Natasha Foote

EU lawmakers have been locked in intense negotiations for months on loosening rules on the use of new genetic technologies in plant breeding. But talks are stalling on one particularly sticky issue. So why have patents become so central in this story, and what would it mean for farmers and breeders if lawmakers get their way on permitting patents? Natasha Foote digs in. EU lawmakers have been locked in intense negotiations for months on loosening rules on the use of new genetic technologies in plant breeding. But talks are stalling on one particularly sticky issue. So why have patents become so central in this story, and what would it mean for farmers and breeders if lawmakers get their way on permitting patents? Natasha Foote digs in.

Legal experts call it undemocratic; the official watchdog calls it a failure of integrity. After a wave of farm protests rocked the continent, Brussels gutted its green protections at record speed, leaving a permanent scar on European law. This investigation goes inside the closed-door meetings and exclusive interviews to reveal who really sat at the table to rewrite the rules of Europe’s most expensive policy.

The EU is overhauling its rules on genomic technologies. A last-minute fight over patents risks could delay clarity for the bloc's €7bn seed market

Discussions in the EU about a universal ban on the highly persistent chemicals known as PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, generally fail to mention pesticides. This omission could have legal risks for companies producing and using these products, which have been linked with a range of health concerns, including cancer and infertility.

You can have your cake and eat it too, according to a leaked version of the EU’s upcoming livestock strategy, which leans on technofixes to address our biggest environmental and climate challenges while shying away from some of the meatier questions on reduction of livestock numbers. ARC2020’s Natasha Foote breaks down the key takeaways from the draft. You can have your cake and eat it too, according to a leaked version of the EU’s upcoming livestock strategy, which leans on technofixes to address our biggest environmental and climate challenges while shying away from some of the meatier questions on reduction of livestock numbers. ARC2020’s Natasha Foote breaks down the key takeaways from the draft.

Innovation and competitiveness are the buzzwords of the moment in the EU, yet the bloc's food companies are being held back by a slow approvals system, says European Food Safety Authority executive director Dr Nikolaus Kriz. After beginning a five-year term in September 2025, he says the agency must become “faster and stronger”.

The weather isn’t the only thing heating up over the next few months. Negotiations over the shapes of the EU’s farming subsidy programme will start firing on all cylinders in the second half of the year. Natasha Foote walks you through the latest from Brussels. The weather isn’t the only thing heating up over the next few months. Negotiations over the shapes of the EU’s farming subsidy programme will start firing on all cylinders in the second half of the year. Natasha Foote walks you through the latest from Brussels.

It's nothing less than an agroecological revolution. And it's led by women in the Global South, who are creating their own alternatives to toxic dependencies. Natasha Foote sits down with Swati Renduchintala, a researcher with farmer empowerment organisation Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, to understand how Andhra Pradesh’s Natural Farming movement has changed the lives of millions of Indian smallholders, and shows no signs of stopping. It's nothing less than an agroecological revolution. And it's led by women in the Global South, who are creating their own alternatives to toxic dependencies. Natasha Foote sits down with Swati Renduchintala, a researcher with farmer empowerment organisation Rythu Sadhikara Samstha, to understand how Andhra Pradesh’s Natural Farming movement has changed the lives of millions of Indian smallholders, and shows no signs of stopping.