said. At the same time, genetic diversity of domesticated livestock is eroding, with more than one-fifth of breeds at risk of extinction. Wild relatives of domesticated crop species are increasingly threatened by habitat fragmentation and climate change. The report called for an increased focus on agriculture, for instance by limiting the over-use of fertilisers since nitrogen and phosphorus pollution continues to pose a very significant threat to biodiversity. According to the report, 70% of the projected loss of terrestrial biodiversity is caused by drivers linked to agriculture. “Addressing trends in food systems is therefore crucial in determining whether the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 will succeed. Solutions for achieving sustainable farming and food systems include sustainable productivity increases by restoring ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes, reducing waste and losses in supply chains, and addressing shifts in consumption patterns“, the authors conclude.

In the United Kingdom, the number of vegetarians is increasing. A new survey reveals that 12% of British adults now follow vegetarian or vegan diets - rising to 20% of those aged between 16 and 24. According to research group Mintel, millions more are cutting back substantially on the amount of meat they eat. “The meat alternative market will continue to be driven by an emerging consumer trend towards meat reduction on a part-time basis, also called flexitarianism, entailing increased consumption of plant-based foods without completely cutting out meat”, said Laura Jones, food science analyst for Mintel. In the UK alone, this has led to a booming £625 million-a-year market for meat-free products in 2013, up from £543 million in 2009. The study also claims that more products than ever are showcasing vegetarian credentials: 12% of all new food and drink products launched in Britain in 2013 carried a vegetarian claim, up from 6% in 2009. This includes chocolate and confectionary products which now avoid using animal-based ingredients. Mintel’s report, published yesterday on World Vegetarian Day, reveals that 48% of Britons regard meat-free products as environmentally friendly and 52% see them as healthy.

As the seventh round of EU-U.S. negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) agreement kicks off in Washington today, fears are growing that the proposed trade deal will lead to food contaminated with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) being allowed into Europe for human consumption, despite public affirmations that food safety standards would be maintained. According to Friends of the Earth Europe, analysis from recently completed trade negotiations with Canada - seen as a model for TTIP - suggests that the EU has already agreed to co-operate with Canada, allowing low levels of GMO contamination in food and seed. The campaign group says that a leaked letter from the EU's former food safety chief signals a willingness to increase imports of GM rapeseed as part of the Canadian trade deal. “Once Europe has accepted low levels of GM contamination, there is a real risk that the existing protection will be whittled away. This trade deal agreed with Canada shows that the EU negotiators are too happy to trade away citizens' rights and environmental protections in order to benefit industry”, says Friends of the Earth Europe food campaigner Mute Schimpf. The proposed TTIP would be the biggest free trade deal in history. US negotiators and industry lobbyists have been pushing for weaker rules on GM imports, arguing that the EU’s current “zero tolerance” rule on GMOs is a barrier to trade, and damages business for US exporters. Mrs Schimpf warns that the biotech industry is using their lobby power in what she calls a “Trojan horse trade deal” to open up the European market to foods contaminated with GMOs.