Info, news & debate
Low-impact food & drink
If ‘agroecology’ is such a good idea, how can we get the planning system to promote it?
The planning system doesn’t currently differentiate between different types of agriculture, and maybe it should. The type of agriculture we prefer could be labelled ‘agroecology’ – but the problem is how to define it and how to get the planning system to recognise it, let alone promote it.
Wood-fired pizza van: free to a good home
I’ve had six years of self-employed catering with Proved Wood-fired Pizza, alongside working full-time in the housing and homeless sector. I originally wanted to sell the van/business to help fund going back to university as a full-time student.
Low-impact & the city 7: our experience of a local fishbox / community-supported fish scheme
You may remember that we blogged an interview last summer with Guy Dorrell, who set up a ‘fishbox’, or ‘community-supported fish’ project, called ‘Faircatch‘. After interviewing him, my partner and I signed up to his scheme to try it out. I’m now reporting on how the idea worked for us
New York Times: GM crops require more pesticides and don’t increase yields
I’ve been saying for a long time that GM crops do not increase yields and they don’t reduce pesticide use – because that’s not what they’re designed for. This report in the New York Times shows that I was right.
Progress? Is modern food production efficient (using poultry as an example)?
We often hear it said that modern farming is efficient and results in low cost food on our table but how true is that? I would contend that there is an awful lot wrong with our food production and distribution systems in the west and the much vaunted efficiency is far from being the true …
This is how we should get our fish: interview with Guy Dorrell of ‘Faircatch’
I went to visit Guy Dorrell from Faircatch the other day, and was truly blown away by what he’s up to. Now this is how we should get our fish. Here’s my interview with him.
Why do organic farmers have to pay for certification rather than farmers who use toxic chemicals?
It’s always more expensive to do the right thing isn’t it? Like taking the train instead of driving or flying, or buying recycled products, organic food or natural building materials. If you want to do the environmentally-friendly or socially-just thing, it’s going to cost you more money. That can’t be right, can it?
Custard creams and the ‘network of global corporate control’
I bought a packet of custard creams the other day, and saw that they were made by a company called Crawfords. I wondered who Crawfords were and who ultimately owns custard creams. I have a general feeling that a small cartel of giant corporations owns more-or-less everything branded
Viable self-sufficiency
Back 40 years ago in 1976, John Seymour’s most famous work –The Complete Book of Self-Sufficiency – was published. It was billed as for dreamers and realists which was pretty accurate.
Why the Real Farming Conference gave me grounds for optimism
Sometimes, when I’m sitting in front of my laptop screen, I forget how many great people there are out there doing wonderful things, and it’s easy to believe that we’re never going to get rid of this damaging system, and that it will eventually damage ecology so much
Live from the Real Farming Conference: why genetically-engineered food is about politics not science
I’m at the Real Farming Conference in Oxford, and I’m writing this as a session on GM food is taking place. I’m sorry to have missed it, but I fell into a conversation until it was too late to join the session. However, I know someone who attended that session, and she’ll hopefully write a …
Live from the Real Farming Conference: Equality in the Countryside – a rural manifesto
I’m blogging from the Real Farming Conference in Oxford, in Oxford Town Hall. This is the seventh annual conference, set up as a counter to the corporate farming conference running at the university in Oxford. I wasn’t expecting such a huge affair – 850 attendees, with some fantastic sessions.
What will TTIP mean for European farmers?
A new report from the US Department of Agriculture assesses the potential effects of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership on farmers. It’s pretty difficult to decipher, but our position is that we don’t want an increase in Transatlantic trade when it comes to agriculture.
Getting into the allotment groove: reasons for getting an allotment
Recently I hosted a radio show where I asked the question What Does Your Allotment Mean to You?, what was interesting was just like the many approaches to growing your own, there were just as many reasons for doing so.
How superstores destroy jobs and local resilience
A report by the National Retail Planning Forum (partly financed by supermarkets) found that in a catchment of 15km around 93 new superstores, around 10,000 new retail jobs were created and 35,000 destroyed – a net loss of 25,000 retail jobs (full-time equivalent).
Where do you stand on raw milk? Interview with ‘raw’ dairy farmer
If milk is going to be transported long distances and hanging about a lot rather than being sold locally and drunk quickly, there’s a strong argument for pasteurising it. But there is a growing number of people who are arguing that locally-produced milk doesn’t have to be.
Well done for fighting food waste, Hugh; but let’s take it a step further
Have you seen any of the TV programmes about food waste, hosted by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall? He’s trying to highlight the amount of food that gets wasted in the UK – which is truly phenomenal, and a ridiculous waste of land, money, energy and time.
Join the people who are fighting back against corporate control of global food production
There’s something seriously wrong with the way most of our food is produced and sold. The corporate sector is gaining control of more and more of global food production, shifting the focus from nutrition, flavour and nature towards profit and profit only.
The number of people with allergies is rising rapidly; but 10 times as many people believe that they have allergies, when in fact they don’t
Just heard a Radio 4 programme about allergies, which dovetailed with a lot of our beliefs. Here are the highlights.
How much should a loaf of bread cost?
You can now get white sliced bread in supermarkets for around 50p a loaf; or you can get hand-baked, organic loaves from independent bakers for around £3.50. We can also bake our own bread. What’s the best option, do you think?