☠️Lead is toxic at EVERY level.☢️ Yet, 44,000 tonnes are dumped into the EU's environment each year from hunting, shooting, & fishing - poisoning both people and nature. We need to stop this madness. We need to #BanLeadNow. Sign our petition 👉 banleadnow.com/get-involved/

🚨Breaking: EU Agriculture Vision goes rogue🚨 Commissioner Hansen fails to propose concrete policy actions to tackle the ongoing climate, biodiversity, and social crises, threats that endanger the livelihoods of millions of farmers. Read more here: birdlife.org/news/2025/02/19… Picture by Chudy Andrey

Every meal we eat has a cost - not just to our wallets, but to our health, our planet, and our future. Right now, that cost is staggering. As an illustration, the industrial animal-based food production and consumption are estimated to have cost €3 trillion in the EU in 2022. This toll includes rising healthcare expenses, environmental degradation, climate change and subsidies that sustain an unsustainable system. Our diets are not just a personal choice, they are a collective crisis. Europe’s food system is putting an immense pressure on our planet, from tropical deforestation, air and water pollution, to global greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, our current diets are major contributors to disease in the EU. Medical doctors witness the consequences of Europeans eating too little whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables every day. Diet-related cancers, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are on the rise. And while public health campaigns urge Europeans to eat more plants, subsidies and market structures inadequately support plant-based foods and make them less accessible and affordable than they should be. The current system is not just failing our planet and its people – it’s failing Europe’s farmers. Small-scale livestock farmers are increasingly squeezed out by industrial competitors. The status quo favors mass production over quality and sustainability, leaving little room for those who want to innovate or diversify. The evidence is crystal clear. Europe’s food system urgently needs a refresh and the costs onmour economies, our health and our planet are unbearable. But all is not lost yet. A fresh EU vision on agriculture and food is being crafted, and the opportunity is there for the taking. There is a clear path to a healthier, fairer, and more sustainable food system – and EU policy makers have a chance to tackle our multiple crises by championing plant-based foods in the years to come. The question is, will they seize it? Continue reading: birdlife.org/news/2025/02/17… Written by @ArielBrunner (Regional Director at BirdLife Europe), Niklas Oppenrieder (Founder & Chairman of the Board at @PAN_Int - Physicians Association for Nutrition), and @89SilviaSchmidt (Policy manager at @OrganicsEurope ) #NoNatureNoFood

📢 New factsheets on financing the Trans-European Nature Network! The TEN-N will strengthen Europe’s protected areas and ecological connectivity helping habitats and species thrive. Sustainable financing is key to this vision. Read more here: tinyurl.com/mrx97rxx #NaturaConnect

⚠️A new study published by @ornithologiki BirdLife Greece delivers a stark warning: climate change is rapidly making the treacherous journey of migratory birds even more deadly. Read more: birdlife.org/news/2025/02/07…

🚨 New report: Member States fail to make EU Agriculture more sustainable. 🚨 As climate change, biodiversity loss, and growing pressures on agriculture threaten millions of farms across Europe, the need for effective and sustainable farming practices has never been more urgent. Eco-schemes were introduced in the EU’s farming policy to encourage farmers to adopt more sustainable practices that benefit the environment, such as improving biodiversity and soil health. According to the European Commission, 70% of EU agricultural land is now covered by eco-schemes. But our analysis across 12 EU countries, shows that instead of prioritising measures to deliver for the environment, many Member States opt for the easiest options - practices that require minimal changes on the ground but allow them to tick the sustainability box. Meanwhile, the eco-schemes that could make a real difference are often underfunded or unattractive to farmers. Tatiana Nemcova, EU Agriculture Coordinator at BirdLife Europe: “If we are serious about having long-term food security, eco-schemes need to do what they were meant to – not just provide farmers with a green-labelled income boost. There is still time to fix them under the current CAP, but the next CAP must go much further. Farmers need the right tools and incentives to make action for the environment a core part of farming, not just an afterthought.” The report also addresses the 2024 CAP simplifications, which were rushed through in response to farmer protests last year and have further complicated the implementation of eco-schemes and undermined their potential. Read the full report ‘The untapped potential of eco-schemes’ with our recommendations: birdlife.org/news/2025/02/05… #NoNatureNoFood #CAP

As Commissioner @CHansenEU prepares to present the Vision for Agriculture and Food on February 19th, we are at a pivotal moment. This vision will shape EU food and farming policy for the next decade. This vision must be based on the historic agreement reached in the Strategic Dialogue earlier in 2024, bringing together diverse stakeholders - including farmers, food industry representatives, environmental NGOs, and civil society groups. The Strategic Dialogue provides a clear roadmap for addressing the social, environmental, and economic challenges that European agriculture is currently facing. And the outcome was clear: business-as-usual is not an option. With climate change and biodiversity loss already having devastating impacts on farmers, we are committed to ensuring that the Vision for Agriculture and Food leads to real, lasting change. How can we make this urgent transition towards sustainability without leaving any farmer behind? 🌾Repurposing CAP subsidies to deliver real socio-economic and environmental benefits 🌾Reducing agricultural emissions through effective policies 🌾Investing in nature restoration 🌾Supporting a just transition in the livestock sector 🌾Ensuring sustainable and healthy food is the easy choice for consumers 🌾Benchmarking farm-level sustainability to drive real progress 🌾Reducing bureaucracy and improving policy enforcement Picture by Yves Adams #NoNatureNoFood

🌿Huge win for nature in Poland! Thanks to our Partner @OTOP_tweets , the Polish government has cancelled plans to build the Siarzewo Dam on the Vistula River. 💚 Read more about this historic victory: savepolesia.org/victory-for-… 📷: Daniel Rosengren

🚨 In April 2024, the Common Agricultural Policy (#CAP) was simplified, resulting in the removal of crucial environmental measures, like those protecting valuable grasslands and requiring space to be set aside for nature. Just a few months later, today, #AGRIFISH Ministers are discussing and pushing for even more simplifications, particularly regarding GAEC 2 – the standard that protects vital wetlands and peatlands. This is short-sighted and unacceptable. Why? ♦️Environmental safeguards are not a burden, they are essential! Wetlands and peatlands are the backbone of resilient agriculture and climate adaptation. They protect against devastating floods, reduce soil and water pollution, and help achieve climate neutrality goals. Weakening GAEC 2 would harm these vital ecosystems, undermining efforts to combat natural disasters. ♦️CAP Reforms must be based on evidence and be predictable. The recent 2024 CAP reform was rushed through without proper consultation or impact assessment, which is neither acceptable nor in the interest of farmers. Farmers have consistently called for stability and predictability in CAP rules. Reopening the CAP framework just a year after this hasty reform would create unnecessary uncertainty and go against the principles of good policy-making. Instead, efforts should focus on effectively implementing the current framework and providing farmers with the necessary support to meet the requirements. ♦️Simplifications shouldn't undermine the CAP’s green architecture or the accountability of CAP spending. The CAP represents nearly a third of the EU’s budget, and it is essential that its financial delivery remains transparent and effective. There is undoubtedly room to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens, including at the Member State level, by harmonizing reporting processes, clarifying rules for implementation, and enhancing digital tools. But this must not come at the cost of removing or weakening fundamental environmental protections and shouldn’t undermine the CAP's financial accountability and delivery. Weakening rules like GAEC 2 erodes the CAP's green architecture and directly contradicts our long-term sustainability goals. We call on Agriculture Commissioner @CHansenEU resist further weakening of the CAP’s environmental rules and support Member States in ensuring that the CAP meets its environmental obligations. #NoNatureNoFood picture by Menno Schaefer

🚨 The evidence is clear: to tackle the nature and climate crises, food and farming systems in Europe need to be transformed. We, together with 130+ NGOs, are calling for an EU Action Plan for hashtag#PlantBased Foods. With this plan, @CHansenEU, together with the @EU_Commission, could create incredible benefits, such as: ✅ Free up land and create more space for nature, biodiversity rich habitats, and extensive forms of farming. ✅ Improve our citizens' health, as 80% of Europeans are not eating enough whole-grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables. ✅ New opportunities for European farmers, including small-scale and young farmers. A more plant-rich food system will benefits people, nature, and the planet! Read our joint letter: birdlife.org/wp-content/uplo…

How can we achieve farming without toxic pesticides in the EU? 🐝🧑‍🌾 Together with 85 environmental, health, human rights groups and farmers organisations, we developed a Roadmap to make pesticide reduction a reality 👉 pan-europe.info/sites/pan-eu… #PesticideFreeEU #SaveBeesandFarmers

Feeling a bit off this #BlueMonday? Well, don’t forget: birds are (probably?) our overlords! Or maybe just try screaming very loudly in the morning? Here’s a snippet from Cass Hebron to cheer you up on this gloomy start to the week!

🚨Europe’s ecosystems could store ≈ 13 billion tonnes of carbon, matching global annual CO₂ emissions! A new BirdLife Europe report shines light on the extraordinary carbon storage potential of Europe's ecosystems. Find out more 👉birdlife.org/news/2025/01/16…